The South East Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC), through a partnership 

with New Hanover Regional Medical Center, recently added Dr. Charin Hanlon to the staff as the program director for the internal medicine residency program.

As director of the internal medicine residency program, Hanlon is responsible for the education of 21 internal medicine residents. The program works to provide inpatient and outpatient care to some of the most medically complex patients in the community. 

Prior to joining SEAHEC, Hanlon served as the associate program director in the department of internal medicine at West Virginia University–Charleston Division. 

“Dr. Hanlon brings an extensive background in internal medicine along with her expertise in graduate medical education and training,” Dr. Joe Pino, SEAHEC’s interim 

president and CEO, said in a news release. 

A graduate of West Virginia University School of Medicine, Hanlon did her internal medicine/psychiatry combined residency at Charleston Area Medical Center in Charleston, W.Va., and earned her bachelor of science degree from the Marshall University.

She is a member of the American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, Association of Medicine and Psychiatry, American Psychiatric Association, Association of Women Psychiatrists and Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine. She has two board certifications in internal medicine and psychiatry. 

Coastal Carolinas spotlights collaborative work

Coastal Carolinas Health Alliance Inc. (CCHA) recently highlighted accomplishments among the alliance’s 12 member hospitals in southeastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina.

“We appreciated the opportunity to reflect back on accomplishments made not only by our team, but hospitals throughout our region and the overall impact we are able to have on the communities we serve,” CCHA executive director Yvonne Hughes said in a news release.

In May 2012, CCHA’s Mobile Simulation Program was nationally recognized with the 2011 Amerinet Award for Healthcare Innovation and Community Impact.

Among other accomplishments, Hughes said, Coastal Connect Health Information Exchange successfully completed its pilot in January, allowing for the “secure and timely exchange of patient care documents.”

“This initial five-county deployment has reached approximately 540 physicians in 11 counties of southeastern North Carolina,” Hughes said. 

“CCHA continues to bring meaningful collaboration to our region through various educational opportunities, health care program initiatives and grant funding.”

CCHA has secured a strong contract portfolio that continues to evolve, she said. 

“Last year, member hospitals saved $6.1 million in contracts alone,” Hughes said.

The group collaboration was the focus of an event last month dubbed Alliance Day at the Hilton Wilmington Riverside.

Brunswick Novant recognize employees

Brunswick Novant Medical Center and Novant Health recently recognized four local employees with Novant’s Circle of Excellence award, which acknowledges employees who consistently demonstrate excellence in the health system’s core values of compassion, teamwork, personal excellence and diversity.  

This year’s award recipients from Brunswick Novant Medical Center were Judy Bullard of surgical services; Louise Roarty, RN, of the medical/surgical unit; and Becky Whiteside, RN, of clinical improvement.

Jackie Nobles of Oceanside Family Medicine & Convenient Care also received the Circle of Excellence award.

“Many of our employees provide excellent care and are invaluable to our organization, but the Circle of Excellence winners are truly an exclusive group. These individuals consistently go out of their way to help visitors, coworkers, and patients with the utmost quality,” Shelbourn Stevens, Brunswick Novant Medical Center president, said in a news release.

Dosher volunteers raise money for hospital

Dosher Memorial Hospital volunteers recently presented hospital administrators a symbolic check for more than $46,000 raised for the facility.

The money came from fundraising efforts of the Dosher volunteers at the hospital’s gift shop and the Dosher Hospital Volunteer Flea Market, 129 E. Moore St. in Southport.

“The check represented generous hospital donations made by Dosher volunteers over the last five months, from May through September,” said hospital spokesman Kirk Singer.

Among items donated were a therapeutic tub and lift chair for the nursing center, a Game Ready ice therapy accelerated recovery system for physical therapy and a computer and software for the business office.

In addition, a storage system unit was purchased for the emergency department, as well as toys for children in the hospital’s emergency and surgical departments.

“Time and again over the years, the Dosher Memorial Hospital Volunteers have given to our hospital and its various departments and services, greatly enhancing the level of care we are able to provide to our patients. The generosity and dedication of our more than 200 Dosher Volunteers has never ceased to amaze us,” outgoing hospital president and CEO Edgar Haywood III said.

Dosher Memorial also recently launched a new customer service initiative because of donations from the volunteers.

“Thanks to a very generous donation from the Dosher Hospital Volunteers, the hospital was able to purchase a new courtesy cart, which is being used to pick patients and visitors up in the parking lot and deliver them to the front door of the hospital. It also takes them back to their car after their hospital visit,” Singer said. “At Dosher, we are always looking for ways to give added value to each patient’s hospital experience.”

The new cart, purchased locally for a little more than $10,000, is street-ready, seats six people and sports a hard top, windshield, lights, rain flaps and a platform to allow for the transport of patient luggage.

“Having our new courtesy cart is a great way for us to show our patients that they’re very special to us,” Singer said.

Calabash practice receives medical home designation

The National Committee for Quality Assurance recently designated Calabash Internal Medicine as a Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home, which means the practice has met standards for coordinated management of patient care.

Calabash Internal Medicine, a Novant Medical Group practice, opened in 2008.“The goal in a patient-centered medical home is to foster relationships between individual patients, their personal physicians and when appropriate the patient’s family,” stated a release about the designation. “The American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Osteopathic Association have jointly defined the medical home as a model of care where each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal physician who leads a team that takes collective responsibility for that patient’s care.”