Cone Health’s Med Center Asheboro

ASHEBORO — Cone Health has big plans for Randolph County, even as it becomes part of Risant Health, a nonprofit charitable organization created by Kaiser Foundation Hospitals.

Cone Health Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mary Jo Cagle spoke recently with the Hub about plans for the Randolph County facility under construction and how joining Risant Health will have positive benefits for local patients.

Med Center Asheboro

What’s being called Med Center Asheboro is expected to open in early November on Spero Road, just off I-73 north of Asheboro. It came about when Randolph Health was purchased by American Health Care after the local hospital applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

For years, Cone and Randolph had been partners in the Randolph Health Cancer Center. That partnership was voided since Cone is a nonprofit and American Health Care is a for-profit organization. Government regulations don’t allow such a partnership.

For that reason, Cone Health would own the Cancer Center but would have to leave the Randolph Health site. A search for a site within 10 miles of Randolph Health led to the property on Spero Road.

In designing the new facility, Cagle said, Cone administrators talked to Asheboro Mayor David Smith, City Council members and local doctors and asked, “What services does Randolph County need?”

“That led to Med Center Asheboro,” said Cagle, who pointed out that Cone Health already has med centers in Greensboro, High Point, Kernersville and Mebane. “A med center provides several services in one location.”

Cagle said Med Center Asheboro will have not only services for cancer patients but also an urgent care, facilities to perform X-rays and C-T scans, primary care physicians, lab testing and a pharmacy.

The idea is to provide comprehensive service, Cagle said.

“We’re looking at how to do health and wellness,” she said, including, for example, dietary and exercise counseling for patients who have suffered heart failure.

That’s a big reason why Cone Health became the naming sponsor for the Zoo City Sportsplex on Zoo Parkway. It’s meant to support staying healthy, Cagle said.

“With the Med Center, someone comes here, their doctor is here, they get tests here or an X-ray,” Cagle said. “A lot of needs are met in one place. They’re in and out pretty quickly.”

Deciding what to have at Med Center Asheboro didn’t stop there. 

“We involved people in the community to help design it,” Cagle said. “When it opens in November, it will reflect what Randolph County likes, even the art and colors and decorating. We got a great response and chose art from locals.”

Cagle said construction is on schedule since the ground-breaking in February. Ribbon cutting is expected the first week in November.

“It’s easy to get to,” she said. “It’s very exciting.”

Joining Risant Health

Cagle then addressed Cone Health becoming a part of Risant Health. The Greensboro-based health system becomes the second organization to join Risant, following Geisinger in Danville, PA. 

The Geisinger/Risant announcement came in the spring of 2023. “We got calls from doctors who asked, ‘Have you seen this?’ ”

Cagle said her doctors and administrators have “wanted to have high-quality care and keep a reasonable cost for everyone. ‘Is there something Cone can do?’ ”

The idea, Cagle said, is to “increase access to medical care regardless of income so people are able to get to the doctor and services while we control the cost of health care.

“Risant contacted us and we met with their team,” she said. “Then our Board of Trustees asked, ‘Do we want to know more?’ We took a year to learn what it would bring: How would it help Cone Health execute its strategy?

“The vision of Risant is to bring all kinds of services, technology and people to help us do what we want to do,” Cagle said. “Risant’s technology, skills and knowledge allows us to move much faster.

“We want to do more in Randolph County with Toyota and others coming,” she said. “We need to provide for a growing population, to improve the health of the community.”

Cagle said Risant wanted to involve physicians to learn how they could help. A group met with Risant and said, “This is exactly what we need, to do what we need to do to serve more patients.”

Cagle listed four facets of Cone Health’s plan to improve its operations.

•Clinical — The best research to treat ailments for the best outcomes at the best price.

•Patients — Helping them find their way around the system. One idea is to provide an app on the patient’s cell phone or tablet that will tell them where they need to go, to set up appointments and show them a map of how to get there.

•Physician management — Provide business tools for the hospital to be more efficient, thus less costly.

•Economic — Help purchase goods at better prices.

“We’re planning to close the deal by early December or early January,” Cagle said. That involves much paperwork for state and federal agencies.

“We’re planning now,” Cagle said. “We’ll still be Cone Health with the same doctors, the same nurses. And we may add more doctors.

“I think it’s going to be easier for everybody. Less confusing is our goal.”