Blue Ridge Health is planning a new medical facility in Hendersonville that will expand patient care and provide a new home for a longtime family medicine residency program.

Blue Ridge Health has acquired about two acres at 617 and 621 Whitted Street, near UNC Health Pardee and the Pardee Health Sciences Center, for the planned three-story facility.

The building will become the new home of the Hendersonville Family Medicine Residency Program, which is operated through a partnership between Blue Ridge Health, the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) and UNC Health Pardee.

Blue Ridge Health said the new facility is intended to address limitations at the residency program's current clinic while providing additional exam rooms and more space for clinical care, teaching, meetings and administrative work.

"The new Blue Ridge Health Family Medical Building will be an investment not only in a new facility, but in the future of patient care and family medicine physician training in Western North Carolina," Blue Ridge Health CEO Tammy Greenwell said.

Plans call for the first floor to house the family medicine residency clinic and a drive-through pharmacy. The second floor would include residency offices, conference and teaching space, while the third floor would be reserved for future expansion.

The location will also keep resident physicians close to UNC Health Pardee for inpatient rotations and on-call responsibilities while they continue outpatient training through Blue Ridge Health.

The program has grown significantly since it began three decades ago, increasing from three residents to 18 while remaining in the same space, according to Greenwell.

"We're housed on the campus of UNC Health Pardee, but we've been in the same space since we had those three residents, and now we have 18. So we definitely need more space," Greenwell said.

Health leaders say the additional space could also allow the program to train more medical professionals at a time when communities across western North Carolina continue to face challenges accessing health care.

"What it really means is we're going to have the opportunity to train more medical professionals for our community and for our region, and that's something that we all can get excited about," said Dr. John Bryant, vice president of operations and support services for UNC Health Pardee.

The program could also play a role in keeping more physicians in western North Carolina. Greenwell said Blue Ridge Health has looked at where residency program graduates have gone after completing their training.

"Around 40% of them actually have stayed in western North Carolina, which is amazing. We want to increase that amount. We want more people to stay here," she said.
Greenwell said expanding the residency program could also increase the number of patients who are able to receive care locally.

"We feel that creating a larger medical facility space for the residents to practice in will actually be able to provide additional access for patients in the community to get the care and services that they need," Greenwell said.

Plans call for the first floor to house the family medicine residency clinic and a drive-through pharmacy. The second floor would include residency offices, conference and teaching space, while the third floor would be reserved for future expansion.

Blue Ridge Health plans to launch a capital campaign in 2027 to support construction of the facility, with the goal of beginning construction in early 2028. The organization is accepting donations here.

STORY & PHOTO COURTESY OF ABC 13 WLOS.