Awards and Recognition
Fred Odell Recognized with Top Honors by NC Hospital Association
Carteret General Hospital president, Mr. Fred Odell was among the top honorees at a meeting of the North Carolina Hospital Association. Mr. Odell was named the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award presented in Hilton Head, South Carolina during the association’s annual summer meeting. The award is the association’s highest accolade.
The award is presented to an NCHA member hospital CEO who has made unique contributions to the association and to the healthcare field.
“He doesn’t say no very often. It’s a ‘can do’ attitude,” said Pat Joyce, Board Chairman of Carteret General Hospital. “He is very willing to do what he can to help. And, if there’s learning involved or participating involved he looks forward to the challenge and puts forth the effort to do a good job for everybody.”
Believed to be the longest serving hospital CEO in the state, Mr. Odell came to Carteret 29 years ago. At the time, the hospital was having financial difficulties which led to some interesting situations. “On my arrival, the hospital was in terrible financial shape to the point where vendors would not deliver goods unless we had money to pay them on the back loading dock. And, a story that a lot of our board members tell is that the bread man would not leave bread for use by our dietary services without being paid,” Mr. Odell said.
Today things at the Morehead City community hospital are very different. The hospital is financially sound. “What we’ve tried to do is to identify opportunities. Orthopedics was one of those, particularly total joint. We developed Carolinas Center for Joint and Spine. A new initiative is weight loss surgery. We are doing lap banding and we are in pursuit of Center of Excellence, and that will open doors for us to provide that service to Medicare and Medicaid recipients,” he revealed.
The veteran administrator sees changes looming in healthcare. “I think that within the next two to three years, we’re going to see dramatic changes, both at the state level and at the national level. It’s probably the best healthcare system in the world in the terms of services that we can provide but it’s a system that’s broken in terms of payment. It’s very costly and it’s out of reach for some people because of lack of insurance or coverage through Medicare or Medicaid or other programs. And, that’s the unfortunate side of the equation that needs to be repaired.”
In presenting the award, Dr. William Fulkerson, NCHA Board Chairman praised, “Fred’s successes there have ensured the people of that coastal county not only access to healthcare but also opportunities for community growth. Our association has benefited greatly and often from his service and leadership.”