Pitt County Health Care

University Health Systems
Pitt County Memorial Hospital
Brody School of Medicine at ECU
East Carolina Heart Institute

KEY FACTOR SUMMARY

   Regional health care center serving 29 county region and more than 1.2 million people
   Pitt County Memorial Hospital (PCMH) is one of four designated Level I Trauma Centers in North Carolina and serves as the teaching hospital for the Brody School of Medicine at ECU
   Over 60% of PCMH patient load originates outside Pitt County
   PCMH has Active medical staff of over 575 representing more than 70 medical specialties
   Specialized services include chemotherapy, open heart surgery, gamma knife surgery, and organ transplants
   PCMH named among Top 100 Hospitals in US by Solucient and a Top 100 company for working moms by Working Mother magazine
   Pitt County among top 3 counties in N.C. for physicians per person ratio
   Room and service rates compare very favorably with state and national rates
   First medical center in N.C. to start air ambulance service (helicopter) for critically ill.  PCMH now has three helicopters in its air transport fleet.
   Ronald McDonald House for families of seriously ill children; McConnell-Raab Hope Lodge for cancer patients and caregivers
  The Heart Institute at ECU for cardiovascular outpatient services and research is scheduled to open in July 2008.  The 120-bed Heart Institute at PCMH will open in early 2009.
   Other area specialized facilities include public, mental health, alcoholic and vocational rehabilitation centers
   Several rest homes, nursing homes, and assisted living centers in area
   Brody School of Medicine research and special care centers complement local health care providers
   Private emergency care clinics available for non-critical emergency treatment

The creation of the School of Medicine at East Carolina University in 1972, followed by the construction of a modern medical center in 1976, established Greenville/Pitt County as a regional health care center in Eastern North Carolina. Pitt County has the third highest per capita ratio of physicians to population in the state of North Carolina.

Emergence as a major medical center has required the constant creation and expansion of services and new facilities to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding regional population. One such facility and service is the Ronald McDonald House, a temporary place of residence for families of critically ill children being treated at the medical center.

The following is a list of public medical facilities serving local and regional populations:

All of these facilities are located in the medical district, with the exception of the Vocational Center, the Public Health Center, and the Bernstein Community Health Center which are located in the Greenville Industrial Park. There are many other private, for-profit centers providing health care to regional populations in such areas as neurology, plastic surgery, C-T scanning, home health, radiology, and physical therapy.

UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEMS OF EASTERN CAROLINA

In 1998, PCMH was transformed from a publicly owned hospital with a mission of regional service to a private, not-for-profit five-hospital regional health care system. The reorganization enables the hospital and its health system to compete more effectively with other health systems, thus ensuring the availability of high quality care, clinical staff and physicians into the foreseeable future.

UHS is one of the largest health systems in North Carolina and consists of seven hospitals and several subsidiaries.  Serving 29 counties and 1.2 million people, it provides comprehensive, leading-edge services that cover every aspect of health care, from wellness and prevention to rehabilitation, home care and hospice.  The system also includes physician practices, home health and other independently operated health services.  UHS is affiliated with the Brody School of Medicine.

Subsidiaries and affiliates:

1) Carolina Summit Healthcare, Inc. provides health plan administration services to its customers.

2) East Carolina Health serves as the governing liaison and management oversight division for UHS community hospitals.  Those hospitals are:

• Heritage Hospital in Tarboro, a 117-bed facility owned by UHS;
• Outer Banks Hospital in Nags Head, a 19-bed facility jointly owned with Chesapeake Health;
• Bertie Memorial Hospital in Windsor, a 6-bed critical access hospital leased by UHS;
• Chowan Hospital in Edenton, an 89-bed facility leased by UHS;
• Roanoke-Chowan Hospital in Ahoskie, a 114-bed facility leased by UHS; and
• Duplin General Hospital in Kenansville, a 101-bed facility managed by UHS.

3) HealthAccess is an umbrella organization focusing on home health care along with wellness programs through ViQuest.  ViQuest wellness centers are located in Greenville and Ahoskie.

4) Pitt County Memorial Hospital (PCMH) is a 761-bed tertiary referral facility in Greenville that also serves as the teaching hospital for the Brody School of Medicine.  PCMH has seven "Centers of Excellence" that offer state-of-the-art care.  These are the Cardiovascular Center, the Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center, the Regional Rehabilitation Center, the Children's Hospital, the Level I Trauma and Critical Care Center, the Bariatric Surgery Center, and the Women's Clinic.

PCMH 2007 Fiscal Year Highlights:

• Bariatric Nursing Consortium received the 2007 Magnet Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in nursing given by the American Nurses Credentialing Center;
• Created an Office of Medical Affairs to work closely with partner physicians;
• Became one of the first hospitals in the nation to test all admitted patients for MRSA in order to reduce hospital-acquired infections;
• Received a Center of Excellence designation for its bariatric surgery program from the American Society for Bariatric Surgery; and
• Achieved certification as a Primary Stroke Center and has a dedicated stroke response team that provides rapid, effective treatment for stroke victims.

5) SurgiCenter Services of Pitt, Inc. in Greenville is a freestanding, not-for-profit ambulatory surgery center.  The 32,500 sf center is staffed by 170 physicians and support personnel.

6) Five regional hospitals have formal affiliation agreements with UHS.  These are Beaufort County Hospital in Washington, Carteret General Hospital in Morehead City, Halifax Regional Medical Center in Roanoke Rapids, Onslow Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, and Pungo District Hospital in Belhaven.

For more information: www.uhseast.com .  Click here for a map showing UHS's service territory.

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*Combined Revenue and Expenses for all University Health Systems operations

General Health Statistics for Pitt County, 2007
Physicians per 1000 persons: 4.01 (585)
Dentists per 1000 persons: .47 (68)
 

Services and Facilities at Pitt County Memorial Hospital

Trauma Center
Emergency Department
Operating Rooms
Neurosurgery and Trauma ICU
Injury Prevention Program

Regional Rehabilitation Center
General Rehabilitation
Stroke Rehabilitation
Spinal Cord Injury Rehab
Traumatic Brain Injury Rehab
Pediatric Rehabilitation
Day Rehabilitation
Outpatient Rehabilitation
ViQuest Rehabilitation
Aquatics Program
Medical Acupuncture
New Horizons Square
InRoads Driver Assessment
Hand Program
Vestibular Rehabilitation
Vocational Evaluation and Rehab
Lymphedema Management
Orthotics and Prosthetics Program
Cochlear Implant Program

Cardiovascular Center
Cardiac surgical and medical ICU
Coronary artery bypass graft
Thoracic surgery
Minimally invasive robotic surgery
Laser Removal of Pacer Wires
Cardiac catheterization
Electrophysiology/Pacemaker labs
Echocardiography Center
Vascular services
Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation
Heart Failure program

Children's Hospital
General pediatric care
Diabetes education
Pediatric cardiology
Dialysis
Sedation services
Asthma Program
Cleft palate/craniofacial clinic
Complex and chronic conditions
Child abuse prevention
Neonatal Intensive Care Level III
Pediatric Intensive Care
Developmental Feeding Program
Child Life Program
In-Hospital School program

Cancer Center
Gamma Knife Center
Support Groups
Gynecologic Oncology
Medical Oncology & Hematology
Pediatric Oncology
Surgical Oncology
Radiation Oncology
Lung/Thoracic Oncology Clinic
Photodynamic Therapy
Biotherapy
Breast Wellness Center
Clinical Trials

Women's Center
Labor & Delivery
Antepartum/Postpartum Unit
Gynecology and GYN-Oncology Unit
Newborn Nursery and Convelescent Unit
Childbirth and newborn care classes
Lactation services

Bariatric Surgery Center
Gastric bypass surgery
LAP-BAND gastric banding surgery
Bariatric wellness programs

Community Health Programs
Pitt Partners for Health
School Health Programs
Senior Services Programs
Pediatric healthy weight case management

Behavioral Health
Acute Care
Electroconvulsive Therapy
Geropsychiatry
Mentally retarded/mentally ill unit
General Adult Program

Outpatient Services
Ambulatory medical unit - MedDirect
Ambulatory surgical unit - Surgicenter Services
Burn outpatient service
Hemodialysis Unit
Observation Unit
Pain Management Center
Sleep Center
Wound Healing Center

Outpatient Lab Services
Gastroenterology Lab
Pulmonary Diagnostics Lab
Urodynamics Lab

Radiology
Diagnostic/Fluoroscopic Radiology
Portable/Mobile Radiology
Mammography
Vascular/Interventional Radiology
Nuclear Medicine
Computed Tomography (CT)
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Ultrasound
Ambulatory Radiology Unit

 

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THE BRODY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT ECU

The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University represents over four decades of desire and dedicated service by university officials, community physicians, local business and governmental leaders, and state legislators. Originally committed to expanding opportunities for medical education in North Carolina and improving health care delivery to state residents, the school's clinical services, degree programs and research activities have grown well beyond original expectations since it opened its doors to the first twenty-eight students in 1977.  The Brody School of Medicine is now recognized as the country's most successful medical school in terms of meeting its mission of training primary care physicians, providing access to minority and disadvantaged medical students and improving the health of the people of our region.

Today, the full-time faculty includes 300 physicians and research scientists actively engaged in basic and clinical research as well as contractual product testing services. About 310 medical students and 50 doctoral students are enrolled and approximately 300 physicians participate in 28 residency and fellowship programs.  In addition to the M.D. programs, Ph.D. programs are offered in anatomy and cell biology, biochemistry, microbiology and immunology, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology. Accredited residency programs include: pathology and laboratory medicine, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatric medicine, surgery, and physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Facilities

The Brody Medical Sciences Building is the center of the School of Medicine's education, service, and research programs. Opened in 1982 and expanded in 1990, this nine-story 489,000 square-foot facility houses the basic and clinical science departments, and has several conference rooms, well-equipped laboratories, and a 525-seat auditorium in addition to classrooms and administrative offices.  The Brody Outpatient Center is located on the first floor of the Brody Building and was renovated in 1998..  Patients from throughout the region visit the Outpatient Center for general, diagnostic, and subspecialty ambulatory care.

The Biotechnology Center, completed in 1988, provides specialized areas to accommodate the advanced instrumentation requirements of biotechnology, as well as additional office and laboratory space for faculty involved in molecular biology and genetics research. The program provides core research facilities for:  flow cytometry (analytical and sorting); amino acid and protein analysis; automated peptide sequencing and synthesis; manual DNA sequencing; polymerase chain reaction; x-ray developing; monoclonal antibody services; access to computerized international molecular biology databases and analysis programs; access to computerized molecular modeling; and a discount molecular biology enzyme and reagent stock service.

Children's outpatient clinics are housed in the ground floor of the biotechnology building.  The Pediatric Outpatient Center accommodates the school's many specialty and general health clinics for infants, children, and adolescents.

The Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center, opened in 1985, is a 39,000 square-foot facility located between the Brody Medical Sciences Building and Pitt County Memorial Hospital. The center houses treatment services in radiation oncology, gynecologic oncology, medical oncology and hematology, pediatric hematology and oncology, and surgical oncology. The center enables area physicians to administer the full spectrum of treatment and ensures that its patients have access to state-of-the-art techniques and national treatment protocols. The Center also supports basic science, clinical and epidemiological research into the causes and treatment of cancer, and sponsors educational programs about cancer for health professionals, patients, and the general public.

The addition of the 8,700 sf Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center in 1988 introduced a new and sophisticated imaging tool to aid physicians in the diagnosis of certain diseases. MRI scans provide strikingly clear images of the human anatomy without surgery, pain or exposure to ionizing radiation. The Center includes rooms for patient reception, counseling, film developing, offices and operations.

The Eastern Carolina Family Medicine Center, designed as a model clinic for Family Medicine practitioners, serves an educational as well as a health care delivery purpose. The 28,000 square-foot facility adjacent to the Cancer Center draws patients from a 50-mile radius of Greenville and serves as many as 1,000 patients per week. In addition to standard family practice services, the Center also provides physical therapy, psychology, sports medicine and dental services. The Family Practice Center has been operational since 1977.

The Edward N. Warren Life Sciences Building, a 60,000 square foot facility, was dedicated in 1999. The building provides researchers laboratory space to house their equipment and conduct research as well as providing comfortable housing for research animals.  The facility also includes operating rooms for experimental procedures, a cardiac catheterization lab, classrooms, and seminar rooms.

The William E. Laupus Health Services Library was founded in 1969 and serves the School of Medicine and the Colleges of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences. In 2006, the Laupus Library moved to its present location in the new Health Sciences Building.  The three-story, 71,000 sf facility contains 158,457 bound volumes and offers over 8,700 journals in print and electronic formats. In addition to major printed resources, the Library also provides an extensive collection of slides, videocassettes, audiotapes, and models. Computer assisted instructional programs are also available in the library's computer laboratory.  The library's catalog is on-line and many of the HSL resources can be assessed remotely through the internet.

Other facilities include:  1) The Developmental Evaluation Clinic - a section of the Department of Pediatrics; 2) ECU Women's Physicians - the group practice of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; 3) Firetower Medical Office - a model practice including family physicians, general internists, and pediatricians; 4) Medical Pavilion complex - general internal medicine, cardiology, gastroenterology, and pulmonology practices; 5) ECU Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - the group practice of surgical subspecialty; and 6) ECU Dialysis Center - 25 dialysis stations and the clinical practice of the nephrology section.

For more information contact:

Phyllis Horns, Interim Dean
Brody School of Medicine
Brody Medical Sciences Building
Greenville, NC 27858-4354
252-744-2201
www.ecu.edu

For a map of the Medical School complex, click here.

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THE EAST CAROLINA HEART INSTITUTE

In 2004, UHS and ECU announced plans for the East Carolina Heart Institute, a new approach that will offer one center of excellence for innovations in cardiovascular disease reasearch, treatment, prevention, and education.

The Heart Institute has two primary facilities.  The Heart Institute at ECU will house offices and research labs for cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, vascular surgeons, and scientists.  The four-story, $60 million, 206,000 sf building also will house outpatient treatment facilities and educational facilities for students, physicians, and scientists when it opens in July 2008.

The Heart Institute at PCMH is a six-story, $150 million, 375,000 sf state-of-the-art cardiovascular hospital.  The faiclity will have 120 patient beds, operating rooms, 13 interventional labs, diagnostics services, and patient and family support services.  It is scheduled to open in early 2009.

The Heart Institute medical staff is made up of more than 30 specialists and subspecialists drawn from both the private practice community and the Brody School of Medicine.  Dr. Randolph Chitwood serves as medical director.

For more information, visit www.eastcarolinaheartinstitute.com

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