The proposed clinic planned for Belhaven after Vidant Pungo Hospital closes will be built between the post office and Food Lion shopping center, according to Vidant Health officials.

On Friday, Vidant Health purchased 19.4 acres in the town for the new multispecialty clinic that would be open 24 hours a day. The clinic will be located at 601 Old County Road. The land is south of U.S. Highway 264.

It will take about 18 months to design and build the new 12,000-square-foot clinic, according to Vidant Health. The project cost is $4.2 million. The clinic grounds will include a helipad for air transport to a hospital such as Vidant Medical Center in Greenville.

“In September, the Vidant Pungo Hospital Board of Directors voted to move forward with plans to provide sustainable health care by building the new 24-hour clinic to serve eastern Beaufort and Hyde counties,” said Roger Robertson, president of Vidant Community Hospitals, in a news release. “We will continue to work with state and local officials as we transition care to our interim facilities and eventually over to the new clinic.”

Many Belhaven-area residents and town officials have said the new clinic won’t provide the level of emergency medical care the area’s residents need or deserve. They prefer for the hospital to remain open, with some upgrades and modifications.

Belhaven and Beaufort County leaders have rejected Vidant Health offers to mitigate the impact that closing the hospital would have on EMS responses in the Belhaven area. One of those offers included funding to expand and enhance the county’s EMT coverage to the paramedic level.

Town residents and others have conducted rallies opposing the closing of the hospital. At a September forum regarding the hospital’s closing, most of the speakers voice their displeasure with the announced closing and concerns with health care delivery once the hospital is closed.

The new multispecialty clinic will offer primary and specialty care, urgent and emergent care 24-hours a day, according to Vidant Health. The new facility will treat patients regardless of their ability to pay.

Once the current hospital closes, physician and outpatient services will be made available at the Vidant Medical Group practices in Belhaven. Twenty-four hour care will be available at Vidant Family Medicine on Haslin Street in Belhaven. Primary and specialty care will be offered at the Vidant Family Medicine locations on Allen and Water streets in Belhaven.