The Great Medical Facilities in WNC

The photos above are (L to R) The Haywood Regional Medical Center  (A Duke LifePoint Hospital) in Waynesville and Memorial Mission Hospital complex in Asheville.   I am extremely proud and thankful that we have such great facilities in our area.

A little over 5 years ago I was diagnosed with a rare cancer in my upper sinus cavity above and behind my eye.  My doctor here send me to a ear, nose and throat doctor in Waynesville who diagnosed the cancer and arranged for surgery at Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem.  After the surgery I was directed to Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville for chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  I found the doctors there to be excellent.  I had a Chemo Oncologist and a Radiation Oncologist who were both thorough, caring, and helpful.  After 5 plus years, I am still diagnosed as cancer free.  I feel as if I owe the last 5 years, and any years I may have left, to my wonderful doctors.

Next week my wife must go for coronary artery bypass surgery at Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville.  Her surgery will be done in the Owen Heart Center by the Asheville Heart team of world-class cardiothoracic surgeons.  This state-of-the-art, award-winning facility is ranked as the only Top 100 Heart Hospital in the Carolinas.  The Owen Heart Center Tower has 60 private rooms for heart patients, a 16 bed cardiac intensive care unit, 6 cardiothoracic operating rooms, a 40 bed cardiovascular progressive care unit, 20 bed cardiovascular intensive care unit, an amphitheater for physicians, staff and community education programs, family conference rooms and a chapel.

The surgeons at Asheville Heart do approximately 1000 surgeries a year, around 20 per week.  They are rated in the top 2% of thoracic surgeons for positive patient outcomes.  My wife is understandably nervous about the surgery, as am I.  I do, however, have total confidence that she will be in the excellent hands of her surgeon, and the highly trained staff in the heart center.

Many clients moving here from Florida and other states are retirees with health issues.  I am often asked about medical facilities in our area.  I confidently answer, “They are great!”  (More about her surgery next month.)

Danny