Health Care

| HEALTH CARE | Jordan health clinics project moves ahead

BY SCOTT NUNN

The pieces needed to make two proposed Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinics in Wilmington are falling into place.

Novant, which recently purchased New Hanover Regional Medical Center, announced in February that the NBA legend is donating $10 million toward the clinics, which will provide primary care and behavioral health services.

After working with Wilmington nonprofit Cape Fear Collective on site selection, Novant announced in early July that it had selected locations at 1410 S. 15th St. and on Fanning Street, properties owned by New Hanover County and the city of Wilmington, respectively.

“After an extensive search, we identified two parcels of land that were a good fit for the development of Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinics,” a Novant Health spokesperson said.

The New Hanover County commissioners voted July 13 to donate the 2 acres on 15th Street to the Novant Health Foundation. The site is near the county’s Health and Human Services Building.

“It is an ideal spot for Novant Health to have a clinic that can serve anyone and everyone in this neighborhood and beyond,” board chair Julia Olson-Boseman said. “I see this clinic working hand in hand with the county’s health and human services agency to provide support services and focus on improving social determinants of health for all of our residents.”

Meanwhile, Wilmington City Council is expected to take up the issue sometime in August, according to a city spokesperson.

“While the city of Wilmington owns the other identified site, we continue to work with the city and other community organizations to determine the exact location,” the Novant spokesperson said. “We want to ensure these clinics are positioned to have the greatest impact on health equity gaps. Both the county and city have played a vital role in that work, and we look forward to sharing updates in the weeks ahead.”

Novant Health and Jordan previously partnered to open two Michael Jordan Family Clinics in Charlotte, “bringing comprehensive primary care, including behavioral health and social support services, to the area’s most vulnerable communities,” officials said.

The Wilmington clinics would be similar to those two existing Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinics.

Such clinics fit into Novant’s goals of providing health care services closer to patients and providing better access to underserved communities, which was a significant issue as local leaders explored selling NHRMC. The sale of county-owned NHRMC to Novant closed on Feb. 1, and the Jordan announcement came just weeks after.

“These two clinics … are geared toward serving people who maybe traditionally haven’t been served too well, areas where the populations are heavily uninsured or have Medicaid,” said Philip Brown, chief community impact officer for Novant Health and former chief physician executive at NHRMC.

The clinics also build on NHRMC’s efforts to reach out beyond the hospital and directly into communities.

“We talk about health equity, and of the biggest factors [is] the social determinants of health and poverty, possibly the largest social determinant of health,” said John Gizdic, a Novant vice president and former CEO of NHRMC.

Gizdic said that Southeastern North Carolina suffers from some of the highest poverty levels in the state, and that on top of that, the region has some of the lowest health scores in a state that itself ranks in the bottom half of the country for health scores.

“We believe achieving health equity requires valuing everyone,” Novant President and CEO Carl Armato said, adding that there will be “ongoing efforts to address avoidable inequities, historic and contemporary injustices and the elimination of healthcare disparities in the communities we serve.”

Jordan graduated from Laney High School in Wilmington in 1981, and in 1982 he helped lead UNC to a national championship. He went on to play 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls. His last year in the NBA was 2003.

Most of Jordan’s wealth has come from endorsement deals, and, in 2012, Business Insider reported that he had become the first billionaire athlete. Jordan, now the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets, is currently worth $1.6 billion.

Prior to the $10 million gift for the Wilmington clinics, his biggest charitable donation had been the $7 million he gave in 2017 for the Charlotte clinics.

“When we set out to partner with New Hanover Regional Medical Center, we made it absolutely clear that one of our top priorities was to improve health outcomes in Southeastern North Carolina with access to affordable care for all,” Armato added. “With Michael’s gift, we’ll be able to more quickly and directly have an impact. The establishment of these two new clinics reinforces our true commitment to improving the health of the southeast region.”

PHOTO BY CHRISTINA HALEY O'NEAL Expanding care: Local government and health officials on July 7 announce proposed locations for two Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinics in Wilmington.

U.S. News rankings give NHRMC high marks

NHRMC is one of the top hospitals in North Carolina, according to U.S. News and World Report.

For its 32nd annual Best Hospitals report, U.S. News evaluated 134 North Carolina hospitals. Of the 18 hospitals that meet the magazine’s highest standards, NHRMC was ranked 11th. The top-rated hospital in the state is Duke University Hospital, followed by UNC Hospitals at No. 2. Rounding out the rest of the Top 5 are Carolina’s Medical Center in Charlotte, UNC Rex Hospital in Raleigh and FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst.

Nine of NHRMC’s specialty-care also were recognized as “high-performing,” the report’s top rating: cancer, cardiology and heart surgery, diabetes and endocrinology, gastroenterology and GI surgery, geriatrics, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, pulmonology and lung surgery and urology.

The complete list is available at health.usnews.com/best-hospitals.

Novant Health mandates employee COVID vaccines

Novant Health, now the Wilmington area’s largest employer, announced July 22 that all employees must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Sept. 15. The vaccine mandate includes workers at NHRMC, Novant Brunswick Medical Center as well as a host of clinics and other outpatient facilities in the area.

“We appreciate and acknowledge the tens of thousands of team members who eagerly received the vaccine,” Novant said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the reality is that vaccination rates remain stagnant across the country, including at Novant Health.”

Novant joins with the state’s largest health care systems in mandating employee vaccinations, including Atrium Health, UNC Health and Duke Health. Also, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough announced that the vaccine will be mandatory for anyone who provides direct patient care. The VA has outpatient clinics in Wilmington and Supply.

Send information about company hires, promotions or awards to editor@wilmingtonbiz.com UNCW Board of Trustees welcomes new members

The UNCW Board of Trustees has added new members and elected officers for the 2021-22 academic year.

The board has elected GIDGET KIDD as chair, HENRY “HANK” MILLER as vice chair and CARLTON FISHER as secretary.

Kidd, a member of the board since 2013, will also lead the executive committee and the endowment board.

The UNCW Board of Trustees has also welcomed its newest members, JEFF CLARK, MALCOMB COLEY, HOLLY GRANGE and JAMES “CHIP” MAHAN.

The new board also includes reappointed members ROBERT RIPPY, JIMMY TATE and ROBBY FENSOM, as well as trustees AGNES BEANE, YOUSRY SAYED and WOODY WHITE.

Trustees who are rotating off the board after serving from 20132021 are DENNIS BURGARD, MICHAEL DRUMMOND, HENRY “HAL” KITCHIN and MAURICE SMITH.

Mark Loudermilk Architecture builds team

Mark Loudermilk Architecture, which has opened its first office in downtown Wilmington, has added several people to its team of professionals.

The firm this year has hired JAMIE FEASTER, RONALD COVIL, DEVANSHI SHASTRI and PHIL HOOD to join the firm, located at 201 N. Front St., Suite 1004.

Hood started working with the company in June. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and his master’s degree at Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles.

Feaster started working with the firm in March. She graduated from Marywood University in Pennsylvania.

Covil, a graduate of Cape Fear Community College, began working with the company in April.

And Shastri started working with the firm in May. She earned a master’s degree from University at Buffalo.

The firm handles commercial and residential architecture, including dental offices and more recently, single-family homes and condo projects.

Wilmington Health adds ortho surgeon Fortun

Wilmington Health has added CHAD FORTUN to its primary and specialty care services. Fortun, a board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon, brings expertise in

Fortun sports medicine to Wilmington Health to establish the new service within the health care network.

“Fortun provides comprehensive orthopedic care ranging from minimally invasive surgery and non-operative injuries to cutting edge joint replacements. Additionally, Dr. Fortun serves as a leading expert in hip preservation surgery through hip arthroscopy,” officials said.

Fortun is a fellowship-trained hip arthroscopy surgeon.

Fortun began his work in orthopedics and sports medicine as a physical therapist before attending medical school.

After he completed medical school, he spent an additional year at Southern California Orthopedic Institute in Los Angeles training in sports medicine, arthroscopy and reconstructive surgery.

Intracoastal Realty hires Kirby, Gee as agents

Intracoastal Realty has hired two new agents for its team. The realty company has added TAYLOR KIRBY to its Barclay Pointe office. And DANIEL GEE has joined the Kirby agency’s Lumina Station office. Kirby is originally from the Supply area and owns property in Holden Beach. He has experience Gee in coastal markets. Kirby attended Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree.

While obtaining his degree, he worked with Speedway Motorsports, Speedway Children’s Charities and Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord.

Gee moved to the Wilmington area in 2019. Originally from Ohio, he completed college at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He began practicing real estate while attending school.