This week, Cone Health announced that it would appeal a decision by the State of North Carolina to approve a Certificate of Need for Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s plan to build a hospital facility in northwest Greensboro on Horse Pen Creek Road.
As the battle over the proposed $246 million 36-bed facility rages on, Cone is not only making its case to state health officials but also to county residents and area elected leaders.
One part of the attempted charm offensive is emphasizing to the public and to local leaders how Cone has expanded its services in recent years as well as pointing out the projects the health care system is planning for the future.
Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said this week that he’d been on a tour of Cone’s new MedCenter Greensboro at Drawbridge Parkway and Battleground Avenue and that he’d been told by Cone officials about upcoming projects as well.
Alston added that, though the county might not have direct say over whether the proposed hospital within the Greensboro city limits gets built, the Board of Commissioners certainly can have some say in the matter.
“The county can help negotiate with the General Assembly,” Alston said, adding that the Board of Commissioners hasn’t taken a side in the debate.
One of Alston’s priorities is getting more medical facilities into the financially challenged parts of the city and the county.
“There are gaps that need to be filled,” Alston said.
Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan has stated publicly several times that she wished Atrium had chosen another section of the city for a new hospital. She said there was concern among some that Atrium was “cherry picking” the Horse Pen Creek location because it has a high percentage of nearby residents with medical insurance.
Vaughan said she would prefer to see more medical services put in the parts of the city where there is a greater need than in the proposed location, which is near MedCenter Greensboro that Cone just opened up.
Cone Health points out that the health care system plans to invest more than $500 million in new facilities this decade.
Some of the latest new and expanded offerings are the following:
- Cone Health Women’s and Children’s Center at Moses Cone Hospital, which opened in February 2020
- Cone Health MedCenter for Women, which opened in May 2021
- Guilford County Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center, which opened in May of last year in partnership with Guilford County
- Cone Health MedCenter on Drawbridge Parkway near the proposed location of the Atrium facilty, which also opened in May of last year.
In addition, Cone officials point out, the health care system recently broke ground on a new cardiovascular services tower at Moses Cone Hospital. That new facility is set to open in 2025.
Cone will also open a cardiovascular services addition to Alamance Regional Medical Center by the end of this summer and has plans to open the Cone Health Cancer Center Asheboro in fall 2024.
Sounds like someone has a problem with competition
MONOPOLY!
Let’s all remember two things in this battle. (1) Both Cone and Atrium are “ for profit “ medical facilities. (2) County Commissioner’s are not exactly on friendly terms with the state legislature. Skip and his minions do little to curry favor from any Republican led body.
We need this Atrium facility…I recently visited the neaby Cone Emergency rooms on a Sunday night (I had Siatica attack)…Two Cone Hospital Emergency rooms were overrun with Patients…I decided to ride to Kernersville to get help…My name is Charles Ray 5501 Westfield Dr (I live near Horse Pen Creek)…I am a retired attorney…..Cone Hospitals are really good but way too many people for those Hospitals.
I thought Cone health system was a non-profit outfit. Some is, some isn’t? Educate me.
Sir, I am so sorry to hear of your Siatica, I know that is very painful. Please seek the help of a good therapist that can not only relieve you of pain, but help you conquer the problem without an emergency room that will do nothing but cost you A LOT of money, but also do nothing for the problem. I know of an excellent one in Greensboro, I can promise will help you (it’s not me).
Skip and Nancy getting involved…oh boy! Can’t wait to see how that turns out.
Look out they only get involve when they know it is something in it for them. You scratch my back I scratch yours. That is the way Skip and Nancy works.
And why didn’t cone put its high point hospital on 68 in the 27260 section of high point
How much do Cone health execs donate to our Mandate Mayor? How can more healthcare be bad in any area? Wrongheaded thinking to satisfy the Mayors donors and cabal.
Wish Atrium Health or some one would come to Greensboro .I do not wish to go to Cone or Wesley Long at all. If you go to Wesley Long you have to sit for hrs. and then when you see a Doctor IN the ER they will send you home with out getting all the test results at 2:30 the morning. Then you are taken back the next day and lay in the ER all night before they get you in a room. Then you are there for 14 days before you pass away . Because of Doctors just don’t care when you are old.
‘PR war’ ? puerto ricans are squabbling ?
The medical-pharmaceutical complex is doing very well….
Cone health needs competition, the wait for care at any of their sites is ridiculous!
I welcome having a new facility to choose from that’s not so far away!
I live in Browns Summit and have to drive to southern High Point to see my neurologist for migraine headache treatment. Because of this, I can’t get acute treatment during really bad headaches because the 45-minute drive is too much during an attack. Having a Wake facility at Horse Pen Creek Rd would be amazingly helpful, or anywhere on the northeast side. Cone and their ER system are an overrun joke where they harassed me the last time I went with a broken hand about not wanting to give me “narcotics” because I was “on too many medications at home” while ignoring the fact that I told them I wasn’t there for pain meds but just wanted an x-ray of my hand.
Cone Health is the worst medical organization in our area. I have had instances of inaccurate and deceptive billing practices. We do not need any additional Cone Health facilities!!
Meanwhile, if you live in the southeastern portion of Guilford County and need emergency care, plan on at least a 30-45 minute ride to the nearest hospital.
From departure to admission, it is quicker to just go to Burlington.
Anyone who has paid attention the past few years should understand there is no such thing as service in healthcare outside of a few small family practices anymore. So when Cone says they’re expanding services, what they mean is they’re wanting more revenue. Their biggest customers are Medicare & Medicaid funded mostly by John & Jane Public. A
6 cent Tylenol tablet shouldn’t be $300 after all the fees. Medical malpractice lawsuits are out of control in our litigious society. It’s a ridiculous industry. We pay thousands in healthcare premiums so that we can then pay ridiculously inflated prices for care and drugs because of the way we’ve allowed things to spiral in this direction. The farce of Covid fueled this industry while crippling others.
While the winner in this particular fiasco may remain unclear, it’s obvious who stands to lose the most. Us, We The People, John & Jane Q. Public! Here’s food for thought: The Hippocratic Oath includes “do no harm” and principles against malfeasance. What happened?