As Jack Barto prepares to leave his post as New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s top executive, the hospital is bigger and better than when he started more than a decade ago, Barto said Wednesday.

He presented his last State of the Medical Center address Wednesday morning at the Holiday Inn Resort hotel in Wrightsville Beach, saying he will step down as president and CEO on Dec. 31 and be replaced by current COO John Gizdic on Jan. 1. Barto announced his plans to retire earlier this year.

As part of the hospital achievements, milestones and growth plans Barto mentioned during his talk, he shared a financial update.

“Frankly, right now, our financial position is probably the strongest it’s ever been,” he said, adding that this condition will help accommodate future growth and changes the hospital is expected to experience.

Since 2003, the NHRMC’s operating margin has increased from 1.84 to 5.54 percent, according to hospital figures. Operational improvements have saved $162.3 million since 2012, the figures show, and more than $800 million has been invested in facilities and technology since 2004.

NHRMC, the third-largest county-owned public hospital in the U.S., is the region’s largest employer, the state’s second-largest employer east of Interstate 95, Barto said.

“We’ve added 2,054 employees over the last 13 years,” he said, before asking the audience to envision how much the community would value a company looking to bring 2,000 jobs to the area.

“Imagine what that tax package might look like,” Barto said.

He said no one has been laid off from NHRMC since 2003.

“We frankly believe layoffs are a management failure ... We don’t want people to be out of work. It destroys your culture when you do that,” Barto said.

The hospital has 560 physicians with admitting privileges, whom Barto praised during his talk.

“One of the things that’s shocked me most in the 13 years is the quality and the breadth and the depth of medical talent that’s in Wilmington, North Carolina. You don’t see that in a community this size,” Barto said. “The physicians that are on our medical staff are every bit as competent and in many cases better than what you’re going to see in the major cities around the world and that’s been one of the biggest surprises that I’ve seen coming in here. And it doesn’t stop. When we recruit, we get the best of the best when it comes time for recruiting on an annual basis.”

The CEO also highlighted signs of the hospital’s growing footprint:

• EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS: A project to double the size of the emergency department at the hospital’s main campus on 17th Street is expected to be complete next year. NHRMC ED North opened in May 2015.
• CANCER CENTER: Renovations at Zimmer Cancer Center at the main campus is allowing the center to expand.
• ORTHOPEDIC HOSPITAL RELOCATION: The hospital is seeking a Certificate of Need from the state to move 68 beds and five operating rooms from the Cape Fear campus on Wrightsville Avenue to 17th Street. If approved, the hospital plans to build a new orthopedic hospital above its Surgical Pavilion. To accommodate the emergency room, NHRMC officials are looking for property to build a new stand-alone ER.
• NEW PROVIDERS: NHRMC Physician Group now includes 242 providers.

Barto pointed out that the hospital turns 50 next June. 

"We're in excellent shape for the next 50 years," he said.

He said he and his wife, Mary, will not be leaving the Wilmington area after he steps down as CEO. Of his replacement, Gizdic, he said, "He's going to do a phenomenal job. Your hospital's in great hands."