Duke Health to buy Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, expanding beyond the Triangle
Duke Health has signed an agreement to buy Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in Mooresville from subsidiaries of Tennessee-based Community Health Systems Inc., the Durham-based not-for-profit health care system announced Wednesday.
Duke Health said it expects the sale of the 123-bed, acute-care hospital to close in the first quarter of 2025. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.
The purchase would represent a ”significant expansion” beyond the Triangle for Duke Health, officials with the health care system said in a news release.
“We recognize the health care landscape is changing,” Craig Albanese, chief executive officer of Duke University Health System, said in a statement. “While we continue to expand access to care within the communities we serve, it’s also time to do more and deliver care to more people — in more communities.”
Duke Health said it is still early in the process to acquire the for-profit hospital, which is 25 miles north of uptown Charlotte in the southern part of Iredell County. Still, Duke Health has added a Lake Norman Regional Medical Center page to its website.
Sale to represent ‘significant expansion’ beyond the Triangle
The health system said Lake Norman patients wouldn’t notice any immediate changes in their care.
“Nothing changes today,” according to a Duke Health statement. “Patients will continue to access their providers, clinics and facilities as they always have.”
“We recognize the crucial role (the hospital) plays in the community, and we are committed to keeping high quality care local,” according to the statement.
Lake Norman Regional includes 24-hour emergency care, labor and delivery services, cardiology, surgical and orthopedic care and an outpatient imaging center.
Duke Health officials vowed to expand specialty care where needed at Lake Norman Regional.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
This story was originally published December 11, 2024 at 7:32 PM.