Steve DeVane|The Fayetteville Observer

Cape Fear Valley Health is building a $30 million facility for its growing medical residency program.

The 120,000-square-feet Center for Medical Education and Research at theMelrose Road and Owen Drive also will be home of the health systems Neuroscience Institute.

The health system held a groundbreaking ceremony for the center last month. Officials say the state-of-the-art facility is expected to attract residents, physicians and specialists to the area.

The residency program is a partnership between the health system and the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine at Campbell University.

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Dr. Donald Maharty, Cape Fear Valleys vice president for medical education, said the residency program has 133 residents, which is near its capacity. The new center will allow the program to expand to 300 residents and help train about 100 medical students from Campbell.

Maharty said expanding the residency program will help deal with a shortage of doctors in North Carolina. About half of the 25 residents who have graduated or are about to graduate have indicated that they plan to stay in the Cumberland County area, he said.

Ultimately, improving access and quality of healthcare is our main focus, he said.

The estimated economic impact of the residency program over 10 years is $580 million, Maharty said.

The programs impact is similar to a company bringing more than 900 jobs to the area, according to hospital officials.

Maharty said the new center will include 5,000 square feet of simulation labs. The facility will include a fully simulated operating room and labor and delivery room. Doctors also will get training that simulates what they face in emergency rooms and intensive care units.

All of this adds to enhanced training and patient safety, he said.

Dr. Charles Haworth, physician leader at Cape Fear Valley Neurosurgery, said the Neuroscience Institute in the center will allow the hospital to integrate services in a central location. For example, computer-generated 3-D models of a patients brain or spine can help surgeons decide how best to approach each situation.

In general, youre trying to do something as minimally invasive as possible ... and youre trying to solve the problem, he said.

The center also will provide a modern facility for the institute, Haworth said.

I think we need a top-notch building to house our people so we can attract other top-notch physicians, he said.

Dr. Melissa Stamates, a physician with Cape Fear Valley Neurosurgery, said the center will lead to a higher quality of care. The facility will let the doctors communicate with patients over a secure email program.

Patients will get more information about their brains and spines, she said.

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Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the hospital, is raising $6 million toward the cost of the center, according to Jaime Powell, the foundations gifts officer. She said about 80% of that has been raised, including gifts from The Duke Endowment, the Thomas R. and Elizabeth E. McLean Foundation, the Cape Fear Valley Health Volunteer Auxiliary, the Golden LEAF Foundation, and the Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation.

Powell said the groundbreaking kicked off the public phase of the fundraising campaign, which hopes to raise $1.3 million. That effort is led by the foundations volunteer Caring for the Future Committee, which is co-chaired by Virginia Thompson Oliver and Tony Cimaglia.

Other funding for the center was provided by Campbell University and the state.

Sabrina Brooks, the foundations administrative director, said members of the community are stepping up to help pay for the center.

This is one of the most transformational projects that Cape Fear Valley has taken on, she said.

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Staff writer Steve DeVane can be reached at sdevane@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3572.

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Cape Fear Valley to build center to train doctors. Here's what that means for Cumberland County. - The Fayetteville Observer