Medical park groundbreaking scheduled for June
Two new office medical buildings are slated to break ground this summer as part of the Scotts Hill Medical Park.

Plans for a private development of physician offices on Market Street in Porters Neck include two structures this year with three more office buildings in the future. About 100 doctors have formed a partnership to build the Medical Park, said Mike Nadeau, president of Creative Properties Inc.

About 60 acres have been rezoned for business use. The partners had bought 240 acres, of which 26 acres were later sold to New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC).

The medical park will be located near Atlantic Surgicenter, which the partnership built and now leases to NHRMC and private physicians. Each of the medical park’s buildings is expected to measure about 40,000 square feet. About 60 percent of the office condominiums in the first building have been sold to the doctors in the partnership that financed the project, Nadeau said. Next, the partnership will open up sales to other physician groups and retail opportunities.

BCC buys hospital site
Brunswick Community College recently finalized its purchase of a 100-acre site for a new hospital about three miles north of its current site on U.S. 17.

The site cost about $5 million and is part of a larger site slated for a mixed-use development. The larger hospital will replace the current one and will be located on the southbound side of the highway in Supply.

Construction on the 200,000- square-foot facility is expected to begin this spring, with an estimated completion date of early 2010. The new hospital will contain an additional operating room, all private rooms with 72 acute-care beds and an expanded cafeteria, among other features. It will cost about $107 million to build and will be paid for by Novant Health, the not-for-profit entity that operates the hospital.

Hospital spokeswoman Amy Myers has said the hospital is necessary to meet the needs of Brunswick County’s growing population.

“The hospital staff appreciates the community’s show of support for a replacement hospital,” stated Denise Mihal, president and CEO of BCC, in a news release. “With that community support, the new hospital is becoming a reality.”

The state approved a certificate of need application from Novant Health in April.

Drug shows promise
A new drug for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that has been supported by a Wilmington investor recently received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin its phase two clinical trials.

COPD is the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to a news release. It causes excessive mucus secretions and inflammation in the lungs. The drug in development, known as BIO-11006, reportedly inhibits excessive mucus secretion in the lungs by blocking the activity of an intracellular protein called the MARCKS-related protein. It could be used to treat the causes of several pulmonary diseases. No approved drug on the market has that ability, the release states.

The drug is under development by BioMarck Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a privately owned biopharmaceutical research and development company located at Research Triangle Park in the Raleigh-Durham area. Another site is located in Raleigh.

Wilmington businessman Mort Neblett is a founding investor in the company.

Celebrity golf event
National and local celebrities will take part in a two-day golf tournament this month to benefit New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC).

The 16th annual Coastal Classic Celebrity Golf Tournament, which is presented by First Citizens Bank, will be held April 26 and April 27 at the Country Club of Landfall at the Peter Dye course. Practice rounds will take place April 25.

Other tournament events include a dinner and silent auction. The event will benefit the center’s Betty H. Cameron Women’s and Children’s Hospital, a 170,000-square-foot facility that is slated to open in early August, according to a news release.

“Money raised from this event goes directly to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital,” said Dr. Douglas Messina, the event’s co-chair and an orthopedic surgeon at Carolina Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Specialists.

Celebrity golfers will include nationally known and local civic and sports personalities. Wilmington sports celebrity Benny Moss and Thad Daber, a professional golfer and Guinness World Record holder, are among the participants. Broadway and soap opera star Joe Gallison also will take part.

“Funds raised will help NHRMC transform children’s health care throughout our region,” stated Aline Lasseter, executive director of the NHRMC Foundation. “Over its 15- year history, the Coastal Classic has raised more than $2 million to support the medical center.”

This year’s event is dedicated to the late Karl Davis, who was general manager of television station WECT.

PMH educates about diabetes
It’s crucial for people with diabetes to recognize the signs of a low blood sugar reaction, and such knowledge is available for free through diabetes support groups at Pender Memorial Hospital (PMH).

The symptoms include shaking, sweating, weakness and a faster heart beat, according to a news release. Maureen Drake, a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator, teaches ways to prevent low blood sugar reaction and ways to treat the reaction.

The support group meetings are sponsored by the hospital’s diabetes education department, and they are open to the public. The Burgaw support group meets at 11 a.m. on April 22 at Heritage Place, located at 901 S. Walker St., and the Hampstead group meets at 11 a.m. on April 25 at the Hampstead Library on Library Drive.

Drake said family members of the person with diabetes also are welcome at the monthly support groups. For a fee, PMH also offers a separate outpatient curriculum — the Diabetes Self-Management Program — which is offered to people with diabetes if they have a referral from their doctor.

“The self-management program is tailored to the individual,”Drake said in a release. “We look at the foods they like to eat, their physical abilities, lifestyle and the types of medications they are taking, and apply that information to develop a management program very specific to that person.”

The program has earned an American Diabetes Association education recognition certificate for the quality of its diabetes self-management education.

PMH hosts seminar
A diabetes seminar at Pender Memorial Hospital (PMH) for all health care professionals offers an overview of the best practices for treatment.

The program will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on April 30 at the Pender Hospital Café, located at 507 E. Fremont St. in Burgaw. Registration that day will be held from 12:30 to 1 p.m.

The program is a continuing education program open to anyone in the medical field. South East Health Education Center (SEAHEC), formerly known as the Coastal Area Health Education Center, is offering the seminar for credit.

Topics include a review of diagnosis criteria, the clinical practice guidelines of the American Diabetes Association and recommended lifestyle changes to prevent and manage the disease. There is no charge for PMH employees. The fee for others is $40 when registering before April 22 and $45 after April 22. To register, call SEAHEC at 792-5560.

Obesity targeted
The nonprofit NC Prevention Partners plans to partner with the State Board of Education to search for ways to target childhood obesity.

The nonprofit plans to look for ways to improve nutrition programs at schools, increase physical activity and take other measures in conjunction with the state.

NC Prevention Partners works to address reducing preventable illness and early death caused by tobacco use, physical inactivity, poor nutrition and obesity, according to a news release.

“The health of our students is getting better, but it is unacceptable that North Carolina has the fifth-worst youth obesity rates in the country,” said Howard Lee, chairman of the state school board, in the release. “We welcome the collaboration with NC Preventive Partners to boost the health of North Carolina students.”

The nonprofit will offer technical assistance to about 25 schools, will look for ways to increase obesity prevention in the schools and will help identify resources.

Send items for the Health Care column to health@wilmingtonbiz.com or 130 N. Front St., Suite 105, Wilmington, NC 28401.