ISSUE:  START-UP OPERATING FUNDS – EAST CAROLINA HEART INSTITUTE @ ECU

REQUIRED OUTCOME:  No operating funds were garnered when funds were appropriated for the East Carolina Heart Institute building.  To this end East Carolina University originally requested recurring 2 million dollars in operating funds for the Institute. The UNC System Global Budget now contains a request for $300,000 of recurring funds in FY 2010 to operate the Institute. These funds are essential for the mission of the institute to be carried to fruition.

OUR CHALLENGE:  The East Carolina Heart Institute was endorsed by the UNC board of Governors, and established by the N.C. General Assembly with $60 Million in state appropriations to improve the cardiovascular health of the people in eastern North Carolina through clinical care, research, and education, as well as provide economic benefit to the communities.

• Eastern North Carolina has one of the highest indigenous populations with cardiovascular disease in the nation.
• The clinical services of the Institute have the only mechanism for generating revenue, and there are currently no appropriations to the Institute.
• The cardiovascular clinical services program is challenged with indigent care and economic pressures associated with the practice within the Brody School of Medicine that requires all revenues to be utilized to support the MFPP.
• The Institute has a mission to enhance prevention effort through education, research, and promotion of primary prevention throughout the region and must have a revenue source to support this mission.

FACING THE FACTS:  East Carolina University has completed the physical construction of the Institute. This initiative has supported physician practice growth and subsequent clinical expansion, but additional funding must be acquired for the preventative programs and research initiatives as well as administrative costs as mandated by the NC General Assembly.

• The Institute was established to reduce the impact of cardiovascular disease through the delivery of innovative clinical care.
• The Institute was established to initiate prevention programs to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.
• The Institute was established to spawn research initiatives and population studies aimed at eliminating cardiovascular diseases.
• The Institute was established to provide economic benefit to eastern NC through employment of physicians and scientists as well as improved health of the citizenry.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The Institute has been established by the UNC system and the construction of the building allocated by the NC General Assembly has occurred with the $60 Million allocation.  This however, does not provide ongoing operating funds for the purpose of research, recruitment, administration or prevention programs.  Research and prevention programs cannot be funded from clinical revenues as medical school practice plans have been ravaged by decreasing reimbursement, increased costs of clinical care and malpractice insurance, need to meet the mission of indigent patient care and thus, there are no funds for operating the Institute in this capacity.  Therefore, we request $300,000 in annual funding to provide seed money for programmatic growth of the Institute that will impact the people of eastern NC through prevention.  Without this funding, the Institute will be unable to provide these programs, unable to initiate new research, and will be merely an enhanced clinical practice of cardiovascular medicine.