North Carolina nixes emergency center for Mount Holly

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has blocked a bid by Gaston Memorial Hospital to build a $22 million free-standing outpatient emergency center in Mount Holly. The department denied the hospital's application for a certificate of need for the project, and a spokesman for the department would not comment on the reason for the denial. A full report is due out March 6, and hospital officials have already said they would appeal the decision.