of Novant Health UVA Health System and the hospitals in Culpeper, Manassas, and Haymarket. Comprehensive Stroke Center certifications On 23 June 2017, it was reported that Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center had achieved a Comprehensive Stroke Center designation from the Joint Commission and American Heart Association, the first hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina with the designation and the second within the Novant Health system. Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina was previously designated as a Comprehensive Stroke Center in 2012, and has been re-certified three times. Comprehensive Stroke Center certification recognizes hospitals that meet standards to treat the most complex stroke cases, and is the highest level of stroke certification available. Inner-market expansion Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center opened in October 2018 , the system's first new hospital campus in several years after more than a decade of planning and construction that was slowed down by the 2008 Great Recession. The Mint Hill, North Carolina facility opening was the highest profile example of Novant Health's strategy to expand services within its existing markets after several failed ventures into new markets, including the sale of Gaffney Medical Center in Gaffney, SC in 2014, the closure of Franklin Medical Center in Louisburg, NC in 2015, and the terminated acquisition of Memorial Health in Savannah, GA in 2016. Novant Health has also expanded capacity at its other North Carolina regional facilities including Clemmons, Kernersville, and Huntersville. In 2018 and 2019, Novant Health made several large real estate purchases for future growth including the former Sears store at Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, NC, a large medical office building in the SouthPark region of Charlotte, NC, and the Hall Family Farm in the Ballantyne area of south Charlotte for a future medical center. Novant Health Institute of Innovation & Artificial Intelligence (AI) Novant Health announced the launch of the Novant Health Institute of Innovation & Artificial Intelligence (AI) in June 2019. The institute will "focus on the advanced technologies required to provide highly personalized care and accelerated solutions with actionable data and insights for preventative prediction, diagnosis and treatment to Novant Health's patients." Controversies In 2021 Novant faced controversy after firing 175 healthcare workers for not taking a mandated COVID 19 vaccine. At the time it was one of the largest-ever mass terminations due to a vaccine mandate In late October 2021, a jury awarded a previous Novant white male executive