Louisburg, N.C. — The state government denied Franklin Regional Medical Center administrators' request to move the hospital from Louisburg to Youngsville.

The state Division of Health Service Regulation informed Louisburg's attorneys of its decision Wednesday afternoon, said town councilman Boyd Sturges.

Sturges said he did not know the specific reasoning behind the state's decision.

The Louisburg Town Council would like the medical center administrators to find another location in Louisburg, said Sturges.

Hospital administrators wanted to move from their 8-acre site on U.S. Highway 401 in Louisburg, where the medical center has been treating patients in Franklin and surrounding counties for 55 years.

Administrators proposed to build a $96 million, 184,323-square-foot facility on a 50-acre plot at the corner of U.S. Highway 1 and N.C. Highway 96 in Youngsville. The facility would have provided 70 acute care beds and three operating rooms.

Hospital administrators said the move was necessary to update their facilities and to take care of the growing population in Youngsville.

The town of Louisburg hired an attorney to oppose the move, saying that it would decrease the quality of medical care in the town.

At an April 17 meeting, several Franklin County commissioners said they wanted the hospital to stay in the center of the county.