Vidant Health offers $1 million to support transition for Pungo Hospital | Eastern NC Now

For Immediate Release:

    Belhaven, NC     At a community meeting at Vidant Pungo Hospital in Belhaven, Dr. David Herman, president and CEO of Vidant Health, unveiled more details about the agreement to keep Vidant Pungo Hospital open and to transfer ownership of the hospital to the Belhaven community. Vidant Health will continue to support the hospital through June 30, 2014 and will provide the community with both technical support and financial aid to facilitate the transfer of ownership.

    Vidant Health also:

    • Offered $1 million to support the hospital after the transfer is completed, if the Beaufort County Commissioners contribute their proposed $2 million now under discussion by the county.

    • Offered to assist the community with the search for a new management company and pay reasonable management fees for those services for up to 90 days.

    • Offered to continue to operate the Vidant Family Medicine clinics in Belhaven during the transition period.

    • And in the event that the community cannot assume day-to-day operations on July 1, 2014, Vidant Health will extend the operating hours of the existing primary care practice in Belhaven to a 24/7 schedule to provide urgent care services.

    Dr. David Herman said, "We at Vidant Health have made extraordinary efforts to support health care in the Belhaven area since we took over Vidant Pungo Hospital in 2011."

    • The new hospital will be free of any long-term debt because Vidant Health paid off all of the debt ($1.6 million) of Pungo Hospital in 2011.

    • Vidant Health spent more than $2.3 million on an electronic health record system for the hospital.

    • Vidant Health spent over $1 million on repairs and equipment to keep the hospital operational.

    • Since 2011, Vidant Health has provided more than $2.3 million in uncompensated health care in the Belhaven area.

    Dr. Herman went on to say "Vidant Health is one of the best health care systems in the country. Our physicians, nurses, and other staff working for our hospitals and clinics are dedicated to their patients and to the communities they serve. We are professional health care providers. We must think in terms of what is best for our patients and what is the best way to provide care to the entire community. We also know that health care is expensive, and must consider the most efficient and affordable ways of providing health care services.

    Our extensive analysis found that closing Vidant Pungo Hospital and building a new $4.2 million, 12,000 square-foot multispecialty clinic would offer the residents of Belhaven and surrounding areas a sustainable model of health care. We strongly believe this; however, we recognize the elected officials in the town of Belhaven and the county would like the opportunity to try to keep the hospital in Belhaven open."

    Vidant Health remains focused on its mission and is committed to providing the best health care options for the people in Belhaven and the region.

    Contact:
     Christine Mackey, Vidant Health, 252.847.9390 or Christine.mackey@vidanthealth.com

    Vidant Health, a mission-driven, not-for-profit corporation, owns, leases or has a majority membership interest in nine eastern North Carolina hospitals. The health system includes Vidant Beaufort Hospital, Vidant Bertie Hospital, Vidant Chowan Hospital, Vidant Duplin Hospital, Vidant Edgecombe Hospital, The Outer Banks Hospital, Vidant Medical Center, Vidant Pungo Hospital, Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital, Vidant Home Health and Hospice,Vidant Wellness Centers, Vidant Medical Group and is affiliated with the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. You can find more information on the web at www.vidanthealth.com.