Louisburg officials sue Rex Healthcare

Louisburg officials filed a lawsuit Wednesday against one of the partners in a project to move Franklin County’s only hospital out of the city.

Posted 11:00 p.m. May 28, 2008 — Updated 1:13 a.m. May 29, 2008

LOUISBURG, N.C. — Louisburg officials filed a lawsuit Wednesday against one of the partners in a project to move Franklin County’s only hospital out of the city.

The lawsuit names Rex Healthcare and its non-profit parent company, UNC Healthcare. The suit asks the court to make public any confidential agreement Rex made for WakeMed or any other hospital to remain silent during the state’s review of the application to move Franklin Regional Medical Center.

The state last month quashed a proposed move of Franklin Regional from its location on U.S. Highway 401 in Louisburg to a site in Youngsville.

The partners appealed the decision in mid-May.

Hospital administrators said the move to Youngsville is necessary to accommodate Franklin County's growing population. The $103 million hospital proposed for the new location would include 188,000 square feet of space and provide 70 acute-care beds and three operating rooms.

It was the second time the hospital's move has been rejected. Franklin Regional added support from Rex Hospital after an initial application failed last summer.

Rex Hospital and Franklin Regional conducted a poll in Franklin County in January and reported that they found 70 percent of residents favored the proposed move. Louisburg town officials discounted the results, claiming the poll questions were skewed in favor of the move.

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