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RAEFORD - FirstHealth of the Carolinas and the Surgery Center of Pinehurst announced plans Monday to build a $3.5 million, for-profit outpatient surgical facility in Raeford, pending approval from the state.

The facility is part of the health care system's larger initiative to build a medical campus that includes an eight-bed hospital in Raeford, said Stewart Voelpel, chief operating officer of FirstHealth, who spoke at the Hoke County Board of Commissioners meeting.

The proposed outpatient facility would serve a four-county area, including Hoke, Cumberland, Robeson and Scotland counties, Voelpel said.

The facility would have two operating rooms, which could be used by doctors from the four-county region, regardless of hospital affiliation. It is expected to bring 20 new jobs to the county, Voelpel said.

As a for-profit entity, the company would pay property taxes to the county. Not-for-profit health systems aren't required to pay property taxes. Voelpel said the facility could break ground in 2010, and be completed in fall 2011, if it is approved by the state and there is no opposition from another health care organization.

FirstHealth's announcement was another step in what has become a race for medical market share in the fast-growing county between FirstHealth and Cape Fear Valley Health System.

FirstHealth, which operates Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, and Cape Fear Valley Health System in Fayetteville, have both requested permission from the state to build a hospital in or near Hoke.

Cape Fear Valley wants to build a 41-room, $79 million hospital in Cumberland County on the Hoke County line.

The state, which regulates such matters, could make a decision in November.

Cape Fear Valley also plans to expand an existing health care clinic in Raeford by building a new structure on Highway 401 in Raeford. The new facility, which does not need approval from the state, would include state-of-the-art diagnostic services.