Pitt County Hospital Teams Up to Fight Heart Disease

Pitt County Hospitals Team Up to Fight Heart Disease Pitt County Memorial Hospital is experiencing a surge in cardiovascular-related admissions. Eastern North Carolina is famous for many things‚ from barbecue to baseball to beaches. But it’s also known as a hotbed of heart disease‚ a distinction officials at Pitt County Memorial Hospital and East Carolina University are determined to eradicate. Groundbreaking for the new East Carolina Heart Institute took place early in 2006‚ and by the end of 2008 eastern North Carolina will be served by one of the leading-edge cardiovascular treatment and research facilities in the nation. “In one place we’ll have a great research and medical practice aimed at understanding‚ preventing and curing heart disease‚” says ECU Communications Director John Durham. “We hope this partnership will eventually bring down the staggering rate of cardiovascular disease in the area.” The statistics that prompted the new center are staggering indeed. If the 29-county area surrounding and including Pitt County were taken as a state‚ it would have the highest rate of premature death from cardiovascular disease in the country. One in four North Carolinians suffers from heart disease‚ which accounts for 34 percent of the state’s deaths. Annually‚ the costs of cardiovascular disease are $6 billion statewide. And 95 percent of cardiovascular beds remain filled. “We are at capacity‚ and there now is no place for patients to go – everything is full‚” says Barbara Dunn‚ director of public relations at Pitt County Memorial. The new heart institute will consist of two new buildings‚ one focused on treatment and the other on research and education. Staff of both will work together under the direction of Dr. W. Randolph Chitwood Jr.‚ internationally renowned cardiovascular surgeon‚ who pioneered the use of surgical robots in repairing mitral valve damage. The treatment component of the institute will be a $150 million tower connected to the hospital‚ with 120 inpatient beds. The six-story‚ 375‚000-square-foot tower will be located on the east side of the hospital’s campus. “Each patient will have a private room‚ and we will have surgical and intervention suites with state-of-the-art design and equipment‚” says Dunn. “We’ll have a heart-healthy café‚ a dedicated rehab gymnasium‚ a resource center for patient and visitor information‚ and wireless computer access.” ECU’s component will be located nearby in a four-story‚ 206‚000-square-foot building adjacent to the Brody School of Medicine. It will include facilities for basic and clinical research‚ a robotics training program‚ a clinical outpatient facility for cardiovascular diseases‚ a database center‚ physician and education offices‚ and space for future simulation laboratories. “When we open and the word gets out‚ I think the East Carolina Heart Institute will be a landmark opportunity for people to get the kind of cardiovascular care we need here‚” says Dunn. “It will be a place that addresses the real needs of people in this area‚ offering products and services people of this region deserve.” Story by Laura Hill