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Durham, NC

Health Care

The Durham area didn’t get the nickname “City of Medicine” by chance. More than 2,000 physicians practice in the area, making the ratio of physicians-to-residents five times higher than the national average. Top medical centers, caring medical professionals, state-of-the-art medical equipment, innovative research facilities, and major pharmaceutical and health care companies combine to make Durham the top medical city in the nation. The Raleigh-Chapel Hill-Durham area was listed as the second-healthiest area in the nation in 2004 by Outlook Magazine.

Durham Regional Hospital

Durham Regional Hospital patients can expect the quality health care the region is known for, performed by a caring staff. As part of the Duke University Health System, Durham Regional Hospital provides a world-class level of care with a certain warmth and comfort that can only be found in a community hospital. Serving Durham County and the surrounding areas for close to 30 years, Durham Regional is a 369-bed acute-care hospital providing outpatient, inpatient and emergency care.

Comprehensive services offered at Durham Regional include:

• Obstetric/gynecological and medical/surgical services and
newborn care
• Radiology services
• Cancer services
• Heart services, including a comprehensive cardiac
rehabilitation program
• Behavioral health services
• Rehabilitation
• General surgery
• Weight-loss surgery
• General medicine
• Orthopaedics, including treatment and rehabilitation for sports injuries

Durham Regional has special programs and facilities in place not only to help patients recover from injury and illness, but also to celebrate life’s most joyous occasions.

The Birth Center: More than 2,000 babies are born at Durham Regional Hospital each year. The experienced team at Durham Regional Hospital is ready to pamper mom, dad and baby with exceptional care and special touches. The hospital’s eight comfortable delivery suites feature a cozy, home-like atmosphere, with necessary medical equipment hidden behind wood paneling and furniture until needed. Four of the suites even have whirlpools for relaxation during labor. The hospital-based anesthesia team is available 24 hours a day. Babies can room in with mom in one of the hospital’s 31 private postpartum rooms or be cared for in the nursery; a strict infant-security system ensures peace of mind. Durham Regional also has an 18-bed Level II Intensive Care Nursery staffed by
Duke neonatologists.

Durham Rehabilitation Institute: Offering physical, speech and occupational therapy, a team of acute-care therapists provides each patient with a treatment plan to address individual needs. Durham Rehabilitation Institute is a state-of-the-art, 30-bed facility offering a complete continuum of care, from acute inpatient rehabilitation to individually tailored outpatient programs.

Outpatient Nutrition & Diabetes Education Center: Dedicated to ­providing up-to-date information on nutrition and diabetes self-management skills, the center offers education programs for diabetes, nutrition and diabetes during pregnancy. Participants gain the knowledge, skills and tools needed to live a healthier life. Instructors help participants develop a plan to meet their individual needs and assist participants in setting goals for a healthy lifestyle. Instructors include registered and licensed dietitians and a registered nurse. All instructors are also
Certified Diabetes Educators.

The Wellness Institute: Home to the hospital’s cardiac rehabilitation program and pulmonary rehabilitation program (known as The Lung School), the Wellness Institute at Durham Regional Hospital is dedicated to improving the quality of life for patients with lung and heart disease. Multidisciplinary programs consist of individualized exercise programs, education, nutritional intervention and psychosocial support. A dedicated team of specialists work with each patient to tailor a program for individual needs.

At Durham Regional, patients not only receive quality care to restore their health and keep them healthy, but they also receive the care and concern of local physicians and nurses working together to provide the best health care available.

Duke University Medical Center

After transforming Trinity College into Duke University in 1924, influential businessman James Buchanan Duke made an additional bequest to the Duke Endowment and the university, including $4 million to establish a medical school, hospital and nurses home. Duke’s bold dream was to create the best medical institution between Baltimore and New Orleans. Less than four years after the new school and hospital opened in 1930, an accreditation committee of the American Medical Association placed Duke among the top 20 schools in the country.

Today, Duke University Health System operates one of the nation’s top-ranked hospital and medical programs. Duke University Hospital has been recognized as one of the world’s great health care providers by TIME and U.S. News & World Report. There are more Duke physicians listed on The Best Doctors in America than from any other institution in the southeastern United States. The heart center, children’s hospital, eye center, cancer center and sports-medicine program are among the top in the nation.

A full-service tertiary-care medical center, Duke University Hospital is licensed for 924 beds. In addition to regular and intensive-care inpatient units, the hospital houses a regional emergency/trauma center with a separate pediatric emergency department; a major surgery suite with four dedicated open-heart operating rooms; the Duke Surgical Endosurgery Center, for minimally invasive surgical procedures; and an extensive diagnostic radiology area.

The Duke University Health System also includes Durham Regional Hospital, a 369-bed acute care hospital that has been serving the health care needs of Durham, Orange and surrounding communities for more than 25 years. As a comprehensive health care facility, Durham Regional provides inpatient, outpatient and emergency care and features a Level II nursery, Durham Regional Rehabilitation Institute and the Davis Ambulatory Surgery Center.
For more information, visit www.dukehealth.org.

The Durham Center

The Durham Center stands ready to assist residents in crisis. If you think you or a family member needs services for mental health, developmental disabilities and/or substance abuse (MH/DD/SA), contact Durham Center Access. You can reach Durham Center Access 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 919-560-7100 or 800-510-9132. Durham Center Access offers screening and referral and is also the crisis-evaluation and stabilization facility for Durham County.

Clients of The Durham Center will work with a case manager to create a person-centered plan, also called a PCP. The Durham Center works in partnership with other community agencies to build an array of services, supports and linkages among community agencies that support adults, children and their families to achieve their life goals. Case managers will work with their clients to direct them to the services they need most. Clients enjoy full confidentiality in accordance with state law.

The Durham Center is developing a comprehensive system of care that includes home-, neighborhood- and community-based services and supports provided by agencies, programs and services responsive to the cultural, racial and ethnic strengths and differences of the people they serve. The adult, child and/or family directs the kinds of services and supports they receive to meet their needs.
The Durham Center ensures that the services offered to citizens with needs concerning mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse are of high quality and reflect the best standards of care. For more information about The Durham Center, call 919-560-7100 or visit www.durhamcenter.org.

Caring House

Caring House, a nonprofit organization, is a special place. It is a home away from home for adult cancer patients from out of town who need a comfortable, affordable and safe place to stay while receiving outpatient treatment at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Since opening in 1993, Caring House has served more than 2,375 patients, along with their accompanying care­givers. The support that guests and caregivers give one another helps to make more bearable the four to six weeks of treatment that many face.

A recent guest had this to say about his stay at Caring House: “The Caring House has been the best treatment I possibly could have received. This is more than just a place to stay. It is a haven from the rest of the world. A safe place where everyone around you understands what you are going through — both the physical and the mental side effects of treatment. Just to be able to walk through the door and be able to see smiles that welcome you home is worth everything to me.”

Other Area Health Providers

The Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center serves a 29-county region as a tertiary care center, providing veterans of the armed forces with the top-quality care they deserve. It is one of only eight VA centers in the nation with a Women’s Comprehensive Health Care program and continues to be a national leader in medical research.

Durham is also home to the North Carolina Eye and Ear Hospital. For over 60 years, the hospital has been providing specialized care for the neck, throat, eye and ear for the residents of North Carolina. The center has a full-service optical center as well.

Residents of Durham know that exercise and proper diet are essential to continued good health. The Duke Center for Living promotes good health through its well-equipped fitness facility. In addition, there are physician offices and diagnostic services within the Duke Center for Living. It is a one-stop center for your health care needs as well as your healthy living lifestyle.