Despite the challenging economy, officials at New Hanover Regional Medical Center and Novant Health’s Brunswick Community Hospital are moving full-steam ahead on expansion and improvement projects in 2010.

At New Hanover Regional Medical Center, the renovation of the patient tower, started last year, is scheduled to be complete by late 2010. Hospital spokeswoman Carolyn Fisher said new features will include private rooms with extra space for families, decentralized nursing stations for more convenient interaction between patients and staff, and carpeted hallways and softer lighting for a more quiet and relaxed environment.

NHRMC will continue its expansion into Brunswick County with the opening of a Brunswick Forest location this year. The new facility will include primary and specialty physicians, diagnostic and urgent care services.

Back at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, a new rooftop garden will be added to the pediatric unit. Fisher said the garden will be complete by the end of this January.

“The garden will be a self-sustainable green space made of recycled materials that will provide children and their families an area of refuge to get fresh air and sunshine,” Fisher said.

Bigger physicians group

Expansion of the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Physician Group will continue in 2010 “to bring quality, specialized care to the community,” Fisher said. The physician group currently includes hospitalists, psychiatrists, medical oncologists, oral maxillofacial surgeons, urologists, a family medicine physician and a neurologist.

NHRMC will add a pediatric surgeon to its staff this year. Dr. Deborah Albert is scheduled to join staff at the Betty H. Cameron Women’s & Children’s Hospital in early June “to bring highly specialized care to the children of southeastern North Carolina,” Fisher said.

Community support will enable NHRMC to add a neonatal/pediatric critical care transport vehicle to the fleet of vehicles operated by the hospital’s Emergency Medical Services Department. The vehicle will be placed in service this summer, she said.

“The first of its kind in the region, the vehicle will help fragile newborns and children from around the seven-county area safely travel to the level of care they need, including to the intensive care services offered at New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s Betty H. Cameron Women & Children’s Hospital,” Fisher said.

The economy will not affect efforts to bring in and keep talented staff members, Fisher said.

“We continue to work hard to retain and recruit excellent people who can meet the needs of our patients and we anticipate continued job stability and hiring over the next year,” Fisher said.

New Hanover Regional Medical Center and its partners employ 4,525 full-time and part-time workers, making it the top employer in the region.

An ‘exciting and busy year’

At Novant Health’s Brunswick Community Hospital and its partners, “2010 will be an exciting and busy year,” hospital President Denise Mihal said.

Novant Health has two large capital projects under way in Brunswick County and New Hanover County.

Construction of the replacement facility for Brunswick Community Hospital off U.S. 17 is on track and Brunswick Novant Medical Center “should be complete or near completion by the end of 2010,” Mihal said.

“It will then take a few months for the move and the necessary regulatory inspections, so we expect to be in the new facility by summer 2011,” Mihal said.

The new hospital will have all-private rooms and will include 74 acute care beds, four operating suites and one dedicated operating suite for cesarean sections.

The other project, which reflects Novant’s inroads into New Hanover County, is the construction of the Novant Surgery Center Wilmington. The facility will be located in the Autumn Hall development and house two outpatient operating suites. Construction should be complete by fall of this year, Mihal said.

Novant Health and other healthcare providers are acutely aware of current economic conditions, Mihal said.

“The economy has definitely changed. What we know, though, is that we can’t control the environment, we can only control what we are doing in the environment,” she said. “Therefore, we are continually looking at ways to operate more efficiently.”

As an example, Mihal said the hospital is “working to eliminate waste” and using its Strategic Sourcing Department to standardize products used across the system.

“By using one type of ink pen instead of 10 types, we can save considerable dollars across the organization. We are also looking at products like bandages, alcohol wipes and tape,” she said. “While we will work to make changes that will help us operate more efficiently, we will never compromise patient safety or quality in making these decisions.”

The hospital’s first priority will continue to be “high-quality, safe care,” Mihal said.

“We believe that we can survive a tough economy by continuing to deliver exceptional health-care services to our patients so that they will return here for their care.”

Novant Health is also striving to be more efficient by improving patient flow throughout the organization. Mihal said bedside registration was recently implemented so that patients being admitted are taken directly to a bed.

“Our hiring practices have not changed,” she said. “We are still hiring for new clinical and non-clinical staff as needed, and we have several positions open right now.”

Mihal said Novant wants the public to view Brunswick Community Hospital as its first choice for health care. That’s one ongoing goal for 2010.

“In the past, many local residents felt they needed to drive outside the county for many medical services. We have added numerous new services and expanded operations in many areas so that local residents can now stay close to home for their care, which we know is where people prefer to receive care,” Mihal said.

In 2009, the hospital added cardiac catheterization and lithotripsy and expanded hours in many areas.

The ongoing debate about national health care reform is also on the minds of hospital administrators, Mihal said.

“In 2010, we plan to continue to watch closely what’s happening at the national level with health care reform. As an organization, Novant is committed to real health care reform that lowers costs and ensures access and quality care to our patients, and we support efforts to decrease the number of uninsured in our nation.

“We are concerned that true reform ultimately results in greater access to health care and not just drastic payment cuts to hospitals and physicians,” Mihal said.

Brunswick Community Hospital and its partners is one of the major employers in Brunswick County. The hospital has 514 full- and part-time employees, and Novant Medical Group’s Coastal Market employs another 219 people, for a total of 733 workers.