Novant Health’s commitment to the Lake Norman and Davis communities

On Feb. 28, 2023, Novant Health announced an agreement to acquire Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, Davis Regional Medical Center, and their related physician clinics and outpatient facilities, from subsidiaries of Community Health Systems, Inc. (“CHS”), a Tennessee-based for-profit health system.

As a nationally recognized leader in quality and patient safety, Novant Health looks forward to restoring services lost over time and delivering the highest-quality, patient-centered, physician-directed medicine to the communities served by Lake Norman Regional and Davis Regional. Novant Health’s commitments to the community include:

Making significant investments to improve the safety and quality of healthcare services provided.  

Novant Health provides extensive advanced care through a network of integrated hospitals, clinics and physicians throughout the greater Charlotte area and continues to set the highest standards for safety and quality.

As part of the transaction, Novant Health will:

  • Maintain Lake Norman Regional Hospital as a full-service general acute care hospital.  
  • Restore the Level II NICU at Lake Norman Regional, which transitioned to a Level I in 2021.
  • Enhance interventional cardiac catheterization capabilities at Lake Norman Regional.
  • Enhance physician coverage at Lake Norman Regional, including by staffing a colorectal surgeon rotation.
  • Work with State regulators to return emergency services to the Statesville, N.C. area within two years.
  • Enhance Lake Norman Regional’s and Davis Regional’s ability to recruit and retain physicians, nurses and other staff to enhance access to high-quality care.
  • Maintain behavioral health services provided at Davis Regional Medical Center and continue to evaluate other needs.
  • Begin implementing its industry-leading safety and quality program within 30 days of closing, with a goal to complete implementation within one year.

Bringing leading-edge technology and innovation to enhance patient care.

Novant Health uses leading-edge technologies to enhance patient care and improve clinical outcomes. As part of the transaction, Novant Health will:  

  • Implement a modern and integrated electronic medical record system across Lake Norman Regional and Davis Regional, which will facilitate care coordination, improve medical care, and provide patients with access to a patient portal to access to medical care information, obtain immunization records and manage appointments.
  • Provide tele-stroke and tele-ICU coverage and AI-enabled clinical support services to patients served by Lake Norman Regional.
  • Extend Novant Health’s tele-psychiatry program to provide 24/7 services to Lake Norman Regional’s emergency department and provide psychiatry consult and liaison services to the hospital’s acute care unit.

These technologies:

  • Anticipate potential negative events and drives appropriate interventions.
  • Enable medical staff to make informed care recommendations and provide better care to patients.
  • Reduce patient wait times and improves patients’ overall healthcare experience.
  • Improve overall communication, efficiency and quality of care.  

Partnering with physicians and other healthcare workers to preserve access to care.  

Novant Health’s investment in Lake Norman Regional and Davis Regional will bring long-term stability and growth to these facilities, securing continuity of care for patients.

As part of the transaction, Novant Health will:

  • Have an open medical staff at Lake Norman Regional and Davis Regional, subject to staffing needs and the ability of physicians and other staff to meet Novant Health’s safety and quality standards and qualification requirements.
  • Ensure that patients can continue to seek care from their preferred providers.
  • Guarantee that independent physicians can continue to see patients at Lake Norman Regional and Davis Regional and refer patients to whichever hospital in the greater Charlotte area is best suited to meet their needs.

Promoting upward mobility and equitable access to care.

Novant Health has a proven track record of investing in communities, including an unwavering commitment to health equity.

Novant Health has generous charity care, uninsured discount and catastrophic settlement policies to ensure that the cost of care is not an impediment to serving the most vulnerable members of our community. Patients of Lake Norman Regional and Davis Regional will benefit from these Novant Health programs.

  • Under Novant Health’s charity care policy, uninsured patients with an annual family income of 300% or less of the federal poverty level do not receive a bill for medical care.
  • Novant Health’s uninsured discount policy provides discounted care to certain patients who are not eligible for or covered by insurance.
  • Under its “catastrophic settlement” policy, Novant Health works with patients to defray costs when they are unable to pay large, out-of-pocket expenses that are not covered by financial assistance.

Additionally, Novant Health will extend its living wage to employees of Lake Norman Regional and Davis Regional, which will provide a substantial income increase to the employees of these facilities.