Pitt County Memorial Hospital

Pitt County Memorial Hospital (PCMH) is the flagship teaching hospital for the University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina.

It is located in Greenville, North Carolina and is affiliated with the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. PCMH is licensed for 755 beds and is the location of one of North Carolina's first Level I Trauma Centers.

History
In 1951, Pitt County opened a 125-bed facility that cost $1.4 million. Its name honors the dead in World War I and II. PCMH added 85 beds in 1961. In 1970 a $9 million bond issue was passed to replace the hospital. The remaining money for the replacement hospital came from the state and East Carolina University, that total was $15.9 million. The 370-bed facility broke ground in 1974 and opened in 1977. The hospital and ECU signed an affiliation agreement in 1975 to make PCMH the primary teaching hospital for ECU. After ECU opened the Medical School, the first medical students arrived in 1978.

Citing the amount of growth, the West Tower ground breaking happened in 1979 at a cost of $5.5 million. The 166-bed west tower opened in 1981. Needing an Emergency Department, the hospital broke ground for the department in 1983. In 1984, open-heart surgery began, and in 1987 the first heart-transplant occurred. Roanoke-Chowan Hospital and Bertie Memorial Hospital were leased in 1997. In Tarboro, the Heritage Hospital was purchased in 1998 for $80 million. Also in 1998, PCMH and Chesapeake, Virginia, won state approval to build a $20 million 19 bed hospital in Dare County. Lastly in 1998, PCMH became a private, not-for-profit hospital. University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina was incorporated in 1999, and became PCMH's parent company.

External link

 * University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina