Cone Health appeals NCDHHS approval of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist's $246 million Greensboro hospital

Cone Health has announced that it will appeal the state’s decision to approve Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s plan to build a hospital in Greensboro.

In a statement released Wednesday, Cone Health claimed the proposed 36-bed, $246 million hospital, given initial approval by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, will result in higher health care costs and provide no medical services that are not already readily available nearby.

In a statement, Cone Health CEO Mary Jo Cagle questioned Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s choice of a Greensboro location, calling it a way station to Winston-Salem. She’s quoted in the Cone Health press release as saying the move runs counter to how a certificate of need (or CON) works — meeting a need and improving care without increasing costs.

CON is designed to avoid a “medical arms race” — expensive facilities and equipment in close quarters and thus increasing medical care costs.  

For its part, Atrium released a brief statement of its own, saying: “We are pleased with the state’s decision and we are eager to move forward, but out of respect for the process, we are reserving additional comment at this time.”