From Staff Reports

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — After a nearly three-year legal battle over the fate of a new hospital in Buncombe County, the North Carolina Supreme Court on Dec. 12 “decided against hearing Mission Health’s case opposing a new hospital in Weaverville, “the Asheville Citizen Times reported on Dec. 15.

The high court’s decision “means a Florida-based nonprofit can move forward with the project, though a 26-bed expansion of the facility is still caught in a separate legal battle and appeal,” the ACT noted.

In 2022, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services approved a certificate of need for AdventHealth to move forward with the development of a new, 67-bed hospital in Buncombe County. 

However, in 2023, that decision was then met with a legal challenge and administrative appeal from for-profit Mission Health, which is owned by the Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.

The legal battle ended when the state Supreme Court decided Dec. 12 against hearing Mission Health’s contestation of the nonprofit receiving a certificate of need for the facility.

In July, Mission took its challenge to the state’s highest court after the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled against its case, which had previously been rejected by an administrative judge in 2024. Mission asked for a stay in the development of the hospital and the review of the lower court’s decision.

While a temporary stay on the hospital’s development was granted in July, the Supreme Court declined to hear Mission’s request for a writ of supersedeas, meaning a stay on the certificate of need. The court also declined their request to review the court of appeals decision, according to a list of petitions released by the Supreme Court on Dec. 12.

The high court’s decision to not hear the case means the Court of Appeals ruling will stand. AdventHealth can now officially move forward with the hospital that is slated for development in Weaverville.

Meanwhile, Daniel Tryon, president and CEO for AdventHealth Hendersonville and AdventHealth Polk, stated in a Dec. 15 news release:

 “With this final decision, we are now able to take the next steps toward construction. This decision allows us to move forward thoughtfully and responsibly, with a focus on serving patients and families as soon as possible.”

In 2024, the state approved 26 additional acute care beds for Advent to develop, though Mission Health appealed that award in late-2024. The appeal process for that certificate of need is still ongoing, AdventHealth noted in the release. 

The ACT added, “If the certificate of need remains with Advent, the nonprofit had previously indicated it would fold the 93 beds into one facility. The company has purchased 25 acres of land in Weaverville for $7.5 million for the hospital’s development.”

In a statement, Mission Health spokesperson Nancy Lindell said the company was “disappointed” by the Dec. 12 ruling, but that it remains “steadfast in our belief that Mission Hospital can best meet Western North Carolina’s growing need for complex medical and surgical care.” 

Also, Lindell noted that “not all acute beds are the same” and that the region “would be better served by expanding bed capacity at Mission Hospital.”