New Hanover County commissioners on Monday voted to explore potential new ownership of the county-owned hospital.   Commissioners Woody White, Julia Olson-Boseman and Pat Kusek voted for the resolution, with commissioners Jonathan Barfield Jr. and Rob Zapple voting against.   “I’m a proponent of studying all the options, and I have not made a deci ...

Ahead of a vote about the future of New Hanover Regional Medical Center, state Sen. Harper Peterson on Monday turned in a complaint to the N.C. Attorney General’s Office about how he feels the process has been handled so far.   “…fundamental fiduciary, legal and procedural responsibilities have been put in question and have damaged the public&rsqu ...

There is an old maxim that says that the only thing you can depend on or that is inevitable is change.   When you ask most people whether they like change, most will tell you, “Yes, change is good.”   When you suggest a specific change, that is when resistance arises, and concerns are raised. An example of that kind of change was announced here ...

Area medical practices in recent years have followed the rooftops, opening locations to be closer to where patients live to capture that convenience edge.   Now providers are popping up even closer on people’s daily routines – in at least some cases in the local market – making health care available near their workstations or workout rooms.   ...

Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center has started providing diagnostic cardiac catheterizations and vascular studies, officials recently announced.   Novant Health partnered with NHRMC Physician Group-Cape Fear Heart Associates to offer mobile diagnostic cardiac catheterizations, according to a news release.   The procedures are performed by Cape Fear Heart ...

Wilmington-based Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) recently announced its collaboration with a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company to develop oncology and immunology therapeutics. Harbour BioMed (HBM) has selected PPD as its preferred global contract research partner to conduct clinical studies on its internal research pipelines, according to a n ...

If nothing else, New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s potential sale is a fascinating leadership test. Take a seemingly strong, stable community treasure and propose selling it. Watch pandemonium ensue.   What madmen would yell “intent to sell” in a crowded theater?   Before assessing the idea’s merits, we should look at motivation ...

Who might run or own New Hanover Regional Medical Center in the future remains to be seen, but if a Sept. 3 vote on exploring a potential sale of the hospital moves forward, more community input will be part of the process, officials said Monday. But why does the issue of a possible sale or changing the ownership structure in some way of county-owned NHRMC have to be co ...

The discussion about New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s future came to the community this week.   At public forums Monday and Tuesday, New Hanover County Manager Chris Coudriet and NHRMC President and CEO John Gizdic laid out their cases for moving ahead with exploring a potential sale of the county-owned hospital.   “Sometimes to preserve what ...

UnitedHealthcare has hired Wanda Coley, former president and COO of Well Care Health, in a new executive role to expand the health insurer's presence in the Carolinas, including in Southeastern North Carolina. Coley started her new role as vice president of strategy and execution for North and South Carolina with UnitedHealthcare's Medicare & Retirement busi ...