Duke Health, CaroMont Health plan to build two hospitals in Charlotte

Two North Carolina health systems are planning a joint venture with the goal of building two new hospitals in Charlotte.

The Duke University Health System and CaroMont Health today announced plans to form a partnership to build the hospitals. The two systems are not merging, but they are establishing a new separate organization to operate the two hospitals.

Duke Health and CaroMont are both investing equally in the venture, though officials didn’t have a cost on the planned projects. The two health systems are filing applications for certificates of need with North Carolina and are hoping to open the new hospitals by 2031.

David W. Zaas, MD, chief executive officer of Duke Health, says the organizations are looking to address needs for more healthcare services in Charlotte.

“This is a partnership for new facilities and new clinical services to meet those needs in greater Charlotte,” Zaas said in a news briefing.

A need for more beds

Chris Peek, president and CEO of CaroMont Health, points to the rapid growth in Charlotte.

“The Charlotte region is one of the fastest growing regions in the country, and with population growth, healthcare needs also increase,” Peek said in the news briefing. “And this is an opportunity for two organizations to come together as equal partners and address that need that exists due to that increased population.”

Charlotte is experiencing rapid growth. The city is now home to more than 964,000 people, and has added 90,000 residents since 2020, according to Census data.

The plans call for a 120-bed hospital in Charlotte’s University City area, and an 80-bed hospital in the River District. Officials with the two systems point to a 2026 North Carolina State Medical Facilities Plan that found a need for 389 additional beds in Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte.

Zaas says the systems see a compelling case for the two new hospitals.

“Our teams have worked extensively over the last several months to put together this certificate of need application that details the communities being served, the description of comprehensive services, and how it meets the needs that the state identified,” Zaas says.

CaraMont has strong roots in Charlotte, having served patients in the area for more than 80 years, Peek says. He touted the opportunities for expanded capabilities in a partnership with an academic health system.

“We have great knowledge of the region and a great reputation for the quality of care that we provide,” Peek says.

“Having a partner like Duke University Health is an extraordinary opportunity to be able to bring the advanced clinical capabilities that they provide, the clinical research and innovation, the medical education, all of that together with what we bring with our knowledge of the region is an extraordinary opportunity for both of our health systems, but most importantly, it's an extraordinary opportunity to provide a different level of care to patients in our region,” he says.

Zaas also highlighted Duke Health’s strengths as an academic health system.

“Academic medicine enables a level of specialization, innovation, and education that are so important to the communities that we serve, and the ability of Duke Health to partner with CaraMont and their existing trust and relationships in the community, and extend the Duke level of academics, I think, is a great opportunity for the residents and families across Charlotte as well as both of our hospital teams,” he says.

Zaas also pointed to the prospect of giving Charlotte residents the chance to take part in more clinical trials.

“That is a primary goal of this partnership,” Zaas says. “We believe that access to quality care includes access to innovation and clinical trials as healthcare continues to improve. So we're looking forward to building that together at these locations.”

A competitive market

As Duke Health and CaroMont aim to build two hospitals in Charlotte, they are looking to get a greater foothold in an area with big players. Atrium Health, part of Advocate Health, is based in Charlotte, and Novant Health also holds a strong position in the market.

The proposed joint venture comes at a time when CaroMont has been undertaking some ambitious expansion plans.

CaroMont has announced plans to build two new hospitals in recent months. The system is planning to build a new hospital in the Lake Wylie community of York County, South Carolina. CaroMont is also planning to build a small hospital in Cleveland County, North Carolina. The planned facility would have emergency services, inpatient care for patients who only need a short stay, and some specialty services.

Based in Gastonia, North Carolina, CaroMont operates two hospitals serving patients in North Carolina and South Carolina. The system is anchored by the 476-bed CaroMont Regional Medical Center.

Peek says he’s very enthusiastic about partnering with Duke Health to build two new hospitals in Charlotte.

“We are very excited about the future possibilities for healthcare in this community,” Peek says.