Belhaven Hospital, Starting Over | Eastern North Carolina Now

    After a long battle the Vidant Pungo Hospital has been given the opportunity to continue operations as a new organization. At a minimum, there will be an emergency room with other services to be determined by the new management.

    The spark that allowed mediation to produce this result was the offer by Beaufort County to loan two million dollars to be secured by the hospital property. After several days of mediation conducted by the US Justice Department and involving, the North Carolina NAACP, NAACP branches in Beaufort and Hyde Counties, the Town of Belhaven and Vidant executives an announcement was made on March 27 that agreement had been reached.

    The agreement was signed by the four parties on April 3. 2014. The agreement provides for the transfer to be made on July 1, 2014. Vidant is providing assistance to transfer the various operations to a new entity to be called Pungo District Hospital Community Board, Inc. to be owned by the Town of Belhaven.

    In addition A new board of directors will be appointed. Vidant is contributing one million dollars. This brings operating capital up to the three million dollars recommended in the management report.

    Vidant doctors contracts will be maintained at least until their expiration dates. Should the transfer not take place on July 1, urgent care will be provided by Vidant physicians in Belhaven at least until their contracts expire.

    Mayor Adam O'Neal spoke, at the signing of the mediation agreement, about the need for cooperation among all parties within the community as we go forward to establish a new management team. He ask the community to come together to make the new hospital venture a success.

    Having been thru the transfer of the Beaufort County Hospital to Vidant, I know there is a mountain of work to be done. The hospital business is not a common sense business. There are mountains of rules, regulations, licenses, verifications, billing, insurance rules and policies, Medicare and Medicaid regulations, personnel rules, licenses and certifications. On and on it goes. In order to effect success, a knowledgeable hospital attorney has been hired and is at work.

    The new board will be faced with how to manage, whether to contract with a management company or hire a manager. I would think volunteers will be a part of the future success for the hospital. Obtaining grants will be an important part of the future of this hospital.

    At this point in time this hospital is essential for the future of Belhaven. The moving of the school out of Belhaven within the past ten years hurt both the population, and economy of Belhaven. Having a hospital can be a key ingredient for the future of this small town.