New Location for $36M Carolina HealthCare Behavioral Hospital

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS) has found a new site in Davidson for a planned behavioral hospital, this after previous development plans for another location fell through in March. The planned mental health care facility is a 66-bed, single-story, 76,280-square-foot complex with private rooms and large activity areas that open to secure landscaped courtyards. It will provide inpatient care for chronic and acute episodic mental health disorders.

The facility’s design will allow future expansion via the addition of a second floor if such a need arises. A separate 10,000-square-foot building will offer outpatient mental health services. Additionally, the Davidson facility beds will be transferred from Broughton Hospital in Morganton, Burke County. The new hospital will employ 155 full-time staff employees.

In October 2011, the North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulations (NCHSRD) approved plans to build a mental health care facility in Huntersville. However, the rezoning request for the chosen site was rejected by the Huntersville Board of Commissioners, who cited safety concerns expressed by local residents.

If the NCHSRD allows the site to be moved from Huntersville to Davidson, the $36 million hospital will be developed on a 23-acre parcel off Highway 73, a quarter-mile east of Ramah Church Road. CHS already has in place a purchase agreement with the owner of the land that does not require rezoning.  If things go according to plan, construction should start this summer and would finish in the second half of 2013.

The town of Davidson, however, seems to be more than welcoming. “We couldn’t be more thrilled at the prospect of having a quality facility such as this one in the town of Davidson,” said Mayor John Woods in a press release. “We know the kind of commitment CHS and its employees make to the community.”

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Photo credit: carolinashealthcare.org