CALDWELL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL INC

Caldwell Memorial Health, Inc. d/b/a UNC Health Caldwell is a component unit of the University of North Carolina Health Care System (UNCHCS). UNC Health Caldwell is a 5013 corporation whose sole corporate member is UNCHCS. Caldwell's mission is "to provide safe, effective, and compassionate care and to promote healthy lifestyles to our community." More broadly UNC Health's mission is "To improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others we serve." Our system values are One Great Team, Carolina Care, Leading the Way and It Starts with Me. In fulfilling this mission, Caldwell Memorial Health, Inc. provides medically necessary care to all individuals regardless of their ability to pay and reinvests resources to address unmet health needs, particularly in a rural and medically underserved region. Since opening in 1951, Caldwell Memorial Hospital, Inc. has continued to grow and change to better meet the needs of our community. Anchored by a 137 bed, acute care facility, Caldwell has a 74-year history of providing excellent health services to the residents and visitors of Caldwell and surrounding counties. Caldwell provides comprehensive care and services throughout Caldwell County and the surrounding region. Locations include: 1. The main campus which includes a 110-bed acute care hospital, 27 inpatient bed psychiatric unit and outpatient clinic, outpatient diagnostic services, 24/7 fully staffed emergency room, heart catheterization lab and inpatient and outpatient surgical services. 2. The Hancock Center incorporating outpatient procedures, dialysis access and pain management. 3. The Quest4Life Wellness Center (adjacent to the Hancock Center), a state-of-the-art fitness center open to the public on a membership basis. In addition, outpatient physical and occupational therapy, a cardiac & pulmonary rehab program, metabolic clinic and aesthetic services are housed within the Quest4Life Wellness Center. 4. Hospital primary care and specialty clinics throughout the region (including Caldwell, Catawba and Watauga counties) consisting of more than 70 providers (physicians and mid-level providers) Services include general and family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, medical oncology, gynecology, cardiovascular, orthopedics, spine surgery, podiatry, pulmonology, gastroenterology, urology, general surgery, urgent care and diagnostic services. As the only acute care hospital in Caldwell County, Caldwell Memorial Hospital serves as a critical access point for emergency, inpatient, behavioral health, and specialty services for a largely rural population. Current Year Accomplishments During the year ended June 30, 2025, Caldwell continued work on the Capstone II project. This $33 million project will modernize four areas in the Hospital and create additional space to accommodate future growth. Departments included are the Cath Lab, clinical laboratory, food services including the cafeteria and new inpatient pharmacy space. The Cath Lab is currently unable to accommodate new equipment needed to replace the near end of life current system. The new addition will have more space, new equipment, a second Cath lab and additional recovery spaces. Inclusion of the clinical laboratory allows for upgrades in the infrastructure to power new equipment with higher capacity to handle the current volume in addition to capacity for growth. The current food services department has not been fully renovated since original construction and will greatly benefit from enhanced space. It will allow for increased efficiency, lower energy usage and improvement in food options. The new cafeteria will provide additional seating for employees and visitors, replacing a space that has little space for sitting and relaxing. The inpatient pharmacy is not optimally sized for current volume, and the expansion will not only provide additional space but will enhance efficiency. Groundbreaking occurred in the fall of 2024 and has continued with the expected grand opening in March of 2026. These investments directly support Caldwell's charitable mission by ensuring continued access to modern, safe, and efficient healthcare services for the community while preparing for future population health needs. Caldwell is extremely proud that we can continue bringing new services to our community. A new Interventional Pulmonologist joined the organization late in 2024 and the practice has continued to grow. Caldwell became the first organization in the state to offer lung biopsy's utilizing a Galaxy Robot. This robot allows for much earlier diagnosis of lung cancer. This early-stage diagnosis provides a much higher survival rate than was previously possible. This is especially important for Caldwell county as statistics from Cancer.gov show that the county has a higher incidence of lung cancer than the state of North Carolina. Additionally, statistics show that it has the highest death rate of all cancers in the county and that lung cancer has the highest priority ranking. This program addresses a documented community health disparity and demonstrates Caldwell's commitment to improving outcomes for high-risk populations through early detection and advanced technology. Caldwell was also able to celebrate the successful recruitment of a Neurologist to join the community. A grand opening for the new practice was held in July 2025 and has been well received by the community, meeting a need that had previously been unavailable in the community and allowing patients to seek care close to home. The Heart and Vascular service line continues to grow and expand. Two new physicians, an additional interventional cardiologist and vascular surgeon committed to joining the practice in September 2025 allowing more patients to receive specialty care close to home and reducing the need for travel outside the county. The 27 inpatient bed psychiatric unit named Jonas Hill Hospital opened for patients in July 2020. This facility is adjacent to the Mulberry Medical Office Building and on the main campus of the Hospital. This facility serves people in the community living with mental health conditions and their families providing hope and healing. The facility offers a holistic program of evidence-based psychiatric treatment, team-based medical care and education provided by engaging and dedicated professionals in a safe and healing environment. Caldwell has developed a transformative, clinically integrated, sustained system of high-quality patient and family centered care to serve the mental health needs of patients, families and the community. Working collaboratively with local mental health partners, Caldwell is working to achieve the goal of making mental healthcare as routine, accessible and understandable as physical healthcare. The current year continued building on the success of the virtual Inpatient Psychiatric provider model. This work stabilized the Inpatient providers as well as becoming a new model for rural health care in the behavioral health services sector as the demand for psychiatrists outweighs the supply. This shortage is especially prevalent in rural areas and this model allows providers in high demand to provide services in areas where they traditionally would not exist. In FY 2025, the Inpatient Unit admitted patients for 699 separate stays totaling 8,008 days of care for patients. The center continues to receive positive feedback from patients on their stay. To complement the inpatient unit the psychiatric outpatient clinic was opened in September 2021 in the same building as the Jonas Hill Hospital. The clinic continues to experience high demand and experiences very high schedule utilization which has expanded outpatient services. We continue to look at models to grow capacity for existing demand locally. Jonas Hill services are provided to patients regardless of insurance status and the program helps reduce emergency department utilization and inpatient boarding for individuals experiencing mental health crisis. Caldwell continues to utilize lean transformation techniques and strategies throughout the organization resulting in safer care delivery, improved patient outcomes and better stewardship of charitable care. Caldwell strives to be a top employer in the region. Over the year there were many opportunities to recognize employees for their everyday sacrifices and contributions which we remain very focused on. The results of these efforts are apparent in our lower-than-industry average turnover and high employee satisfaction. Maintaining a stable, engaged workforce supports continuity of care for patients and strengthens the local healthcare infrastructure.