Village Profile® Home Page | About our Company | Sales Opportunities | Community eStore | vpmobile.us®

Healthcare Takes Center Stage

Kernersville became a hot spot of attention in the medical arena as large medical centers in neighboring cities set their sights on the community that has long been known as the “Heart of the Triad.” After two years of negotiations and compromise, Kernersville emerged with nearly every nearby medical center represented to provide citizens with both choice and coverage. Expanding healthcare in Kernersville is a direct result of the phenomenal growth the community has experienced, and acknowledgement by the medical industry that the Kernersville community can support increased healthcare alternatives.

Residents appreciate the lengths that officials of medical centers and Kernersville have pursued to bring healthcare options into Kernersville. Driving out of town for doctors’ appointments will become less of an issue as more practices open in response to the insertion of medical centers into the once bucolic, now bustling Kernersville.

“It is really encouraging to my patients to have access to healthcare in our community and to be so centrally located. Our location is a big asset, and it is nice to see more specialties coming to us. It makes treatment more accessible, especially for seniors,” says Dr. Amy Harper of Harper Eye Care on Old Winston Road.

Harper foresees patients being able to take advantage of having surgical treatments closer to home as services continue to expand with incoming facilities, a prediction that long-time Kernersville orthodontist Dr. Bruce Burns echoes.

“Kernersville is going to be more self-sufficient, which is wonderful for all of us. We had been slightly more isolated in years past, but that has changed drastically in the last five years,” says Burns. One of two orthodontists practicing in Kernersville, Burns opened his practice in 1984.

Dr. Darian Smith of Kernersville Chiropractic & Acupuncture Center feels that “Kernersville is a future oriented community because its residents recognize wellness care is crucial for their financial well-being as well as their physical well-being. Health is wealth. For example, chiropractic is the largest nonsurgical, drugless health care profession in the world, and Kernersville has 10 chiropractic physicians. Once considered alternative medicine, many consider it mainstream primary neuromusculoskeletal management.”

The growth of Kernersville’s newest facilities has been fast and furious after years of planning and preparation. The construction of the Kernersville Moses Cone MedCenter reached completion in 2008. Deno Adkins, director of the facility, remains a blur, a man with a mission as he walks the halls of the building he helped build. A Furman University graduate, Adkins obtained a dual MBA/health administration degree from Georgia State University in July 2003. As part of the graduation requirement, he had to complete a hospital residency akin to a residency physicians complete before they can practice. He chose to come to the residency program offered by Moses Cone Health System in Greensboro.

“I’ve had great mentoring through Tim Rice (named president and chief executive officer of the Moses Cone Health System in August 2004). He has taken a real interest in interns doing well,” said Adkins.

The residency led to Adkins being tapped to direct the project in Kernersville, a multimillion dollar undertaking that involved town approval, budgets, construction, focus groups, interior design and physician recruitment. From details to leaving out electrical plugs at the snack bar to discourage laptop use to designing work stations and waiting areas that are computer-friendly, Adkins has been part of every facet of the facility’s design. He said he has been involved in marketing/ public relations, physician relations, community relations, construction and finance. Even details like what kind of mailbox to erect or the most economic way to maintain plantings were part of Adkins’ responsibilities.

However, he is quick to point out that the building has been a group project from the beginning.

“We were very deliberate in making sure that we didn’t bring services that Kernersville didn’t need. We engaged the community in the design process. We had focus groups of Kernersville patients to tell us what they wanted to see,” says Adkins as he stops to take plastic off a receptionist’s chair that had just been delivered.

On Saturday, May 24, 2008, approximately 600 attended the MedCenter’s grand opening celebration. A carnival type of atmosphere reigned in the parking lot with tours given of the new MedCenter. As Adkins gives tours, he details features like sculpture and art by local Kernersville artists or the way that the imaging waiting rooms are split so that women having mammograms are given privacy away from other patients.

“It’s been a teamwork effort,” says Adkins.

Moses Cone Health System has owned the 13-acre campus since 2000, says Adkins. Currently, the new facility is using approximately 10 acres of the property.

The groundbreaking for the $84 million Kernersville Medical Center (KMC) soon followed the opening of the Moses Cone MedCenter Kernersville. Novant’s KMC brings a 50-bed medical center to the community, a first and very historic event. The 70-acre campus will include an emergency room and is slated to open in 2010. Gabrielle Causby, the new KMC president, was tapped to open the facility given her experience with Novant’s Thomasville Medical Center.

“When enough demand and support comes from the community, it makes a lot of sense to open (a medical center),” says Causby. “I hear from a good number of folks who don’t want to deal with the traffic to drive to appointments.”

Driving to Winston-Salem or beyond will not be necessary for many patients any more. Of the 50 beds, 46 will be assigned as acute-care medical-surgical beds. A four-bed intensive care unit and four surgical operating rooms will be available. The emergency room’s 14 treatment rooms will serve the community well. Imaging services include CT, fluoroscopy, ultrasound, X-ray and a mobile MRI. A pharmacy will dispense drugs for patients, and a laboratory will process tests.

Causby anticipates up to 350 hospital jobs and a $25 million payroll to boost the area’s economy. These numbers do not calculate the additional jobs coming in as physician offices begin to add locations. The overall job impact could be up to 800 jobs positioned around and near KMC. However, do not let the size and scope fool you. When it comes to the healthcare KMC will be providing, Causby says, “And while the building is important, the care people receive is the most important intent, no matter what the size of the hospital may be.”

Kernersville’s healthcare options for citizens include specialized fields. For example, Greensboro Orthopaedics, whose tagline is “Doctors for an Active Life,” has opened a satellite office in the Moses Cone MedCenter.

“When Greensboro Orthopaedics was contacted by the Moses Cone Hospital System to advise us that they were building a medical facility in Kernersville and asked us if we would be interested in this facility, we felt that this would be a nice opportunity to service the Kernersville medical community,” says Dr. James P. Aplington when asked about his office’s expansion in Kernersville.

Greensboro Orthopaedics treats patients from pediatric to geriatric age ranges. They provide diagnostic services, orthopaedic care and surgical treatment. Their Web site notes that their “total care concept spans the spectrum from ingrown toenails to total joint replacements. In addition, our orthopaedic surgeons, physiatrist and medical staff are constantly developing additional expertise, acquiring in-depth knowledge of medical, scientific and technological advancements.” This type of detailed specialty demonstrates how opportunities for Kernersville citizens and surrounding residents have increased with the influx of more medical facilities in the community.

Physicians see the benefits as well.

“From our perspective, Kernersville is midway between Winston-Salem and Greensboro and is a growing, bustling area. Having a presence in Kernersville would make it convenient for the Kernersville residents and save them time and be much more economic than having to drive to either Greensboro or the Winston-Salem areas for orthopaedic care,” says Aplington.

Many healthcare professionals not only practice in Kernersville but have chosen the community to call home.

“I came to Kernersville because I had a job, but I fell in love with the small-town feel. Both my husband and I grew up in small towns. Kernersville has been a great community for our family, and it is special to see patients who are also friends or to see multiple generations of a family. That is advantageous to track family history as well,” says Dr. Amy Harper.

The patients are what make Kernersville healthcare professionals feel such strong job satisfaction.

“My patients are the nicest patients in the world,” says Harper.

Kernersville Chamber of Commerce President Bruce Boyer cites the tremendous variety of options and the developing of advanced medical care and special capabilities as major benefits. The growth in healthcare continues to increase the level of care and convenience for Kernersville residents.