At 8 a.m. today, CaroMont Health opened its $260 million, 54-bed hospital in Belmont, about 10 miles west of Charlotte. A surgical procedure is already planned, and labor induction may bring about the hospital’s first baby. A county ambulance was parked on stand-by Tuesday just outside the 16-room emergency department.
“We think Day 1 will be busy,” says Richard Blackburn, vice president of operations for CaroMont Regional Medical Center – Belmont.
The four-story hospital – visible from Interstate 85 and located off the first southbound exit after crossing the Mecklenburg County line – is the centerpiece of a pledge CaroMont Health made in May 2019 to invest more than $400 million in construction and expansion projects in Gaston County. CaroMont has surpassed the $400 million figure by several million.
The hospital expects to serve about 30,000 patients a year, mostly from Gaston County, but also from neighboring Mecklenburg, Lincoln County and York County, South Carolina. The hospital will employ about 350 workers, 85% of them already hired, Blackburn says while giving a tour of the hospital Tuesday…