With the hiring of Chief Executive Officer Craig James in 2001, Person Memorial Hospital welcomed more than a new face. One of James' top priorities is a face lift for the hospital - a multi million dollar expansion and renovation project.

Prior to his arrival, James served for five years as CEO at a small community hospital in Virginia, and he has nearly 20 years of hospital-administration experience. He made the move in part because - as his accent reveals - he is a North Carolina native.

"It was a good move professionally to move into a larger hospital as well as to get back to North Carolina, "James says.

He describes his management style as participate" with as emphasis on group decision making. As CEO, James is responsible for implementing the hospital's mission and formulating the strategic plan.

"A key role for me is trying to predict where we're going to be three to five years from now," he says.

That vision starts with a massive renovation and expansion for the hospital, "We also want to expand our intensive care unit."

The overhaul is necessary to keep pace with the medical needs of the area's growing population and general healthcare trend towards more outpatient services.

Person Medical - the only hospital in county - already admits approximately 2,400 people a year and handles around 30.000 outpatient visits an d16,00 emergency room visits annually. After the construction and renovation, the hospital is expected to accommodate 20 percent to percent more volume.

Planning is still under way. "We expect to complete the planning component within the next 12 months," James says. "Then new construction would begin. We anticipate (the cost of the project) could be somewhere between $5 million and $7 million."

As the hospital and the community grow, more nurses will be needed, so James is establishing ties with Piedmont Community College nursing program.
" I am working to straighten our relationship as a recruitment tool for attracting graduates," he says. "We recently established a loan forgiveness program. We will subsidize the expenses for the two-year nursing degree in return for a commitment to work with us for two years."

Meanwhile James is James is developing the new hospital's charitable arm -
Person Memorial Hospital Foundation.

Nationally, hospitals have suffered funding and reimbursement cuts and realize the need for additional community support to maintain and improve health care services.

"We're setting up the corporation with it's own board and educating the community about it." James says. "It has a low amount of funds at this point."
He intends to boost funding levels so the foundation can meet additional needs in the community, Because the community, James says, "is what we're here for, what our mission is, and who we're here to serve."