Then....
"When we were planning this facility, we looked for a model that was consistent with our vision," says Jeffrey S. Miller president of High Point Regional Health System.  Central to that vision, he adds, is patient and family convenience.  "Many times, hospitals say they have a Heart Center when what they really have are isolated services in different areas of the hospital or even in different buildings."  What that means for the patients is that they often have to walk from the hospital area to an area for services and treatment.

The idea of building a heart center came directly from the specialists at Carolina Cardiology Associates.  This 11-physician practice, serving Guilford County since 1976 and with cardiology offices in High Point, Asheboro, Lexington, Thomasville and Kernersville, developed the heart center concept as a way to provide convenience for patients and families, as well as to maximize both physician and staff efficiency.

So, in 1999 we broke ground for the new Heart Center.

Now....

January 2001....Carolina Regional Heart Center opened its doors!

"It's the reaching out to physicians, to prospective patients and to communities–that's why we're excited about Carolina Regional Heart Center," states Dr. Zan Tyson, president of Carolina Cardiology Associates and Medical Director. " When we establish a satellite clinic or cardiology practice in a community, we make a commitment to a community that we'll stay.  Commitment is also why we do preventive healthcare education, from seminars to health fairs to women's conferences.  Once patients have identified that you are concerned about them, then if they need your services they will call you.  They know that you aren't just there when they get sick, but you truly have their best interests at heart."

"Having a state-of-the-art Heart Center contiguous with the telemetry and cardiac care unit and having the cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons in offices right off of this unit improve the specialists' efficiency.  We can see more of our patients and do more for them because we are just down the hall.  We are also right there to immediately treat any cardiac emergencies coming into the hospital."

"But what makes us unique and attractive to our patients is our spirit; we are not so big that patients feel as if they are in a factory, or an institution." In fact, Carolina Regional Heart Center excels in its patient satisfaction rates on nursing care, physician care, pre-admission process, meeting emotional needs of patients and providing information to patients and their families, achieving scores in the 85-94 percentile and surpassing peer hospitals by an average of five percentage points.