With one week to go before the state's August 15 deadline to submit hospital applications for 41 available beds in Wake County, the race is on to collect public letters of support.

All three of the clear competitors - Rex Healthcare, WakeMed and Novant - have issued public appeals on their websites. WakeMed even ran an ad in last weekend's News and Observer. But Novant has clearly been the most aggressive contender, distributing and collecting letters at community meetings and events as it builds its reputation in Holly Springs. The town of Holly Springs has been talking with providers for over 5 years about bringing health care facilities to the community and has been actively involved in supporting Novant's efforts.

We talked with Chief Operating Officer Mark Billings and Mayor Dick Sears about Novant's campaign to build a community hospital in Holly Springs. Click on the video link above to hear what they had to say.

• 
  What are the hospitals proposing?
• *Novant wants to build a 46-bed* full-service community hospital, offering a 24-hour emergency department, maternity services, inpatient and outpatient surgery, and imaging.(*five beds would technically be "unlicensed beds")
  
  *Rex Healthcare wants to add beds at its Raleigh campus, using 26 of the beds to expand what it says are crowded maternity facilities and 15 for general use.
  
  *WakeMed wants to add the 41 beds available to 20 beds it is already planning to relocate from its Raleigh campus to WakeMed North, off Falls of the Neuse Road. The plan is to build a dedicated Women's Hospital on the site that already includes a freestanding emergency department and outpatient surgery center.

Will letters of support make a difference?

According to Jeff Horton, of the State Division of Health Service Regulation, public comment is encouraged during the review process.

"Public comments are very important in everything we do; however, CON reviews are a very complex process and involve reviewing and analyzing a number of factors to determine if applicants adequately address (conform) with CON criteria as required by North Carolina law," said Horton.

Horton added that letters may be submitted with the initial application and are accepted up to 30 days after the first day of the month following the application deadline. A public hearing also offers a chance for comments. He anticipates the public hearing on the Wake county beds to be held sometime in early October.

What do you think?  Does Wake County need another full-service hospital?
Share your comments below.