By HFT Staff

Cape Fear Valley Health System announced a $110 million expansion to its flagship hospital, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, which will add 100 beds to the facility’s capacity. The construction is expected to start this fall and will add two floors on top of the existing Valley Pavilion section of the medical center. 

CEO Michael Nagowski says this expansion has been an anticipated part of the health system’s long-term planning, adding that the health system has been saving funds in preparation of this. He estimated that the completed expansion will create 187 full-time equivalent positions at the medical center. 

When considering how to complete this difficult construction project— adding two stories above a structure flanked on one side by a busy ER entrance and on the other side by the main hospital entrance— the health system looked for design firms and contractors who had successfully completed similar projects. Cape Fear Valley Health hired Little Diversified Architectural Consulting and Rodgers Builders, who will complete the project without requiring a closure or shutdown of either entrance. 

The expansion is expected to be completed in fall 2024. About 40 percent of the new beds will be designed as ICU beds, with the remainder designated for medical/surgery inpatient and observation. All the beds will be in private patient rooms. The additions will raise Valley Pavilion from five to seven stories. Plans also call for the inclusion of two rooftop helipads, which will allow patients to be taken by elevator directly into the hospital emergency department. The hospital’s current helipad is located on the front lawn, and patients must be transported less directly into the building. 

This is the first major expansion to the main campus’ central building since 2008, when the five-story Valley Pavilion opened.