Atrium Health sends $9.2 million request to state for surgical needs in Cabarrus County
Atrium Health is making plans to improve surgical services in Cabarrus County through a $9.2 million project.
The Charlotte-based company submitted a proposal to the state Health Department to provide the service to residents in the area. Atrium wants to relocate operating rooms from Gateway Surgery Center in Concord to the main campus of Atrium Health Cabarrus, where more hospital-based surgical services are needed.
Surgeons have seen an increase of surgical cases on the campus, going from 10,457 in 2019 to more than 12,000 in 2024, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, which operates Atrium Health Cabarrus. It’s the only hospital in the county.
To fill the need for surgery space, Atrium Health filed a Certificate of Need application with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. State law doesn’t allow health care providers to acquire, replace or add to their facilities and equipment, except in certain circumstances, without approval.
Acceptance is also required for certain medical services to help control increasing health care costs and to avoid duplication of services.
Atrium’s proposal
Atrium Health Cabarrus has 17 operating rooms on its main campus. Hospital crews shifted operating rooms or plans in the last five years to support needs in other areas.
The hospital system wants to move two operating rooms from Gateway Surgery Center to Atrium Health Cabarrus. The switch will bring the total back to 17 on the main campus.
Atrium’s operating rooms will be built into renovated spaces in the existing surgical suite. One operating room will be in a previously licensed operating space that is currently vacant. The second will be made in an area being used for equipment and storage.
The estimated completion date is July 2027, pending approval from state officials.
What’s next?
A public hearing on the project is scheduled for 10 a.m. April 16 in the auditorium of the Cabarrus County Cooperative Extension Center, 715 Cabarrus Ave. West in Concord.
Anyone may file written comments concerning this proposal. Comments must be received by the Healthcare Planning and Certificate of Need Section no later than 5 p.m. March 31.
Comments may be submitted as an attachment to an email if they are sent to DHSR.CON.Comments@dhhs.nc.gov. Residents may also mail comments to: Healthcare Planning and Certificate of Need Section, Division of Health Service Regulation, 2704 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-2704.
More on Atrium
Atrium Health is a part of Advocate Health. The hospital system is the third-largest nonprofit health system in the U.S. and serves millions of patients.
More than 155,000 employees work in 68 hospitals and over 1,000 health care locations.
Atrium Health is also working with Wake Forest University and Wexford Science & Technology to open Charlotte’s first four-year medical school in the summer. The 20-acre Wake Forest University School of Medicine-Charlotte will create a second campus in midtown for the Winston-Salem-based school.
Construction in Charlotte is underway on the corner of South McDowell and Baxter streets in the Pearl District, a $1.5 billion project with retail, offices, hotels and apartments.
This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
