By Les Gura

Wake Forest Baptist

HealthWire

Chad Brown, president of Wake Forest Baptist Health-Davie Medical Center, is understandably enthusiastic about the 50-bed inpatient tower under construction just outside his office on the hospital’s Bermuda Run campus.

There’s enthusiasm in the community, too, because the new facility represents a new phase in a tradition of locally available health care that goes back 60 years to the founding of Davie County Hospital in Mocksville.

“There’s an emotional attachment to the Mocksville facility. It has been a stronghold in Davie County for decades and has positively impacted our community,” Brown said. “We want to continue this tradition and honor this commitment when we open the bed tower and complete the transition from the Mocksville campus to our new location.”      

When Davie County Hospital was opened in 1956 it set a standard for community care. Mocksville was a small town (population then about 2,000) proud to have its own hospital, and many of the employees were local residents.

The hospital experienced growth that included additions in the 1960s and 70s. But the complexity of operating a multi-service facility and the rapidly changing nature of health care eventually led county officials to seek an outside partner to manage the hospital.   

In 2002, Davie County signed a management agreement with Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center to operate the hospital. Five years later, Wake Forest Baptist became the hospital’s owner. County leaders agreed to the sale because of Wake Forest Baptist’s commitment to maintain a local hospital and its world-class care and research.

Three years ago, the $89 million Bermuda Run campus of Davie Medical Center was opened as an outpatient facility with a 24/7 emergency department. The Mocksville location continued as an inpatient facility, operating as a swing bed unit for specialized, skilled nursing care.

The opening of the $47 million, three-story bed tower next spring will give residents of Davie County and the surrounding area a modern, full-service hospital in a single location.

“From a patient perspective, our new combined medical center will offer an array of services with world-class experience and exceptional quality care,” Brown said. “I’m grateful and truly thankful for the strong support Davie County has shown to our hospital.”    

This past year brought continued expansion of outpatient services at the Bermuda Run campus including gastrointestinal, endoscopy and spinal neurosurgical procedures. When the bed tower opens, it will give the hospital the ability to admit patients from the emergency department for inpatient stays as well as allow for growth of additional medical services that require longer stays.

Other services the inpatient facility will offer include total joint replacement and an acute care for the elderly unit. “We’ll have all of the corresponding support services here and are excited about finally bringing all services to one campus and providing a full-service hospital to our community,” Brown said. “It will be a true health complex specifically focused on the consumer.”