Cape Fear Valley Health outlines growth, behavioral-health expansion and plans to restore obstetrics in Harnett County

Harnett County health system leaders on Sept. 30 updated county commissioners on service growth across the Cape Fear Valley Health System’s Harnett facilities and outlined plans to expand behavioral-health capacity and, eventually, obstetrics services.

The update came from Michael Tartt, president of Harnett Healthcare, who said the two Harnett hospitals recorded “a little over 46,000 total visits” in 2024 and that emergency-department volumes at Central Harnett have increased as the county grows. Tartt said the system expects admissions of about 4,800 this year, up from roughly 4,600 in 2024.

Tartt described recent and planned capital projects and hires, and noted the system’s connection to medical education: “We are the primary clinical site for 24 internal medicine residents, 12 family medicine residents and then 13 transitional year residents,” he said, and added that the system has retained “over 50% of those residents that come out of the program here in this community.”

Why it matters: Commissioners pressed for detail about local access to critical…