Far and Wide Quality Care

New Hanover Regional Medical Center maintains high standards through expansion

By EMILY GORMAN FANCY

NHRMC
2131 S. 17^th Street, Wilmington
nhrmc.org

Since opening its doors in 1967, New Hanover Regional Medical Center has become the leading hospital serving southeastern North Carolina. NHRMC provides specialty medical and surgical care including women’s and children’s, rehabilitation, orthopedic, and psychiatric hospitals. According to its mission statement, “New Hanover Regional Medical Center is dedicated to providing you with high quality care and an excellent experience. Our mission and values reflect our belief that our commitment to you extends beyond the doors of our facilities, working with you to build a healthier community.” 

NHRMC’s clinical expertise runs the gamut of patient care, including adult intensive care, neurosurgery, pediatric surgery, inpatient and outpatient heart care, vascular surgery, and oncology. Through a progressive partnership with NHRMC Physician Group, the hospital has partnered with more than 250 primary care and specialty providers, offering patients access to cutting-edge treatments and technologies. Due to being a county-owned, non-profit teaching hospital and regional referral center, NHRMC serves as UNC School of Medicine’s branch campus in Wilmington. 

As the largest employer in the county, NHRMC’s staff of 7,000 employees, 740 physicians, 330 midlevel providers, and 930 volunteers provide compassionate and comprehensive care to patients and their families. The main campus features 26 operating rooms, with eight additional operating rooms at the NHRMC Orthopedic Hospital and four at Atlantic SurgiCenter. 

NHRMC’s impact on the Cape Fear region reaches far and wide. According to the hospital’s Media Relations, “On a typical day at NHRMC, 395 patients will visit the emergency department; 1,600 will visit NHRMC Physician Group providers, 102 surgeries will be performed, AirLink and VitaLink (our emergency transport services) will transfer 24 patients, 150 patients will be admitted, and 11 babies will be born.”

The NHRMC Network 

• NHRMC Orthopedic Hospital: a specialty orthopedic hospital licensed for 75 beds. More than 2,000 joint replacement surgeries are performed each year.
• Betty H. Cameron Women's & Children's Hospital: includes a 45-bed Level III Neonatal ICU.
• New Hanover Regional Emergency Medical Services: offers critical care transport through Airlink and Vitalink and inter-hospital transfer.
• NHRMC Home Care: provides in-home care to patients across a seven-county region.
• NHRMC Emergency Department-North: a freestanding emergency department and health and diagnostics center in Scotts Hill that has dramatically exceeded census predictions since opening in 2015.
• Wound Care Center: offers specialized treatment for chronic wounds.
• NHRMC Rehabilitation Hospital: a 60-bed inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation facility on the main hospital campus.
• NHRMC Behavioral Health Hospital: a 62-bed psychiatric hospital on the campus of NHRMC.
• NHRMC Foundation: The nonprofit fundraising arm of the hospital has raised more than $22 million since 1991 for patients and the greater community.
• SECU Family House: includes 24 guest rooms available at low cost for patients and families of patients at NHRMC.
• Pender Memorial Hospital: a general acute critical access hospital and skilled nursing facility licensed for 86 beds in Burgaw, N.C.
• Atlantic SurgiCenter (ASC): a wholly owned limited liability company, operating as a department of the hospital, located adjacent to Emergency Department-North.

Above & Beyond:

• NHRMC’s Orthopedic Program has received a five-star rating for knee replacements for 12 consecutive years.
• NHRMC’s Heart Center received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline and Lifeline EMS Gold Plus Awards by meeting stringent criteria for top-quality cardiology care.
• NHRMC received two Women’s Choice Awards for being one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Patient Experience and Best Hospitals for Cancer Care.
• The Hospital’s Stroke Program received the Get With The Guidelines Gold Plus Achievement Award and was recognized on the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus, both presented by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. 
• The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association designed NHRMC’s Bariatric Surgery Program as a Blue Distinction Center for demonstrated expertise and commitment to quality while meeting requirements for cost efficiency.
• Hurst Review Services awarded NHRMS the Hurst Gold Standard of Nursing. 

The hospital continues to expand services and facilities to best meet the needs of patients and their families, including 24/7 pediatric surgery, pediatric infusion, and advanced stroke procedures, all of which have been added in the past three years. In 2017, NHRMC completed renovations on the emergency department at the main campus, doubling the number of patient spaces and increasing comfort and privacy. Additionally, NHRMC completed renovations on the Zimmer Cancer Center in 2017, tripling the number of infusion spaces and providing space for more physicians to care for cancer patients at the center. NHRMC also broke ground on a $91 million, 108-bed Orthopedic Hospital and Surgical Pavilion with a projected completion date of 2019.