Hickory, NC – Frye Regional Medical Center announces the appointment of Kathy Lail, RN, BSN as administrative director of cardiology services. Lail, who assumed the position June 25, began her career at Frye in 1989 and has worked as a nurse in Frye’s Telemetry, Cardiac Care Unit (CCU), Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU), and Cardiac Catheterization Lab.

    Lail served as nurse manager of the Cath Lab from 1996 until November 2005 when she assumed the role of interim director of cardiology services.

    “I am very excited and proud that I’ve been allowed this opportunity,” said Lail. “I look forward to working with the employees and staff physicians as we continue to expand the services we provide our patients.”

    Frye recently received designation as one of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina’s Cardiac Centers of Excellence. The designation is part of the national Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association’s (BCBSA) Blue Centers for Cardiac Care program.

    Frye is the only hospital in Western North Carolina to receive this title, naming Frye as a high-volume heart facility delivering favorable outcomes and meeting nationally recognized criteria for experience and quality.

    Cardiac Centers of Excellence are part of a larger BCBSNC initiative to identify doctors and hospitals in North Carolina demonstrating the greatest commitment to quality.

    Frye has also been designated as a UnitedHealth Premium Cardiac Specialty Center for quality, in addition to being the only hospital in the Unifour area to receive the American Heart Association’s Get With the Guidelines Participating Hospital Award for Coronary Artery Disease and Heart Failure. For more information on the Frye Heart Center, call 828-315-3391.

    Frye Regional Medical Center, part of Tenet North Carolina, is a 355-bed acute care facility located at 420 North Center Street in Hickory, NC. The hospital has been serving the medical and health care needs of Catawba County since 1911. The hospital’s main campus includes a comprehensive heart center and cardiac rehab, orthopedics, bariatric surgery, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, pediatrics, center for neurosciences, cancer center and women’s pavilion. Frye has several extended campuses to serve families throughout the area including: Wellness and Education Center which houses the Center For Diabetes Self-Management Care, perinatal education and community wellness classes; South Campus for psychiatric services; Viewmont and Tate Surgery Centers; Vein and Wound Center/Infusion Care; Pain Center; Piedmont Therapy, offering sports and industrial rehabilitation; an urgent care facility; FryeCare, an outpatient diagnostic facility; Alexander Campus, which provides 24 hour emergency care along with diagnostic and laboratory services and infusion care; plus HealthPoint, which provides extensive industrial services and programs to employers.

    Frye Regional Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency. To learn more about the hospital, visit www.fryemedctr.com