North Carolina Baptist
Hospital (NCBH) has come a long way since 1923 when it was established as an
88-bed facility. The hospital now owns and/or operates facilities in other counties
in the state and is a 1,000-plus bed hospital system.
Although health care faces
unprecedented change, “in the midst of that some things remain the same,” said
Paul Mullen during the Hospital’s report Nov. 10 at the Baptist State
Convention’s annual meeting. Mullen is NCBH’s church and community relations
director.
NCBH continues seeking to
provide exceptional service that is faith-centered and offering “compassionate
care to every patient” that is focused on sharing God’s love.
Baptist Hospital and Wake
Forest University Health Sciences comprise Wake Forest University Baptist
Medical Center. Mullen described the Medical Center as one of “tremendous
vitality, world-class services and an ever expanding campus.” The Medical
Center continues to be recognized as one of “America’s Best Hospitals.”
The Cooperative Program
helps make the hospital’s ministry possible and as a result “people with no
faith or shattered faith are finding hope,” Mullen said.
Mullen also brought an
update on its partnership with Bangalore Baptist Hospital in India. NCBH made
the first financial contribution to Project BELIEVE, an effort to help fight
against cancer in Bangalore.
About 7,000 cancer cases are
diagnosed each year in Bangalore, and most do not have access to any type of
medical treatment.
Mullen shared that God has
answered the prayers for help in India, as this month Bangalore Baptist
Hospital treated its first patient in the new radiology/oncology department.
The North Carolina Baptist
Foundation also brought a report Nov. 10 via a video greeting from Convention
and Foundation employees. This year the Foundation celebrates 90 years of
“generating an increased awareness of Christian estate stewardship principles
as a means of financially undergirding churches, institutions, and mission
endeavors on a permanent basis.”
The Foundation is the oldest
Baptist foundation in America and now manages more than $128 million in assets.
Clay Warf, executive director of the foundation, encouraged North Carolina
Baptists to take advantage of opportunities to give to Kingdom causes through
estate planning. The Foundation assists individuals in maintaining careful
stewardship of resources in order to ensure their legacy will be one of
continued support for Christian ministries.
The Foundation also works
with North Carolina Baptists in setting up charitable endowments and preparing
a will. A church loan program is available to help churches as they seek to
increase their ministry efforts through renovations or expansions.
Warf challenged North
Carolina Baptists to commit a tithe of their estate to Kingdom work. “The size
of the gift is not important,” he said. “What is important is the commitment to
the tithe.”