Albemarle Hospital's only neurosurgeon could have worked anywhere after completing his residency and fellowship at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md.

But Dr. Quoc-Anh Thai says he chose Albemarle Hospital over 18 other hospitals that offered him jobs because he liked the small-town atmosphere.

Justin Falls/The Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

Dr. Quoc-Anh Thai, a neurosurgeon who practices at Albemarle Hospital, says he doesn't anticipate any 'adverse effects' from a management agreement between the hospital's parent agency and University Health Systems of Eastern North Carolina. He's shown here at his office at 105 N. Road St., Elizabeth City, Monday, July 21.

"When I came here, what struck me most was how friendly everybody was," said Thai, 35, whose first visit to Elizabeth City was last year. "This was refreshing. And when I toured the hospital, even though it's small, the staff here seemed exceptionally friendly and caring."

Thai doesn't expect that atmosphere to change if Albemarle Hospital's parent agency, Albemarle Health, enters a management agreement with the much larger University Health System of Eastern North Carolina in Greenville.

Albemarle Health President/CEO Sharon Tanner announced recently that the local health system will begin negotiations next month on a 10-year agreement that could result in University Health managing Albemarle Hospital.

Albemarle Health officials say an agreement would benefit Albemarle's physicians, nurses and patients because it would provide access to University Health's state-of-the-art technology. They say it also could help control health care costs because Albemarle would be able to pool resources with several other hospitals in eastern North Carolina, including Pitt County Memorial, University Health's flagship hospital.

Thai said he is not concerned about how a management agreement would affect himself, because as the only specialist of his kind locally, he already sees patients from a large area of northeastern North Carolina.

"I don't see any adverse effects," he said. "I would probably benefit with more resources."

But Thai said some physicians have wondered whether the agreement with University Health would increase their patient workload.

If that happens, he said, more physicians might be needed at Albemarle to balance the doctor-patient ratio.

"If (the doctor-patient ratio) kept pace as the system grew, that would be ideal," Thai said. "There's pros and cons with any change. At this time, it's really hard to say."

Thai's specialty includes diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders affecting the nervous system, including the spinal column, spinal cord, brain and other nerves.

He operates on the neck and back, repairing ruptured or herniated discs. He also removes tumors from the spine, treats patients for osteoporosis, bone spurs and cancer, and performs brain surgery.

He also uses Magnetic Resonance Imaging to find localized problems that may not require surgery.

Thai says Albemarle's equipment compares favorably to that at other hospitals.

"The equipment and technology at Albemarle Hospital is the same as that found in many larger facilities where brain surgery is performed," he recently wrote in the hospital's newsletter. "The procedures and outcomes are similar to what I've experienced at The Johns Hopkins Hospital."

Thai, who was born in Vietnam and grew up in nearby Newport News, Va. said he'd like to spend his career and retire here. He and wife Chelsea, 26, a nurse in the hospital's cardiology department, don't have any regrets about their choice, he said.

"The O.R. (operating room) and nursing staff were comparable to Hopkins, but more personable (here)," Thai said. "They have that Southern hospitality."

Besides an office at 105 N. Road St., Elizabeth City, Thai also has an office on the Outer Banks.