William Harvey Case, with a recent association with Duplin General Hospital in Kenansville, will head Washington’s hospital once University Health Systems of Eastern North Carolina takes over the local hospital’s operations next month, according to documents filed with federal health-related agencies.
Case is listed as president of Washington’s new health care entity, East Carolina Health-Beaufort Inc., on national provider-identifier documents filed with The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ National Plan and Provider Enumeration System.
Incorporation documents for East Carolina Health-Beaufort Inc. were filed with the N.C. Secretary of State on June 1.
Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, federal law requires unique identifying numbers, known as national provider identifier numbers, to be assigned to health-care providers and health plans.
All individual HIPAA-covered health-care providers — including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and dentists or organizations (including hospitals, home health-care agencies and nursing homes) — must obtain an NPI for use in all HIPAA standard transactions such as reimbursement for services from Medicare and Medicaid and file specified documents with federal agencies.
An attempt to reach Case at Duplin General Hospital on Thursday was not successful. A telephone receptionist said Case is no longer employed at the hospital.
Beth Anne Atkins, public relations and social media specialist for UHS, said UHS could not comment on issues affecting the Washington hospital until UHS’s proposed lease-purchase agreement regarding Beaufort Regional Health System is signed by all parties involved.
The appointment of a president for the local hospital is the first step UHS will take once the deal is complete, UHS Chief Executive Officer Dave McRae said earlier.
Case apparently has experience in overseeing hospitals that are new to the UHS system, according to one published biography.
That biography indicates that Case has served as president and chief executive officer of Duplin General Hospital since January 2007, the month UHS took over management of the 101-bed, not-for-profit hospital.
(In September 2010, UHS signed an agreement with the Duplin County commissioners to lease the hospital, beginning Oct. 1, 2010.)
Before taking the Duplin General Hospital assignment, Case served as vice president of operations for East Carolina Health, the UHS subsidiary that oversees the system’s community hospitals, according to a biography of Case published by the Wallace Chamber of Commerce, located in southern Duplin County.
He also worked at Heritage Hospital in Tarboro as chief financial officer, controller and a financial analyst, according to the biography.
Case’s biography notes he is a graduate of East Carolina University and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in business administration.
On Tuesday, the University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve a final agreement for the lease/purchase of Beaufort Regional Health System, which includes the Washington hospital and its affiliated medical practices.
The BRHS Board of Commissioners and the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners are scheduled to consider the lease at separate meetings Thursday.
Under terms of the lease, BRHS’s affiliated practices will be a part of UHS Physicians, LLC and the local health system’s home-health services will fall under the auspices of HealthAccess Inc.
If the agreement is approved, Washington’s hospital will join eight others under the UHS umbrella. Those hospitals are Albemarle Health in Elizabeth City, Bertie Memorial Hospital in Windsor, Chowan Hospital in Edenton, Duplin General Hospital in Kenansville, Heritage Hospital in Tarboro, The Outer Banks Hospital in Greenville and Roanoke-Chowan Hospital in Ahoskie.