| Health Care in Wilmington |  |
 At the forefront of health care in the Cape Fear region is New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, the primary provider of advanced medical care in a seven-county region. The 628-bed hospital is the flagship of the New Hanover Health Network, one of the state’s 10 largest health care providers. The network provides emergency medical services, hospice care and a hospitality house for families and friends of patients as well as a popular Vitaline service in which callers can speak to nurses 24 hours a day about health questions. In 2003, the facility was awarded the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence – one of 70 in the world to be designated.The many specialty centers within the network include The Oaks Behavioral Health Hospital, which provides inpatient and outpatient care for adults, and Coastal Rehabilitation Hospital, which helps patients with serious injury or disease recover mobility and independence. The Coastal Heart Center’s cardiac/pulmonary rehabilitation program is among the largest in the state, and the Zimmer Cancer Center consolidates cancer outpatient services in a soothing environment. In 2002, it was designated a Teaching Hospital Cancer Program by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer – one of only four recognized in North Carolina. Growing families should be thrilled with the expansion of the medical center’s women’s and children’s services. About 3,400 babies are born in this facility each year, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, for babies born premature or critically ill, is one of only 12 such facilities in the state. In 1998, New Hanover Regional opened a pediatrics unit and is home of the region’s only pulmonary clinic for children. Murals on the walls, a large playroom and a nurse’s station shaped like a boat help make children feel more at home during their stay. A Transitional Unit helps parents with preterm babies learn to care for them with the help of nurses. Patients and their families are encouraged to visit the Consumer Health Library, one of the few of its kind in the state, which offers easy access to more information about health matters as well as Internet services. In addition to specialty areas including orthopedics, neurology, geriatrics, diabetes services and a sleep disorder center, New Hanover Regional has one of the region’s only Level II trauma centers. New Hanover Regional is currently undergoing a four-year, $190 million expansion project that will update and expand facilities for surgical and family services, increase capacity for serving patients, and improve access and effectiveness of outpatient services. One of the highlights is a $44 million, 149-bed women’s and children’s center that will include a six-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Two other local hospitals, Cape Fear and Pender Memorial, are also under the New Hanover Health Network umbrella. Cape Fear, a 141-bed facility in Wilmington, specializes in orthopedic procedures. Pender, an 86-bed facility about 25 miles north of Wilmington, offers general acute medical and skilled nursing services. Other health-care facilities around town include Wilmington SurgCare on South 17th Street, a Medicare-certified outpatient surgical facility. Same-day procedures are performed in such specialties as orthopedics, plastic surgery, gynecology, ophthalmology, oral surgery, podiatry, urology and neurosurgery. In coastal Brunswick County, residents are served by Dosher Memorial Hospital, a 100-bed facility in Southport. The hospital celebrated 100 years of service in 2005. Dosher – named in honor of Dr. Julius Arthur Dosher, a surgeon who worked there in the 1930s – has always received exceptional support from local citizens. In fact, Brunswick County and the City of Southport raised money, which was matched by the Duke Endowment Fund, to build and open the hospital in 1930. That tradition continued in 1976 when voters ensured the hospital’s survival by approving a bond issue to update and improve the hospital. In 2000, the hospital doubled in size with the opening of its Skilled Nursing Facility and recently finished an expansion of its emergency department and operating rooms along with physical therapy, diagnostic, imaging and cardiopulmonary services. Dosher Memorial offers a wide variety of diagnostic health-care services unusual for a hospital of its size, as well as home health care and a 64-bed skilled nursing facility. Coastal Brunswick is also served by Brunswick Community Hospital, a 60-bed facility affiliated with Novant Health that is located in Supply. Built in 1977, the hospital has recently undergone an $8.3 million expansion. BCH is the only hospital in Brunswick County with a birthing center. The hospital also offers adult and geriatric psychiatric services, pain management and an increasing number of specialists who visit weekly and offer services in vascular surgery, pediatrics, ophthalmology, neurosurgery, rheumatology, dermatology and orthopedics. Hospital Listing New Hanover Regional Medical Center 2131 S. 17th St. Wilmington, NC 28401 910-343-7000 www.nhhn.org Cape Fear Hospital Pender Memorial Hospital Wilmington SurgCare Dosher Memorial Hospital Brunswick Community Hospital |
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