AdventHealth Breaks Ground in Weaverville, Gov. Stein Attends Ceremony

Gov. Josh Stein joined AdventHealth Thursday for the groundbreaking of its new Weaverville hospital, a project expected to create 1,300 jobs and make healthcare more accessible for people in Madison and Yancey Counties.

"Wherever people get sick in North Carolina, they deserve to be able to get to a good, nearby hospital," Stein said. "This new hospital in Weaverville is an investment in the health and economic future of western North Carolina. It will create good-paying jobs, reduce transport times for first responders, and expand access to care for families across the region."

The hospital group can now break ground on the planned 67-bed hospital following three years of legal challenges with HCA Healthcare's Mission Health that delayed construction. AdventHealth said the state approved the new Weaverville hospital through the Certificate of Need process, but construction couldn't begin while Mission's appeals were under review. Now that the court has ruled in favor of AdventHealth, construction can begin.

The North Carolina Supreme Court rejected HCA's appeal of the original 67-bed need awarded to AdventHealth in 2021, dissolving a stay that had prevented the project from moving forward. Certificate of Need law allows other hospitals to appeal regulatory decisions repeatedly, which Mission Health had done with all of AdventHealth's previous approvals for the hospital.

The state approved AdventHealth's application to build the hospital, broadening service for Buncombe, Graham, Madison, and Yancey counties, with planned services including enhanced trauma services, a Level II NICU special care nursery, advanced heart care, and comprehensive cancer care.

Daniel Tryon, president and CEO of AdventHealth Hendersonville and Polk, credited years of direct community outreach for shaping what the hospital will offer. "Through this whole process, we have heard our community. We've gone through several listening sessions asking our counties, 'What do you need?' and 'How can we help?'" Tryon said.

The hospital will be located off US 25/70 in Weaverville, just west of I-26 in Buncombe County. AdventHealth expects the project to cost $254 million, and once site work begins, construction is expected to take 18 to 24 months.

AdventHealth has also received state approval for 26 additional beds at the Weaverville site, which would bring the total to 93, though that expansion remains under a separate appeal. AdventHealth has also proposed a total of 222 acute care beds for the facility, which would make it the second-largest hospital in western North Carolina and the first major competitor to HCA Mission Health's near-monopoly on hospital services in Buncombe County.

Health system leaders have said that if construction proceeds on schedule, the hospital could potentially open as early as late 2027.