Harnett Health officials took time Thursday afternoon to connect with and inform board members and area health leaders on future expansion plans and provide updates on the new Cancer Center announced early last May. 

During the private event, Harnett Health President and CEO Cory Hess outlined the history and progress of Harnett Health, including their founder, joining with Cape Fear Valley Health in 2021 to better serve residents, and the history of their current Central Harnett Hospital building which celebrated 10 years in operation in January of 2023. 

Now, that progress is expected to continue with the addition of a roughly 70,000 square foot facility that will house medical offices above the new 17,000 square foot cancer facility that will be located on the first floor. 

Hess said it was proposed to the State of North Carolina the need for a linear accelerator for radiation oncology in the area which was later granted. All that was missing was the proper space. 

“Initially, we proposed we're going to put it on the back of the hospital. Well, our census has grown so rapidly, we don't have the ability to do that now so we have got to build a new building. So we've committed, Harnett Health and Cape Fear Valley, to a 70,000 square foot medical office space and Cancer Center on the land right across the street,” said Hess. “It's going to bring our infusion space from about nine chairs to 16 with the ability to expand. The first floor is going to be all Cancer Center, the second floor is going to be  medical office space and the third floor is going to be  medical office space. That is incredibly important for this community in this health system when it comes to growth opportunities, but also we're talking about a place to put physicians, you know, we have got a number of specialists that we've added over the past couple of years, and a number of specialists that are coming in over the next year.” 

Hess also shared that the health care provider will also be adding a rheumatology practice and a cardiology practice in the coming months, further examples of specialized care coming to the community where it had never been offered before; adding that Harnett Health is in need of more space to put physicians hired in the past few years and more that are expected to join the team over the course of the next year. 

“We've added an orthopedic clinic, we added an ENT provider, we've added an endocrinology practice, we've got neurology coming on next summer,” said Hess. “ We have a second orthopedic provider coming on who is a total joint fellow and there's only one other in Fayetteville, so that is somebody who is specially trained.”

Hess shared that the expansions were made possible after Harnett Health worked with Harnett County to acquire the balance of the property the campus is on, allowing them to proceed with adding the cancer center to the Central Harnett Hospital campus. 

Proposed features of the new facility include private patient rooms and consultation spaces, 

a volunteer office, an infusion bay featuring a tranquil courtyard garden, and a CT scanner.

Construction has yet to officially begin on the new facility, but Hess said there are plans to begin clearing space in early July, hosting a groundbreaking ceremony in fall of 2023 and the facility to be completed by the end of 2024. 

The Harnett Health Foundation has launched a fundraising campaign to fund its comprehensive cancer center and medical arts building on the Central Harnett Hospital campus. For more information on this campaign, contact Scott Childers at schilders@capefearvalley.com or (910) 766-7119.