Sentara Albemarle cracks the code on attracting providers to a rural community hospital

In an era when health systems across the country are facing steep recruitment hurdles, Sentara Albemarle Medical Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, has quietly cracked the code.

Within its first year, the new hospital, which replaced a 65-year-old facility last year, brought on 25 new providers spanning cardiology, general surgery, internal and family medicine, pediatrics, gastroenterology, orthopedics, midwifery, and OB-GYN.

National research paints a tough picture for small-town medicine: only 9.3% of U.S. physicians currently practice in rural settings, and younger doctors show little inclination to embrace rural life. Sentara Albemarle, however, is actively rewriting that script.

One might assume the catalyst was the state-of-the-art $278 million medical campus that opened its doors last year. While the high-tech facility certainly doesn't hurt, the providers themselves will tell you it wasn't the main draw.

"I mean yes, it's a beautiful hospital, but that's not why I chose to practice here," said pediatrician Dr. Aditi Mahendra Patil. "I wanted peace and quiet and a place which truly values healthcare accessibility."

Dr. Patil, who previously practiced in India and New York City, pointed to something money can't buy: an authentic connection with her patients.

"I've never so far in my life experienced the kind of genuine appreciation my patients show me," she said. "It's mutual, and I know my patients very well now."

Dr. Donald Bowling, chief medical officer at Sentara Albemarle, said authentic connection is baked into the history of Elizabeth City. In 1915, area residents pulled together $45,000 to fund the construction of Elizabeth City Hospital, the first medical center in northeastern North Carolina. In today's dollars, that investment would be worth roughly $1.5 million.

"For more than a century, people have viewed the hospital with a sense of personal responsibility," said Dr. Bowling. "When you see your patients in the grocery store, at church, it is easier to see the impact you make."

Redefining the work-life model

At the heart of the hospital's recruitment success is a willingness to adapt to what modern clinicians want out of their careers.

Sentara Albemarle Medical Center President Teresa Watson, who began her own healthcare career as a medical assistant, understands that recruitment starts with meeting clinicians where their values lie.

"If you want to be fulfilled here, patient care has to be your main motivator," Watson said. "It's not about just the amenities you have in your backyard, but your commitment to the people you serve."

"The days of, 'I want to recruit a physician to work five days a week, from sunup to sundown and be available on call,' that's just not the mindset," she added.

To back up that philosophy, the hospital reimagined traditional schedule models. For example, the OB-GYN practice established a flexible week-on/week-off schedule that allows doctors to give 100% to their patients without burning out.

Additionally, Sentara Albemarle is exploring opportunities to develop a family medicine residency program designed to help attract, train and retain future physicians in the communities it serves.

For orthopedic physician assistant Alexandra Spivey, practicing in a rural community has made all the difference.

"My husband is from here, and it has become my home through him and his family," she said. "The patients are more grateful here. They're appreciative if you take the time to explain things, and I'm eager for more providers to become community-minded."

Finding the heart of medicine

For some clinicians, Elizabeth City offers an opportunity to build deeper connections with patients and find renewed purpose in their work.

Shannon Bingham, a critical care nurse practitioner, said, "I feel like I can give patients better care, I can spend more time with them. It fulfills me in ways I didn't know I needed."

The appeal isn't just cultural. Providers say practical tools also help reduce friction and allow them to spend more time with patients - like ambient AI documentation tools that listen and chart during patient visits, and integrated campus layouts that provide smooth transitions between clinic visits and bedside rounding.

"It's really nice to be able to round on patients, go back to clinic, and just do a full scope of medicine all in one day," Spivey said. "If someone has a patient who needs imaging, it's down the hall. If a patient needs to get to the emergency room, it's right there."

In the past year, prominent local gastroenterologist Dr. Steven Faber closed his 33-year private practice and became Sentara Albemarle's first full-time GI specialist - and one of the only GI providers serving the surrounding region.

Dr. Faber receives the Golden Stethoscope Award. To his left is Na Jordan, surgical technologist whose 45 years of service makes her the longest-serving colleague at Sentara Albemarle.

"It's a calling. I love what I do and I always have," said Dr. Faber, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York and went to medical school in Italy.

"Practicing with a system like Sentara, instead of running my own practice, allows me to focus on what I care about most, which is my patients."

Dr. Adebimpe O. Howells-Solesi, family medicine physician, said, "People often assume rural medicine means sacrificing opportunities, but I've found the opposite to be true."

"Here, you can practice the full scope of family medicine, develop meaningful patient relationships, and still enjoy a strong sense of balance and community."

Global representation alongside local roots

A key focus of Sentara Albemarle is building care teams that mirror the community they serve.

Damaris Brooks, a certified nurse-midwife living and practicing in Elizabeth City, highlighted the impact of expanding team diversity.

"I think it is helpful when patients can see clinicians that look like them," Brooks said. "They start telling their friends, their family like, 'Hey, there's somebody over here who actually listens and takes good care of us.'"

That mix of global perspectives - like Dr. Akua Adinkrah, a family medicine doctor from Montreal with experience in Ghana - and long-standing local veterans creates a supportive safety net for patients.

(From left) Dr. Howells-Solesi, Dr. Patil, Dr. Adinkrah, Spivey, physician assistant, and Brooks, certified nurse midwife, stand together in front of Sentara Albemarle Medical Center.

"They allow me to practice medicine the way I want, and I enjoy running into patients once in a while out in the community, which you wouldn't see in a big city," said Dr. Adinkrah.

Andrea Brandi, family nurse practitioner, who spent nearly three decades in regional community health before stepping into her new role, relies on those deep community roots every day.

"Being local and practicing nursing for 29 years, I'm able to tell my patients, 'Here's what I know about the health department services and transport services,'" Brandi said. "You're able to better relate with your patients when you work and live in the area that they live in."

Growth on the horizon

For established providers in the area, seeing 25 new colleagues arrive over a single 12-month period is proof that the region's medical care is heading in the right direction.

"It says to me: I made a good move because all of these others are doing the same thing," said Dr. Crystal Privette, a longtime regional OB-GYN who recently joined Sentara. "It also says that growth is on the horizon."

At its core, the care at Sentara Albemarle Medical Center comes down to a simple, shared commitment among hospital leadership, clinical staff, and the community itself.

"We're here for the community," Bingham said.

Dr. Patil agreed, offering a simple promise to regional residents: "We genuinely care."