Patients will take up residence in Brunswick Novant Medical Center on July 31, but the public will have two opportunities to check out the new hospital in Bolivia before then.

One is free. The other, a fundraising event, isn’t.

The Brunswick Novant Medical Center Foundation will host a “Premiere Event” at 7 p.m. July 14, at the new hospital, which is about three miles north of Brunswick Community Hospital, on the south-bound side of U.S. 17, 240 Hospital Drive NE.

The black-tie optional fundraising event will feature music, entertainment, food and tours of the new hospital.
Tickets for the event are $100 each. Sponsorships are available. For more information, contact the Brunswick Novant Medical Center Foundation at 755-1244.

From 1 to 4 p.m. on July 16, the hospital will host a free “Sneak Preview Event” giving community residents a chance to tour the new 250,000 square-foot facility. A ribbon-cutting will take place at 1 p.m. that day, hospital officials said.

For more information on the events or the opening of the new hospital, visit www.brunswicknovant.org or call (910) 755-8121.

Gloriana to perform at Chords for a Cause

The country music sounds of Gloriana will be joined with the elegant tones of the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra at a concert November 5 in Kenan Auditorium on the University of North Carolina Wilmington campus.

The special concert will benefit Chords for a Cause, a non-profit organization that harnesses the power of music to support medical programs in the Wilmington community, said Erin Balzotti, New Hanover Regional Medical Center spokeswoman.

“The 2011 Chords for a Cause concert will support the Betty H. Cameron Women’s and Children’s Hospital’s commitment to bring more smiles to the children and families who come to the hospital for care,” Balzotti said in a news release.

With the support of donors, the hospital will purchase specially-designed teddy bear wagons and colorful duck IV poles that can go with the pediatric patients as they move from their rooms to therapy or the playroom, Balzotti said.

“Whether they’re in the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, the emergency department, radiology, or the Surgical Pavilion, New Hanover Regional Medical Center is working to ensure young patients can feel good about getting better, and find plenty of reasons to smile,” Balzotti said.

Gloriana has a gold certified hit single, “Wild at Heart” and won the fan vote for “Best Breakthrough Artist” at the 2009 Amercian Music Awards.

Founders Tom and Mike Gossin attended UNCW, so the concert is a homecoming for them, Balzotti said. The band is offering a   contest for tickets through www.glorianacontest.com.

Tickets will be available through the Kenan box office in August. For more information, go to www.chordsforacause.com.

NHRMC Oehler named ‘Leader of Excellence’ at NHRMC

New Hanover Regional Medical Center recently named David Oehler, orthopedic program director, as the hospital’s Leader of Excellence for the second quarter of 2011.

The Leader of Excellence is a quarterly award that honors NHRMC’s team leaders for their ability to be role models of the   management process and exceed the expectations of a leader, hospital spokeswoman Erin Balzotti said.

Oehler was  nominated “for his exceptional ownership and communication with the physicians and staff within his department,” Balzotti said in a news release.

“David is excellent with any group or individual. He has established relationships with his colleagues that are built on trust and respect,” a colleague said. “Thanks in part to his leadership, the quality of our orthopedics program is recognized nationally for its excellence.”

New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s Cape Fear Hospital is home to the Orthopedic Center, which has been ranked among the nation’s top 10 percent of orthopedic programs four years in a row. The center has 26 board-certified or board-eligible surgeons, many of whom are fellowship trained, and perform more than 1,800 joint replacement procedures each year.

Wilmington Health expands presence in Porter’s Neck

Wilmington Health has expanded its presence in Porters Neck by opening a new facility at 8090 Market St., practice administrators said.

The new location will house four departments: Internal Medicine, moving from 8108-B Market Street; Audiology; ENT; and Hearing Aid Services. The latter three departments are moving from The Forum on Military Cutoff Road.

“Our goal with this expansion is to offer the families and businesses of Porters Neck healthcare close to home and work. That’s why we’ve chosen to add a new location with more specialty and primary care options,” Jeff James, Wilmington Health chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement.

James said Wilmington Health is the only multi-specialty medical practice to offer four locations and six specialties in Porters Neck.
Obstetrics and Gynecology is at 8064 Market St. For more information, call 343-1031.

Audiology, Hearing Aid Services and Ear, Nose and Throat are at 8090 Market St. For more information, call 686-2099.
Family Medicine, Neurology and Podiatry are at 8108-B Market St. For more information, call 686-2099.

Convenient Care is currently at 8114 Market St., but will be moving to 8108-B Market St. in September. For more information, call 686-2870.

National spotlight shines on Novant Health

The Health Research & Education Trust, an organization affiliated with the American Hospital Association, is sharing information about Novant Health and two other systems with the rest of the nation’s healthcare organizations.

Novant Health manages Brunswick Community Hospital and is the owner of the new Brunswick Novant Medical Center, which will open to patients July 31.

Jim Tobalski, senior vice president of the public not-for-profit hospital system, said in a news release that the HRET “is sharing these success stories as part of its Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence initiative and an ongoing leadership educational series.”
HRET and the hospital association recently published a report, “Striving for TOP Box: Hospitals Increasing Quality and Efficiency.”

The report on top-performing hospitals shares key strategies that create a successful organization, such as accountability, physician engagement and team approaches, Tobalski said.

To produce the report, HRET conducted site visits and interviewed leaders at Novant Health, Piedmont Health in Georgia and Banner Health in Arizona.

HRET selected the three organizations after initially studying the 250 largest healthcare systems in the nation and their quality data, Tobalski said.

He said the national research identified similar cultural characteristics as the formula for an organization’s success. They include precise execution, accountability in performance improvement, engaged physicians, focused action plans, consistent   communication, team-oriented approaches, transparent data sharing, data dependent atmosphere and standardization of processes.

In addition, the three health systems and their facilities emphasized using scorecards at all levels, as well as tracking short- and long-term goals, Tobalski said.