For the Village of Clemmons, it was a weekend to celebrate the arrival of the Novant Health Clemmons Medical Center.
The state-of-the-art facility was a community focal point both days with a VIP gathering Saturday evening and tours on Sunday afternoon.Ron Willard, who is chairman of the Clemmons Medical Center Foundation board of directors, said that it was another dream come true for Clemmons.
“It’s sort of the crowning of this whole Village Point,” he said. “You’ve got the Y on one side, you’ve got the school next door, you’ve got the hospital here, and you’ve got Tanglewood over there. It’s all about quality of life, improving health and great health care. On top of that, we bring 100 people here and the economic impact of that. And once this is here, people are going to want to build around it.”
More than 200 people gathered in a huge white tent beside the medical center Saturday night for the first showing in a special event that included dinner, music, remarks from dignitaries and tours of the facility.
The $23 million first phase for Clemmons Medical Center, which will ultimately result in a completed hospital by 2017, includes a 24-hour emergency department, surgical center and imaging center. It will officially open on April 3. Jeff Lindsay, president of Forsyth Medical Center, thanked everyone in attendance for playing a role in helping make Clemmons Medical Center a reality.
And although first-class health care and a network of connectivity with other area Novant practices is of the utmost importance, Lindsay said that the early vision for a medical center in 2007 quickly moved beyond the walls of a traditional facility. “So we worked with the Clemmons Town Council and the Planning Board and became participants in the development of a Comprehensive Master Plan for Village Point, which is where we are sitting today,” Lindsay said. “Just look around. There’s a school, there are new walking paths, bike paths, greenways, safe roads and new land that is available for commercial and residential development that will bring jobs and strengthen the tax base of this area. And at the heart of all that is where we’re sitting right now — Clemmons Medical Center.”
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, the local representative for the 5th District who maintains an office in Clemmons, said that these kinds of events are welcome relief in her schedule. “Such a festive occasion like this is the type of thing that makes it possible to go back to Washington each week and deal with what we have to deal with in Washington,” Foxx said. “It’s being in community celebrations and getting some encouragement from some folks who are here and being in the real world.
“This is a very, very positive thing that is happening here. Focusing on the community and focusing on patient needs is what this facility is all about.”