Johnston Memorial Hospital Keeps Growing
duke university medical center, expansion, health care, johnston cancer center, johnston memorial hospital, medical mall, women’s pavilion,
Johnston Memorial Hospital in Smithfield is continually growing to meet the medical needs of Johnston and surrounding counties. The 175-bed hospital‚ established in 1951‚ offers centers specializing in cancer and wounds‚ a comfortable women’s center and an innovative medical mall.
Johnston Cancer Center is a 50/50 partnership with Duke University Medical Center‚ which means access to that institution’s clinical trial medicine and chemotherapy. Dr. Russell Anderson‚ who leads the center‚ is a Duke faculty member specializing in oncology and hematology.
With the area’s only two hyperbaric chambers‚ Johnston Memorial is noted for its wound care. These oxygenated chambers‚ used to treat scuba diving-related complications‚ also aid in healing open sores‚ diabetic ulcers and other wounds. Wound Clinic surgeons are certified wound specialists.
The Women’s Pavilion‚ opened in December 2001‚ features homelike birthing suites where women stay before‚ during and after delivery of their babies.
Johnston Medical Mall‚ opened in January 2003 across the street from the main hospital‚ pairs modern medicine with old-time ambiance: original hardware floors and other features of a former Burlington sewing plant‚ built in the 1920s‚ along with antique-style street lights suspended from the ceiling.
“It’s a concept nobody else around here has‚” says Susan Phillips‚ community relations coordinator for the hospital.
The mall houses the cancer center‚ urgent care‚ rehab services‚ and The Cyber Café‚ a coffee bar and sandwich shop. There’s also a 3‚000-member wellness center‚ which has two pools and is intertwined with the hospital’s cardiopulmonary rehabilitation facilities. The showcase is a 125-seat auditorium with high-tech audiovisual equipment‚ which the public can lease for conferences‚ meetings‚ pageants … even high school proms. Suites in the mall – which like its more retail-oriented counterparts has its “mall walkers” – are available to lease. “It’s been a good partner for the community‚” says Phillips.
Johnston Memorial also offers a cardiac catheterization lab with four cardiologists.
Proximity to North Carolina’s noted Research Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) is another plus. Duke Medical Center is about 50 miles away; and Johnston Memorial serves as a substation for Duke’s LifeCare intensive-care ambulance. The hospital also has a helipad. About 60 miles away is UNC Hospital‚ which treats many of Johnston Memorial’s pediatric emergencies. WakeMed‚ the largest hospital in Raleigh‚ and its heart center are also close by. About 50 miles away in Greenville is Pitt County Memorial Hospital‚ a neurological center and medical school.
Johnston Memorial reaches across the county through satellite operations: two Johnston Family Care Centers‚ in Kenly and McGee’s Crossroads; Summit Surgical Center‚ a freestanding outpatient facility in Clayton that also houses rehab services‚ a physical therapy gym and Summit Rehab Medicine; and QuikMed‚ an urgent care center in the Cleveland area that also provides mammography and bone density services.
Expect more changes: Plans are on the table for a new patient tower‚ which will dramatically alter the hospital’s appearance while expanding its capacity for care.
Story by Jeff Walter
Photo by Antony Boshier
