On Oct. 5, the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners came to a 4-1 decision to approve the sale of of the hospital to Novant Health, a North Carolina not-for-profit health system based in Winston-Salem, for $1.5 billion after a year of deliberation.
Several concerns were raised by residents surrounding the sale of the hospital. Stein said one of the recurring community concerns he came across was about the endowment transparency.
“I took those concerns to heart, and as a result, there will be two New Hanover public listening sessions held every year to address the board,” Stein said.
Novant and New Hanover agreed to increase the new endowment’s transparency, its accountability to the public, and the representativeness and independence of its board of directors, according to the Attorney General’s office.
Wilmington-area residents are fired up over COVID-19 vaccination protocols.
Dr. David Priest, Novant Health’s senior vice president and chief safety, quality and epidemiology officer, said, “The reality is: We’re not vaccinating in this country fast enough.”
“There are people dying,” said Alice Brown, a Calabash resident who is part of the 75-and-older COVID-19 vaccine group. “I was on hold for almost an hour with the health department trying to get an appointment.”
Robert Doleman, an 84-year-old New Hanover resident and Vietnam veteran, said he was able to qualify at the local VA clinic to get his vaccine quicker after having no luck getting a vaccine appointment at the health department and Wilmington Health.
Listen to the story here.
A year and a half after the sale process of the New Hanover Regional Medical Center began, the state Attorney General has approved a deal with Novant Health but, the approval does come with some new conditions. If those are met, the partnership between NHRMC and Novant will begin on February 1.
Note: You can find details of the AG s review of the deal, along with responses from New Hanover County and other key stakeholders below.
For months, critics and supporters alike have waited for North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein and his office to complete a review of the hospital sale. Stein now confirms he will not object to the deal, but his office has negotiated several key new conditions.
WPD is looking for suspects who initiated the shooting
Wilmington StarNews
The shooting that killed Nasir Leonard in December has been ruled accidental by the Wilmington Police Department, according to a press release.
On Dec 2, Wilmington police arrived at 708 Varsity Drive around 10 p.m. following a report of shots fired in the area.
Leonard, 20, had been pronounced dead in the New Hanover Regional Medical Center emergency room by the time officers reached the scene.
Police initially declared him the 20th Wilmington homicide victim of 2020.
According to the release, someone in a separate vehicle shot at Leonard while he was sitting inside a parked car with two others.