Todd Hickey, president and CEO of ECU Health North, briefed the Halifax County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 5 about the hospital’s operations, investments and plans to expand rural access to care.

Hickey described a strategy of shifting patient care from emergency rooms to managed outpatient services, highlighted the hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab and recent specialty hires (including an orthopedic hand surgeon), and stressed partnerships with local primary care providers and Rural Health Group to increase access in outlying communities. He noted the difficulty of recruiting specialists to rural areas and identified housing availability for staff as a limiting factor in recruitment.

Hickey also reviewed utilization numbers and community benefits: the hospital expects about 28,000 emergency department visits, about 4,600 admissions and roughly 400 births this year. He said roughly 75% of the hospital’s patients are covered by government payers (Medicare/Medicaid), making rural hospitals financially fragile under reimbursement models skewed toward metropolitan areas. Commissioners expressed support, offered help in promoting services, and proposed partnering with the community college and other local organizations to expand the workforce pipeline.

Commissioners asked the hospital to increase outreach in rural parts of the county, including Hollister, Enfield, Scotland Neck and Lake Gaston communities. Hickey welcomed the suggestions and said ECU Health North is pursuing community health fairs, mobile services and local partnerships.

No formal action was required.