BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) — Patients will be moving from Brunswick Community Hospital to the new Brunswick Novant Medical Center on Sunday, July 31.

The current BCH emergency room will close at 5:59 a.m. on Sunday and the new emergency department at BNMC will open at 6 a.m. At approximately 7 a.m., hospital staff will begin to move patients to their new location with the help of Health Care Relocations, which has moved more than 250 hospitals since its inception in 1993.

“We are excited about opening the new hospital in a county where local residents have so passionately declared the need for increased access to healthcare,” said Denise Mihal, Brunswick Community Hospital president, in a news release. “Our leaders, physicians, nurses and staff will work to ensure that this hospital lives up to the community’s expectations and that it is a model of patient care both locally and across the state.”

The new hospital will reportedly feature 74 acute care beds, four observation beds and an additional operating room for five total operating rooms. Amy Myers, with Brunswick Community Hospital, says there will be a 24-hour emergency department, maternity center, intensive and progressive care units, surgical services, imaging and laboratory services, as well as physical therapy, speech therapy, cardiac rehabilitation and pulmonary rehabilitation.

SOUTHPORT, NC (WECT) - Boaters, get ready to show off in September.  Organizers of the 2nd Annual Southport Wooden Boat Show are trying to gather as many local boats as possible.

PHOTO GALLERY

See pictures from the Sotuhport Wooden Boat Show.

The show will be held on Saturday, September 24 from 10am until 4pm. Boats will be displayed in and around the historic Old Yacht Basin in Southport.

The event includes various nautical exhibits and demonstrations such as net mending, marlin spike craftsmanship, canvas work, old boat building tools, model boats, and a talk on shrimping.  There will also be activities for children such as toy boat building and sailing, face painting, knot tying, and more.

Admission is free.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) — The state Division of Marine Fisheries lifted a water quality swimming advisory in Brunswick County.

An  advisory was issued because water tested high for bacteria levels. The areas were retested and the levels have dropped below the state and EPA’s standards, according to a news release.

Original story:

An advisory has been issued for an area in Brunswick County because of high bacteria levels in the water.

State officials found yesterday that the bacteria levels exceed the state and Environmental Protection Agency’s recreational water quality standards in the Cape Fear River located at the beach adjacent to the Southport municipal pier in Southport.

According to a news release from the N.C. Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, a sign has been posted that says swimming is not recommended within 200 feet of the sign.