Rural North Carolina hospitals say recruiting surgeons is key to long-term success (2024)

By Rachel Baldauf

Border Belt Independent

Rural hospitals across the country often struggle to recruit doctors. Recruiting surgeons is even tougher.

In southeastern North Carolina, the hospitals in Scotland and Robeson counties are investing in surgical programs that health care experts say are vital to the survival of rural hospitals.

Scotland Health in Laurinburg built new operating rooms and renovated the hospital’s surgical services department as part of a$45 million expansionthat will open in September. UNC Health Southeastern in Lumberton recently hired two orthopedic surgeons who can perform operations that patients previously had to travel out of county to receive.

Hospitals are typically reimbursed for surgeries at a higher rate than other types of care, according to Lucien St. Onge, Scotland Health’s chief financial officer. The extra money can be used to support other departments, including preventative and maternal care.

“The OR tends to be the heart of the hospital,” St. Onge said. “It pumps lifeblood through for the rest of the departments because from a financial standpoint it is key.”

The United States has suffered for years from a shortage of surgeons. By 2023, the country was estimated to have a shortfall of as many as 23,000 surgeons, according to a 2019 report by theAssociation of American Medical Colleges. The squeeze is especially apparent at rural hospitals, which often struggle to offer competitive salaries to debt-burdened medical school graduates.

St. Onge said he hopes Scotland Health’s expansion will help recruit more doctors to the county.

“When you’re looking at young surgeons, or even experienced ones, when they come check things out, they can get some excitement around new facilities,” he said.

James Slauterbeck and Temitope Adebayo, the orthopedic surgeons recently hired by UNC Health Southeastern, said they joined the hospital because they wanted to help create a high-quality orthopedics center in a rural setting. Neither doctor has ties to Robeson County, but both say they are drawn to the tight-knit community.

Slauterbeck has decades of experience working at medical schools across the country. Adebayo recently completed a fellowship at Duke University. He said UNC Health Southeastern uses much of the same equipment that he used during his fellowship.

“You are potentially able to get the same care that you would get, as far as having all the equipment, as going anywhere in the state,” Adebayo said. “They really want to take orthopedic care to a new level, at least outside of Durham and Chapel Hill.”

In May, UNC Health Southeasternimproved its safety grade from a C to a Bin the latest report from Leapfrog, a nonprofit group that advocates for patient safety at medical centers across the country.

“This grade marks tremendous improvements the health system continues to make, not only in safety and quality, but also in the overall availability of expert medical care not available elsewhere in the region,” UNC Health Southeastern Board Chair Katie Davis said in a press release.

Adebayo said practicing in a rural area has allowed him to make connections with a wide array of patients.

“I’ve seen a 3-year-old with a broken arm today, and I took care of an 80-something-year-old last week with a kneecap fracture,” he said.

Slauterbeck said he enjoys working with local students. The orthopedics center has started offering care at Friday night football games at local high schools and recently started a Saturday injury clinic for student athletes.

“If they’ve got a concussion, they get immediately into the protocol so they can play again when it’s safe, rather than waiting for appointments,” he said.

St. Onge said showcasing the rural way of life in southeastern North Carolina is key to recruiting new doctors.

“You have to focus on some of those things that may be seen as a weakness as a strength,” he said.