Wilmington Health and Medac, which runs several urgent care centers in the area, recently announced an affiliation that will take effect March 1.

Through the partnership, Medac will be able to tap into operational support from Wilmington Health, including the group’s electronic medical record system, patient satisfaction measurement, data analytic, purchasing and compliance infrastructure, according to a news release.

Medac will become a part of the Wilmington Health-sponsored Accountable Care Organization called Physicians Healthcare Collaborative.
 
Medac Health Services, established in Wilmington in 1984, will keep its corporate identity and ownership structure, officials said.

“The two organizations are simply integrating their information platforms to better serve the community,” the release stated. 

“Medac is a recognized and trusted name in the urgent care space of healthcare,” Wilmington Health CEO Jeff James said in a statement.

“Together our organizations will focus on providing seamless healthcare at a lower cost by reducing patient ER visits and insuring appropriate post-urgent care follow-up.”

PT Clinic Sets Up In Wilmington Athletic Club
A physical therapy clinic and the Wilmington Athletic Club have combined to offer services at the club, 2026 S. 16th St.

The recently opened Momentum PT & Wellness physical therapy clinic is located inside the Wilmington Athletic Club. The relationship between Momentum PT & Wellness and the Wilmington Athletic Club makes perfect sense, physical therapist Tyler Whiteside said in a news release.

“Our goal is to get people moving again while bridging the gap between medicine and fitness,” said Whiteside, who has more than 12 years of experience in outpatient physical therapy. 

His services include orthopedic and sports rehabilitation, pre- and post-operative rehabilitation, manual therapy, medical fitness, strength and conditioning, balance therapy and exercise prescription.

Under the guidance of Whiteside, a doctor of physical therapy, Momentum PT & Wellness coordinates with a patient’s physician “and moves them safely and effectively into a more active lifestyle,” he said.

Momentum PT & Wellness offers research-based treatments for aches and pains, while also providing access to the Wilmington Athletic Clubs facilities, officials said.

“This allows for faster healing while breaking down the barriers that might keep someone from becoming more active,” Whiteside said. “We look forward to helping people get healthy, get moving and living a long and independent life.” 

SEAHEC Aids Medical Library in Moldova
The South East Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC) recently sent more than 100,000 medical books and journals to its international medical library partner, Scientific Medical Library of Moldova.

The print medical and nursing books were sent to Moldova in December, with assistance from the Wilmington East Rotary Club.

SEAHEC’s Fales Health Sciences Library, under the direction of Donna Flake, has partnered with medical library Scientific Medical Library of Moldova since 2006.

The library partnership is part of a larger international partnership began in 1999 by then-N.C. Gov. Jim Hunt and the president of Moldova.

Since then many projects have been created, including exchanges of physicians and dentists as well as medical texts. The library partnership with Moldova includes all the N.C. AHEC Libraries, in addition to the medical libraries at Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, Wake Forrest and East Carolina University.

The Republic of Moldova was established in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south.

“The county of Moldova has only one medical library, which until our partnership, had limited and outdated Russian medical texts. Over the years, SEAHEC and its North Carolina partners have sent current print medical and nursing books and journals in addition to electronic transmission of journal articles from the [North Carolina] medical libraries to Moldova,” Flake said.

SEAHEC’s Fales Health Sciences Library is accepting donations of medical and nursing books and journals to send to Moldova. To donate current medical, nursing or allied health books or journals, contact Flake at 343-2180.

ACA info sessions set
SEAHEC and regional health departments will host free information sessions on the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The sessions will explain the basics of getting insurance through the new insurance marketplace and help residents learn how they can enroll for health insurance.

Information will be available for those who are unsure if they qualify for Medicare, a subsidy or how the federal law will affect them.

In New Hanover County, an information session will be 6-7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Women of Hope Event at the Executive Development Center, 1241 Military Cutoff Trail. A reservation is required at www.wowmenofhopenc.org.

The Brunswick County Health Department will offer information sessions at Brunswick Community College, 50 College Road, Bolivia. Sessions will be 9-11 a.m. on Feb. 10; 5-7 p.m. on Feb. 17; and 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Feb. 22.

An updated calendar and more information on these sessions can
be found at www.seahec.net or by calling 667-9219.

Wilmington Dermatology adds sweat treatment
The miraDry procedure, a new treatment option that officials say provides a solution for excessive underarm sweat, a debilitating condition also known as primary axillary hyperhidrosis, is now offered by Wilmington dermatologist Rosalyn George.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration cleared the miraDry system following a clinical study that involved 120 patients at seven clinics across the U.S., and followed them for 12 months post-treatment.

The miraDry procedure is performed in the dermatologist’s office and takes about an hour. It delivers controlled electromagnetic energy to the area under the arm where the sweat glands reside and heats and eliminates the sweat glands.

Since sweat glands do not regenerate, results are lasting, officials said. The procedure is non-invasive with little to no downtime, so patients can go about their normal routines after treatment, according to a news release. The full treatment plan requires two procedures to maximize results.

It offers “a more effective nonsurgical option,” George said. “Underarm sweat can be debilitating, and it can have a huge impact on someone’s lifestyle and quality of life.”

George’s office is at Wilmington Dermatology Center, 710 Military Cutoff Road, Suite 320.

CFCC program earns continued accreditation
A growing program at Cape Fear Community College has gotten the thumbs up from a national accreditation organization.

CFCC’s surgical technology program, a two-year associates degree that prepares students to work in operating rooms as part of a surgical team or in medical practices, earned reaccreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

The continuing accreditation is valid for several years; the next comprehensive evaluation of the program, including an on-site review, is scheduled to occur no later than 2024, according to a news release.

Program instruction now takes place in specially designed surgi-tech classrooms – modeled after hospital surgical suites – in CFCC’s new Union Station building.

Interest in the program has increased over the past five years, CFCC spokesman David Hardin said. He said the program is running at capacity with 25 students, with an additional 29 students currently waiting to start courses in the pre-surgical technology program.