Catawba County

Frye Regional Medical Center is dedicated to recognizing employees as its greatest asset, customer satisfaction as its greatest commitment and quality care as its greatest accomplishment.

For the 1,700 clinicians and staff members at Frye Regional, the mission statement isn’t merely words on paper. Instead, it’s a call to action.

“We’ve been a five-star patient satisfaction hospital four out of the last five years,” says Eddie Salyards, vice president of business development at Frye Regional, a Tenet North Carolina facility. He added that the honor is but one of the national accolades bestowed on the hospital by outside organizations.

Based on quality, outcomes and volumes, the hospital has three recog­nized Centers of Excellence in cardiac, bariatric and spine care.

“We are known for our cardiovascular services,” Salyards continues. “We are the only open heart surgery center in the region.”

He says in addition to the Centers of Excellence designations, the hospital is also highly regarded for its general and orthopedic surgery programs, as well as its psychiatric services.

“We also have very strong outpatient service lines and a variety of women’s health programs,” he continues.

Another point of pride is the array of oncology services.

“We are a certified cancer center and are very well known for our surgical cancer program,” Salyards says.

The hospital is also focusing attention on radiation treatments with the addition of a new linear accelerator.

“We will actually build a complete addition onto the back of the hospital to accommodate the radiation therapy program,” he says of the expansion.

Investing in the latest technology is nothing new for Frye.

“We have just undertaken a large technology project over the last 15 months,” Salyards explains of a recent multimillion-dollar investment in state-of-the-art equipment.

Additions included a 64-slice CT scanner, joint and spine computer navigation and a new MRI with breast coil software that creates a three-dimensional image to help surgeons locate tumors with pinpoint accuracy.

One of the most exciting additions is the DaVinci Robotic Surgery System, which utilizes a robotic platform – guided by a surgeon – to perform highly complex procedures through very small incisions. The technological advance­ment is an alternative to open or conventional laparoscopic surgery and generally results in less pain, blood loss and scarring, plus a shorter recovery time. Salyards says the system is being used for urology, gynecology and general surgery with future applications in cardiovascular surgery.

While the focus is always on ways to improve patient outcomes through innovation and hands-on care, Salyards says the medical center staff also takes a big-picture view of their responsibility to the service region.

Whether offering grants to area nonprofit organizations, hosting free health and wellness events or caring for patients at one of their facilities, the staff at Frye Regional Medical Center makes it their mission to focus on keeping the community happy and healthy.