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 services. Tartt said behavioral health — outpatient, inpatient and emergency care — is the health system’s top priority and that county residents will see investment in that area in the coming year.

Key details and near-term projects

- Adolescent psychiatric beds: Tartt said construction began in February on a 15,000-square-foot building at Central Harnett Hospital that will house a 16-bed inpatient adolescent psychiatric unit, scheduled to open in March 2026. He said the project has received “over $8,000,000 in grant funding” plus several six-figure pledged donations and that the hospital has hired its first child psychiatrist to start next month.

- Cancer center and outpatient expansion: The Cape Fear Valley Heart of Health Cancer Center opened in November 2024 in the new medical office building on the Central Harnett campus. The facility also added specialty physician practices and a retail pharmacy to serve outpatients and discharged patients.

- Surgical and imaging capacity: Betsey Johnson Hospital handled nearly 2,500 surgeries last year and expects close to 3,000 this year, Tartt said; the system plans to bring expanded surgical services to Central Harnett in the coming year. He also noted a new MRI for Betsey Johnson and a Mako orthopedic robot in use there.

Obstetrics: closure and prospects for return

Tartt confirmed the labor-and-delivery unit closed in October 2023. He cited a combination of factors leading to the decision, including “lack of utilization … we were doing, under 500 deliveries,” reimbursement pressures and operational risk. “We are intent on bringing those services back to the county at some point in the future,” he said, but added that restoration would require “a well rounded plan for women’s and children’s services, including pediatrics,” and that it is not likely to occur “in the coming year or the next year.”

Commissioners and other speakers pressed the hospital to prioritize restoring OB/GYN services. Tartt said emergency deliveries still occur occasionally in hospital emergency departments and that antepartum and postpartum care continues through clinics in Dunn, with patients given options for delivery at other Cape Fear Valley facilities if needed.

Quotes and attributions

- “Behavioral health is a significant health care issue for us in this community, and we are putting full faith and effort into meeting that challenge,” Michael Tartt, hospital president, said.

- “When we bring that service back, it will be in conjunction with a well rounded plan for women and children’s services,” Tartt said of obstetrics.

What was not decided

No formal board action followed the presentation. Commissioners asked questions about service restoration and timing; Tartt gave commitments on planning and recruitment but did not provide a firm date for reinstating labor-and-delivery services.

Sources and provenance

This article summarizes remarks and data presented by Michael Tartt and other Harnett Healthcare staff during the Sept. 30 Harnett County Board of Commissioners work session. Topic discussion began at the presentation’s opening (transcript segment starting at 1130.225) and concluded with the presenters’ closing remarks and commissioner questions (segment ending at 2266.615).