North Carolina Supreme Court Grants Mission Hospital’s Request For Temporary Stay In Battle For 67 Beds

By Andrew R. Jones

Asheville Watchdog

The North Carolina Supreme Court has granted Mission Hospital’s petition for a impermanent enactment of a little court’s determination to assistance 67 acute attraction beds to AdventHealth astir 3 years ago. 

The order, delivered without comment, came conscionable 2 days aft attorneys for Mission Hospital revenge a mobility seeking nan impermanent enactment and arguing that a three-judge panel’s ruling successful nan state’s appellate tribunal this June should stay up for debate. The motion, first reported by Asheville Watchdog, created further uncertainty astir whether nan region would spot further healthcare competition.

The 67 beds are portion of Florida-based AdventHealth’s plans to build a 222-bed infirmary successful Weaverville that would service Buncombe, Madison, Yancey, and Graham counties. The institution had started grading activity astatine a 30-plus acre tract westbound of I-26. 

The Supreme Court’s allowance of a enactment halts ineligible action until further information tin return place. There is presently nary deadline for a Supreme Court decision.

“Mission Hospital accepts thousands of transfers each twelvemonth from different hospitals that person disposable beds – including accommodation presently seeking support to grow – because patients request high-level aesculapian attraction only disposable successful Western North Carolina astatine our hospital,” Mission Health spokesperson Nancy Lindell said. “Not each acute attraction beds are nan same. Instead of adding much beds astatine accommodation that are incapable to supply nan analyzable aesculapian and surgical attraction needed, nan region would beryllium amended served by expanding furniture capacity astatine Mission Hospital. We see it a privilege to attraction for our region’s sickest patients but request much beds to do so.”

AdventHealth said nan enactment says thing astir what North Carolina’s highest tribunal thinks astir nan case.

“It is important to statement that this enactment is not an denotation of nan court’s thinking,” AdventHealth spokesperson Victoria Dunkle said erstwhile asked for nan system’s consequence to nan judge’s order. 

“This would beryllium for illustration ordering a combo repast astatine a drive-thru and past taking in installments for securing nan portion and fries successful nan woody – nan portion and fries automatically travel pinch nan combo and everybody gets them,” she said. “In these situations, a enactment is successful spot whenever a petition for discretionary reappraisal is filed. HCA/Mission revenge an unnecessary mobility to get a enactment that was already successful place.”  

This analyzable ineligible conflict for beds is being staged connected nan section of certificate of request (CON) law, a North Carolina request that aesculapian accommodation activity nan state’s support erstwhile they want to expand, adhd services, aliases bargain costly equipment. 

An aerial position photograph shows nan Weaverville tract wherever AdventHealth is proposing to build a 222-bed infirmary successful nan coming years. Credit: AdventHealth

AdventHealth won support for beds successful 2022

AdventHealth won support for nan 67 acute attraction beds successful precocious 2022, but Mission  disputed nan decision, utilizing nan CON’s entreaty process. In June, a three-court sheet of nan state’s appellate tribunal ruled successful AdventHealth’s favor, a ruling that immoderate saw arsenic nan last determination successful nan case.

On July 23, Mission attorneys revenge a mobility pinch nan North Carolina Supreme Court seeking nan impermanent enactment and requesting nan tribunal see 2 factors: “substantial prejudice” connected nan portion of DHSR successful rejecting Mission’s exertion and AdventHealth’s connection for nan beds not gathering NCDHHS argumentation requiring caller hospitals person a wide operating room. 

Both NCDHHS and AdventHealth are defendants successful nan case.

Mission alleged important prejudice because “DHHS did not let 8 attendees to speak astatine a definite clip astatine nan nationalist proceeding because they were purported labor of Mission Memorial aliases labor of 1 its affiliated hospitals aliases entities,” according to a summary successful nan June 18 appellate tribunal decision. The nationalist proceeding was held soon aft AdventHealth, Mission and Novant Health applied for nan 67 beds.

“The partial answers that nan Court of Appeals has fixed are contradictory and confusing,” Mission’s attorneys wrote successful their July 23 motion, arguing nan appellate tribunal grounded to precisely specify nan criteria for a uncovering of “substantial prejudice.”

The mobility asked nan tribunal to determine whether NCDHHS had violated nan Administrative Procedure Act erstwhile it changed its request connected nan wide operating room and past to determine whether “this correction substantially prejudiced Mission.”

According to AdventHealth’s current proposed plans, nan Weaverville infirmary would person “A state-of-the-art Surgery Suite for wide and specialty.”

AdventHealth will record a consequence successful nan case, Dunkle told The Watchdog last Friday.

Asheville Watchdog is simply a nonprofit news squad producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Andrew R. Jones is simply a Watchdog investigative reporter. Email arjones@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s reporting is made imaginable by donations from nan community. To show your support for this captious nationalist work spell to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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