New Carolinas Medical Center-Lincoln to Open on Saturday, July 10
June 25, 2010
Carolinas Medical Center-Lincoln, a brand new three-story, 101-bed facility in Lincolnton, will be opening on Saturday, July 10. The $90 million, 182,000-square-foot replacement hospital represents the Catawba Valley region’s largest new hospital construction project in more than decade.
Located three miles east of downtown Lincolnton on McAlister Road, the hospital anchors a 64-acre medical campus that includes a 40,000-square-foot medical office building housing surgical, orthopedics, cardiology, urology and OB/GYN practices, as well as administrative offices and classrooms.* Inpatients hospitalized at the current facility will be re-located starting early in the morning on July 10. The move is expected to be completed by early afternoon.
Emergency departments at both facilities will be open during the move. Directional signs to the new hospital will be unveiled that morning also.
“Our new hospital campus represents the single largest healthcare investment ever in Lincoln County,” said Pete Acker, President and Chief Executive Officer of CMC-Lincoln. “Lincoln County and the entire Catawba Valley region is a dynamic and growing area and our new facility offers a broad range of services close to the communities we serve.”
The new CMC-Lincoln replaces the hospital on Gamble Drive built more than 40 years ago. Once the new facility is open, the former hospital building will be given debt-free to Lincoln County. The County intends to use it for office space.
“CMC-Lincoln is one of the crown jewels of Lincoln County,” said Alex Patton, Chairman of the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners. “The new facility represents a timely investment in wellness and preventative care for our county and it also is a historically significant investment in the economic future of our entire region.”
The old hospital opened in 1969 and was owned by Lincoln County until 1995, when it became independent Lincoln Medical Center. Carolinas HealthCare System, one of the leading healthcare organizations in the Southeast serving patients at more than 500 care locations, began managing the hospital in 2000. In 2006, CHS assumed direct responsibility for the operation of Lincoln Medical Center and renamed the facility Carolinas Medical Center-Lincoln.
“This state-of-the-art hospital will help ensure that the latest advancements in healthcare facilities design will be available to Lincoln County residents,” said Michael C. Tarwater, Chief Executive Officer of Carolinas HealthCare System. “Our primary goal is to offer a range of services and specialized treatments that will enable residents throughout this area to stay close to home for the majority of their healthcare needs.”
The new hospital was designed by Davis Stokes Collaborative Architects in Brentwood, Tennessee. The designers were careful to honor Lincoln County’s history in putting together a plan for the building’s façade. More than 250,000 bricks from the historic Belding-Hausman textile mill were used for the exterior veneer on the main level and for other accents on the hospital and the medical office building.
“The design of CMC-Lincoln reflects a strong sense of attachment to the local community,” said architect Randy Hartfelder. “Incorporating the bricks from a mill that was central to so many local families for such a long period of time gave us a unique opportunity to acknowledge the county’s heritage.”
Each patient room at the new hospital is equipped with flat-panel televisions and wireless Internet access. Each patient room also is equipped with extended-stay furnishings for the comfort of family members.
The “New Beginnings” birth center is located on the first floor of the new hospital and includes a special care nursery with four Level II nursery beds and 10 private LDRP (labor, delivery, recovery, post-partum) rooms. Other patient service areas include:
• 10 critical care unit beds
• 77 medical surgical patient rooms
• 24 Emergency Department examination rooms
• Two Emergency Department trauma rooms
• Four operating rooms
• Helipad for MedCenter Air helicopter transports
In addition, the new hospital includes an on-site laboratory, radiology, imaging, pharmacy and physical therapy services. A full-service cafeteria featuring healthy menu options and outdoor seating is located off the main lobby.
According to Acker, who has led the hospital since 1995, an added advantage of CMC-Lincoln is the ready access it provides to patients whose conditions or injuries require treatment elsewhere.
The hospital’s sister facility, Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, includes the region’s only Level I Trauma Center as well as numerous specialty centers that provide advanced care in heart, cancer, neurology, pediatrics and other specialties, including organ transplants.
“Patients requiring more extensive treatment can be airlifted to CMC by a MedCenter Air helicopter in less than 15 minutes,” Acker said. “CMC-Lincoln is a facility in which patients and families can receive the quality of medical care they’ve come to expect from CMC hospitals.”
Construction of the new hospital began in 2008 on a former dairy farm across from the Boger City Fire Department. To give the facility direct access to state Highway 150, which links Lincoln County to Cleveland, Gaston, Catawba and Mecklenburg counties, the construction includes a main entrance parkway east of the fire department. This new roadway will relocate the intersection of Highway 150 and McAlister Road.
An open house for the public, featuring tours and family activities, will be held on Saturday, June 26, beginning at 10 a.m.
* NOTE: The following practices will be housed in the new medical office building at time of opening:
• Cornerstone Surgical
• CMC Orthopedic Surgery - Lincoln
• Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute
• McKay Urology
• McAlister OB/GYN
