A Positive Partnership

by Sep 22, 2020Across the Cape Fear, North Brunswick, Wilmington

A new survey finds that the majority of residents support the partnership between Novant Health and New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

As of July 2020, Novant Health, New Hanover Regional Medical Center and UNC School of Medicine have entered into a partnership that will help the healthcare entities better serve the region. To find out how area residents perceive the partnership, Novant Health hired a third party to conduct a public survey among 1,000 residents from the five counties NHRMC currently serves: New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, Bladen and Columbus.

The survey found that 72 percent of the respondents believe a partnership between Novant Health, New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC) and UNC School of Medicine would have an overall positive impact on the community, and only 10 percent feel there would be a negative impact.

“New Hanover Regional Medical Center has established an outstanding legacy in its 53 years of serving the community,” says Jesse Cureton, executive vice president and chief consumer officer at Novant Health. “Since our selection as their potential partner, Novant Health has actively engaged the community to generate awareness about how this partnership will greatly and positively impact New Hanover County and the surrounding communities. We are honored by the confidence in us as a positive partner in the community as demonstrated by this new, objective survey.”

In addition to gauging awareness and support of the potential partnership between Novant Health and NHRMC, residents were asked about key components that may be impacted, including access to care, quality of care, cost of care, employment opportunities and impact on the local economy. Quality of care was noted as the single biggest influencer of the resident’s views on the partnership, followed by health equity.

The 17-question survey was proportionately distributed across the five counties and allowed respondents to answer questions either through their home phone or the internet. Questions were offered to respondents in both English and Spanish to be more inclusive and representative of the population served by NHRMC. The survey was created and distributed through SurveyUSA, an independent, apolitical and nonpartisan polling firm.

Over the past couple of weeks, the Partnership Advisory Group (PAG) and Novant Health have proactively engaged with and educated community members through forums. The PAG is a 21-member group of hospital board of trustee members, physicians and members of the New Hanover community charged by the county and NHRMC to determine the future of NHRMC.

For more information on the potential partnership between Novant Health and NHRMC and to see the full survey results, visit NovantHealth.org/ImagineBetter.