Novant Health has asked the state to build a freestanding emergency department at the old plaza at Robinhood Rd & Peacehaven Rd, duplicating two major hospitals already minutes away. Written comments have closed. The public hearing is the last word residents get — and showing up in person is what counts now.
Put together by neighbors who drive this corner every day — not a company or a committee.
This is the state's official hearing on the Robinhood Road application. It is open to anyone, no sign-up required, and what you say goes into the record the agency must weigh.
Can't make the 18th? Attendance still matters even if you don't speak — a full room is part of the record. If you can't come at all, the most useful thing you can do is get someone who can.
A separate hearing on August 20 at 11:00 a.m. (Piedmont Triad Regional Council, 1398 Carrollton Crossing Drive, Kernersville) covers Novant's request for 63 more beds at Forsyth Medical Center — the expansion that undercuts the case for this ER. Different project, same argument.
Answer a few questions and this assembles a short spoken statement in your words, grounded in the legal criteria the state actually weighs. Print it, or read it off your phone at the podium — nobody expects you to speak from memory. Nothing here is saved or sent anywhere; it's yours.
Enter your address on the city's official ward map, then pick your ward below.
Find your ward →Read it slowly. Two minutes is longer than it feels, and the analyst is taking notes — pauses help her. If you lose your place, it is completely fine to stop and find it.
Council emails are public record, and that is fine — a real name and a real street address are exactly what makes this land. Sending from your own email account, in your own words, counts for far more than a form.
A full room changes how a hearing reads. Leave your email and we'll send you a reminder the day before, plus the room and parking details:
The state decides whether Novant may build an emergency department. The city still decides a great deal about how — and residents have a voice at that table long after the state review ends.
Decides whether the project is approved at all. Written comments closed July 31; the public hearing is August 18. If it's approved, people who commented or spoke may appeal.
Even with state approval, the project still needs local sign-off: site plan review, a driveway permit from NCDOT, and compliance with city standards for buffering, lighting, and traffic. Sustained resident pressure here produces conditions, changes, and delay.
Your council member is the person who can ask the hard questions on your behalf — request a full traffic impact analysis, insist on a community meeting before anything is approved, and press city staff on whether this use fits the adopted area plan for this corner. Before August 18, the most useful thing they can do is weigh in with the state, or come to the hearing.
Robinhood Road runs along a ward boundary — properties in this corridor commonly fall in the West Ward or the Northwest Ward, but that flips street by street. Don't guess; look up your address.
Find your ward on the city's map →City Council meets at 6:00 p.m. on the first and third Monday of each month at 101 North Main Street. On the third Monday there's a 30-minute public comment period, open to any topic — sign up with the City Clerk in the lobby outside Council Chambers between 5:30 and 5:55 p.m., and comments are limited to three minutes. That's a standing opportunity that doesn't depend on this project being on the agenda.
Write to my council member →North Carolina decides these applications mainly on two questions: is there a real, unmet need, and would it unnecessarily duplicate services that already exist? On both, this falls short.
Project details reported by the Winston-Salem Journal. The bed expansion is in the state's own notice, “Four Compete for Acute Care Beds in Forsyth County” (PDF). Verify everything on the NC DHSR application log.
It moves on a fixed clock. Three of the four steps are behind us — the hearing is the last one residents can act on.
Novant submitted its Certificate of Need application. The state opened a 30-day review.
The written window has ended. Neighbors put their objections into the official file; those comments are now part of the record the agency must address.
Kernersville Town Hall. Anyone may speak, whether or not they commented in writing. This is the moment with the leverage now.
The agency approves or denies, in writing, with findings against each criterion. People who commented or spoke may appeal an approval.
Traffic counts, footage from the intersection, news coverage, and the resources behind this effort — added as they’re collected and verified. Faces and license plates blurred; nothing posted without consent.
We're also requesting official crash records for this intersection from NCDOT's Traffic Safety Unit to put on the record.
Showing up on the 18th is the big one. These multiply it.
Write your two-minute remarks →Saw a near-miss or a bad backup at Robinhood & Peacehaven? Time-stamped photos and short clips become evidence the state can weigh.
Submit a photo or note →The hearing is at 10 a.m. on a workday, 25 minutes away in Kernersville — which is exactly why turnout will be low unless neighbors organize rides. If you're driving, take a car full.
Add me to the list →This runs on numbers — every neighbor in that room adds weight to the record. Send the site to a few people who’d care; one share can turn into a full row of seats.
Join the neighbors on record. We’ll send you a reminder before the August 18 hearing — and, if you allow it, your name helps establish that residents here want to be heard, and to appeal if it comes to that. This list is never published or shared; it’s used only for this effort.
Stored privately, used only to organize this effort. We don’t publish or sell the list.