An emotional evening is likely as the 14th annual Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation welcomes the return of the chief executive officer of Cape Fear Valley Health System, Mike Nagowski, who suffered a cranial cerebral hemorrhage aneurysm in October.

Mike Nagowski will take the words of his family physician to heart Saturday evening when the chief executive officer of Cape Fear Valley Health System delivers what has become his annual state-of-health care address in this and surrounding communities.

Mike, you have a second chance in life, and God must have a calling on your life, Dr. John Moultrie would tell Nagowski at the end of an annual health exam in December 10 weeks after Nagowski's surgery and recovery from an Oct. 12 cranial cerebral hemorrhage aneurysm. You have something more to do, and make the most of God's plan.

Moultries words resonated with Nagowski.

I'm going to tell a bit of my story, Nagowski, 54, says about the 14th annual Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation Gala scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Highland Country Club, and where the CEO will address an estimated audience of 500 to include physicians, nurses and about 40 members of the fledgling resident program at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

The evening will not be lost on Sabrina Brooks.

We are so thankful to have Mr. Nagowski back as our leader, says Brooks, the foundation's executive director. His vision for health care in this community and dedication to Cape Fear Valley Health is unparalleled, and we are grateful for his leadership. With the importance of expanding the graduate medical education program and establishing the neuroscience center at the forefront of the foundations efforts, Mr. Nagowskis presence will help share the impact these programs will have on enhancing health care for our community and the southeast region of North Carolina.

It will be emotional for many in the room.

This event will be his 'coming out' after his absence, Brooks says, and I believe his remarks will talk about the quality of health care Cape Fear Valley provides to the community and the ways we continue to expand care, something he now has a new perspective on due to his personal experience.

The evening will not be lost on Emily Schaefer.

It definitely will be a moment, says Schaefer, president of the foundation that has raised $1,664,000 through the gala since 2007. Two months ago, we didn't think this would be happening.

The evening will not be lost on Michael Hodges.

I am thankful my friend Mike Nagowski has returned to work, says Hodges, a Fayetteville cardiologist.I believe his return to work, and his survival, is a miracle that causes me to pause and give thanks.During his years of leadership, the health system has enjoyed unprecedented growth.

Mike Nagowski is not a physician.

He cannot operate on your ailing heart or reroute your blocked arteries. He cannot remove a cancerous tumor. Or your gall bladder. He cannot nurse you in an intensive care unit or deliver a newborn in the neonatal unit.

But he is the vision for Cape Fear Valley Health, which consists of 850 physicians, 1,779 licensed nurses to include certified registered nurse anesthetists and licensed nurse practitioners in the health system's six-county region that serves Bladen, Harnett, Hoke, Robeson, Sampson and Cumberland counties.

The health system proper, Nagowski says, cares for 44,000 inpatients, approximately 260,000 emergency department visits and 450,000 physician office visits, with 36,000 inpatient and, 140,000 emergency department visits at the medical center alone on Owen Drive.

Nagowski gets down to the business Saturday of his second chance.

We need the neuroscience institute, Nagowski says of what he envisions for the fifth floor of the Center for Medical Education and Research building, a $28.3 million structure to be built on what once was a nurses dormitory when the hospital opened in 1956. The nation is not producing enough neurosurgeons. Neurosurgeons are the hardest to recruit. Recruiting and convincing them is the difficult part.

There are two neurosurgeons at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, Nagowski says, about Dr. Charles Haworth and Dr. Melissa Stamates.

Our neurosurgeons are board-certified and qualified to do all types of neurosurgery, both heads and backs, Nagowski says. The bulk of Charles practice is complicated spine, and while Dr. Stamates does both back and head, she has additional training and interest in brain.

The hospital, Nagowski says, could use three more neurosurgeons to cover the region and complement the residency program in its third year with 100 resident physicians specializing in general surgery, pediatrics, OB-GYN, psychiatry and other medical fields. The goal is 300 residents, and the Cape Fear Health Foundation is working to raise $3 million toward the effort, of which most of the funding has been secured.

That's vision Mike Nagowski's vision.

Our medical community is on the verge of becoming a significant regional academic medical center with far-reaching implications for the improvement of healthcare to all those we see, says Hodges, the cardiologist. I believe the journey would have looked far different without Mike leading the effort. I believe he is living for a reason, and he will transform his future efforts into fulfilling that purpose.

A final word, if you will, from Nagowski.

This happens to people every day, Nagowski says about brain aneurysms. This illustrates the need for a neuroscience center here. Health care is best when it is delivered locally. If I had waited another 24 hours, we would not be talking. What we say and do always has been important to me. This has deepened my belief that what we do here is all about the patient, and we have more work to do here for health care. And with a medical school on this campus, it will be our faculty.

Columnist Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at bkirby@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3571.

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Bill Kirby Jr.: Nagowski to share health care vision for community - The Fayetteville Observer