CaroMont Health, Belmont Campus

For several years, occupancy at the existing 435-bed CaroMont Regional Medical Center in Gastonia has stayed well above the target rate of 75% capacity. With nearly 250,000 patient encounters each year, state regulators indicated that Gaston County desperately needed an addition of at least 33 new hospital beds, with another 64 required by 2020.

CaroMont Health commissioned McMillan Pazdan Smith to design a new 60- to 80-bed hospital in Belmont, NC to help accommodate the growing patient population. Belmont is a flourishing suburban area of Gaston County located between Gastonia and Charlotte. The new hospital will be constructed near the crossing of N.C. 273 and Interstate 85. The 4-story hospital building will include two floors of inpatient bed units atop two larger floors of Diagnostic and Treatment departments. The design of the inpatient floors will provide efficient staff operations, abundant natural light, and a large plaza with staff and family outdoor respite areas.

Through a partnership with Belmont Abbey College, CaroMont Health intends to enter a long-term agreement to lease the land and support the college’s future plans to establish health science programs. CaroMont proposes to support the programs through clinical rotation opportunities at the new hospital. Because of its location, the aesthetic of the new hospital building strikes a balance between the CaroMont brand and the Belmont Abbey campus.

The project is scheduled to open in 2023.