As in years past, the Wilmington area’s healthcare demands are on the rise, and providers are preparing to meet those demands by expanding their footprints. At the same time, they are branching out into new communities. Other endeavors have revolved around providing better sleep data, addressing local substance use concerns and securing new leaders.
 

1 – Growing Pains

As the Wilmington area’s population grows, the need for more healthcare facilities expands along with it.  

One recent example: One of the area’s largest independent healthcare providers, Wilmington Health, recently purchased land near The Pointe at Barclay with plans to construct a new 64,000-square-foot medical office. 

Deed records show the healthcare provider purchased nearly 5 acres in the Midtown Park office area for $5.2 million. The project, called Midtown II, will bring a range of clinical and diagnostic services under one roof, according to Brian Voth, Wilmington Health's chief development officer. 

“Midtown II will feature advanced imaging capabilities, including CT and MRI, a full-service, highly automated laboratory and modern clinical space designed to support both urgent care and specialty services,” Voth said.  

The facility will also include dedicated space for clinical research.
 

2 – Branching Out

While providers are seeking bigger footprints, they’re also growing their footprints in other communities. 

In one case, an independent primary and urgent care practice based in Wilmington, Dawson Med, has established a presence in northern Brunswick County. The practice acquired Batish Family Medicine, a primary care provider located in Leland.  

Beginning April 1, Dawson Med at Leland began operating in the building that formerly housed Batish Family Medicine at 304 Village Road NE.  

According to physician Umar Bowers, co-founder and medical director of Dawson Med, the transition retained the entire team that formerly worked for Batish Family Medicine.  

Bowers said talks about expanding to Leland started a little over a year ago.  

“With all of the growth happening from large systems in and around Brunswick County, there should still be the counterbalance of independent primary care,” he added, “delivering that level of healthcare to Brunswick County residents in a manner that either they’ve been accustomed to or are looking for.”
 

3 – Sleep Prescriptions 

The science of sleep keeps people up at night, but advancements appear to be more than just a dream.  

In May, Wilmington-based sleep technology company Nuream earned an NC IDEA SEED grant, which grants up to $50,000 to early-stage companies.  

Nuream CEO Rob Cooley previously told the Business Journal that prospective grant funding would be used to advance the company’s core product – a fabric-sensor pillowcase to collect sleep data – and its go-to-market strategy.  

“We want to be in the commercial market about a year from now with our first pillowcase, plus a SaaS (software-as-a-service) model with a dashboard and clinical informatics and predictive analytics,” Cooley said in an April interview. 

Nuream’s aim is to collect accurate sleep data through minimally invasive electroencephalogram (EEG) technology, which measures the brain’s electrical activity. Using the data, the goal is to create dashboards that provide insights into users’ sleep patterns and long-term sleep trends. 

In another sign of momentum, Nuream was one of 10 startups tapped for an accelerator program.
 

4 – Substance Abuse Aid 

In recent years, local governments have been grappling with ways to provide substance use treatment. 

This year marked the opening of New Hanover County’s only health treatment center offering medical detox, crisis stabilization and transitional housing under one roof since the closing of The Harbor, a state-funded detox facility, in 2022.  

The Stabilization and Recovery (STAR) Center is a 14,000-square-foot facility at 1605 Robin Hood Road near Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center. The center has 16 inpatient beds and a two-bed transitional housing unit for men. The project is a joint effort from New Hanover County, Leading Into New Communities (LINC) and RHA Health Services.  

RHA Health Services, in partnership with healthcare management company Trillium Health Resources, is operating the medical detox portion of the facility, while LINC, a nonprofit that provides transitional housing and case management services primarily for individuals returning from prison, oversees the transitional housing program for men.
 

5 – Leadership Changes 

Both Novant Health and Lower Cape Fear LifeCare are two local healthcare entities that have experienced changes at the top this year. 

In March, UNC Health announced that Ernie Bovio, who had served as president of the Novant Health Coastal Region since 2024, was named the regional president of UNC Health’s Southeast Coastal Region. (Read about Bovio’s view on healthcare competition and UNC Health’s proposal to build a hospital in Wilmington here.) 

Laurie Whalin, president of Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC), was selected to serve in an “interim expanded leadership role,” Novant officials said in a news release. 

Bovio previously served as president of UNC Health Rex in Raleigh before becoming president of Novant Health Coastal Region and Novant Health NHRMC.  

In April, Lower Cape Fear LifeCare announced that the organization had named Karen Brubaker Miller as its next president and CEO following a national search process. (Read more about Miller here.)