Eastern Carolina Medical Center
Established in 1987 in Benson, North Carolina.
Meet Our Doctors
A Brief History
Eastern Carolina Medical Center (ECMC) was established in 1987 in Benson, NC by Dr. P.K. Vyas, MD. In 1987, Benson was a rural community- more so than today. The closest advanced medical care facilities were located in surrounding larger towns and patients had to travel far distances for care. This meant that many people went without any care for several years or until their conditions advanced. Dr. Vyas had a vision of bringing advanced care to the Benson area to better convenience patients. His vision was that of a “one-stop-shop” that is, to offer various services under one roof.
- First opened our doors for service in 1987.
- Opened new office in 1991 with on-site labs, X-rays, and ultrasounds with same day services and results.
- First addition to new building in 1999 (and second in 2004) added on-site physical therapy, CT, Nuclear Stress Testing, multiple specialty services, while still maintaining one-on-one contact with our patients.
- In 2011, ECMC added a pharmacy for use by our patients. The pharmacy offers a variety of services including weekly pill boxes to improve patient compliance. ECMC Pharmacy also offers a diabetes education program as well as nutritional counseling and delivery service.
A Brief History
Eastern Carolina Medical Center (ECMC) was established in 1987 in Benson, NC by Dr. P.K. Vyas, MD. In 1987, Benson was a rural community- more so than today. The closest advanced medical care facilities were located in surrounding larger towns and patients had to travel far distances for care. This meant that many people went without any care for several years or until their conditions advanced. Dr. Vyas had a vision of bringing advanced care to the Benson area to better convenience patients. His vision was that of a “one-stop-shop” that is, to offer various services under one roof.
- First opened our doors for service in 1987.
- Opened new office in 1991 with on-site labs, X-rays, and ultrasounds with same day services and results.
- First addition to new building in 1999 (and second in 2004) added on-site physical therapy, CT, Nuclear Stress Testing, multiple specialty services, while still maintaining one-on-one contact with our patients.
- In 2011, ECMC added a pharmacy for use by our patients. The pharmacy offers a variety of services including weekly pill boxes to improve patient compliance. ECMC Pharmacy also offers a diabetes education program as well as nutritional counseling and delivery service.
ECMC Values
Eastern Carolina Medical Center provides comprehensive personalized medical services and innovative solutions to the community we serve.
We, The ECMC team, advocate to improve the health of the community we serve. We provide total health solutions through collaborative care and believe in serving one patient at a time.
It takes our ECMC village to care for a single patient. We pride ourselves on the team we have built over the years to better serve our community.
For over 30 years we have delivered comprehensive care to increase the longevity and quality of our patients lives.
Our patients, staff, health care providers and their families are treated as family members with respect, love, and attention.
We deliver top-notch, convenient access to state-of-the-art technologies in a Primary Care Setting to improve care, decrease wait times and duration to specialists.
We believe it is better to find and treat disease early on when prevention is not enough. Our providers are comprehensive and efficient in finding diagnoses to decrease delay and improve treatment outcomes.
ECMC Values
Eastern Carolina Medical Center provides comprehensive personalized medical services and innovative solutions to the community we serve.
We, The ECMC team, advocate to improve the health of the community we serve. We provide total health solutions through collaborative care and believe in serving one patient at a time.
It takes our ECMC village to care for a single patient. We pride ourselves on the team we have built over the years to better serve our community.
For over 30 years we have delivered comprehensive care to increase the longevity and quality of our patients lives.
Our patients, staff, health care providers and their families are treated as family members with respect, love, and attention.
We deliver top-notch, convenient access to state-of-the-art technologies in a Primary Care Setting to improve care, decrease wait times and duration to specialists.
We believe it is better to find and treat disease early on when prevention is not enough. Our providers are comprehensive and efficient in finding diagnoses to decrease delay and improve treatment outcomes.
Staff Members
Dr. P.K. VYAS, M.D.
Internal Medicine ECMC Founder, CEO & Medical Director
Dr. Vyas founded ECMC after he completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Cooke County Hospital in Chicago. He is board certified in Internal Medicine. A native of India, Dr. Vyas attended medical school at Baroda Medical College in Gujarat, India. Dr. Vyas obtained his U.S. citizenship shortly after moving to North Carolina.
Dr. Vyas has always felt that giving back to the communities that have given him so much was of utmost importance. During his years of practice in Benson, he has been instrumental in countless community projects and has provided resources to meet the needs of many worthwhile organizations.
To name a few of the projects and organizations that Dr. Vyas has supported include The Dr. P.K. Vyas Community Park in Benson, The City of Dunn Dr. P.K. Vyas Recreation Center, Johnston SECU Hospice House, Campbell School of Osteopathic Medicine.
Dr. Vyas has two children, Nikhil, real estate attorney, and Jessica, Physician Assistant at ECMC. He is an avid tennis fan and talented singer. He spends many of his weekends singing at various functions for the Indian Hindu community.
Dr. V.K. REDDY, M.D.
Internal Medicine, Nuclear Cardiology
Dr. V.K. Reddy joined ECMC in 2000. A native of India, Dr. Reddy obtained his medical degree from Srivenkateswara Medical College in 1990 and worked at SVIMS Hospital in Tirupati, India. He completed his residency at New York Methodist Hospital and subsequently practiced in Jamaica, the West Indies, as well as in West Virginia prior to joining ECMC. Dr. Reddy is board certified in Internal Medicine and Nuclear Cardiology.
Dr. Reddy’s areas of focus are internal and geriatric medicine at ECMC; however, he sees patients of all ages.
Dr. Reddy obtained his U.S. citizenship in 2005 and is married to Pallavi and they have three children. In his spare time, Dr. Reddy is an avid soccer and ping pong fan, and enjoys spending time with his family.
Dr. RITESH D. PATEL
CPP, RPh, BC-ADM, CDE
Dr. Ritesh D. Patel is a Board Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) and Board Certified in Advanced Diabetes Management (BC-ADM). Dr. Patel’s interest in the field of pharmacy sparked young age where he grew up around his grandfather who owned an independent pharmacy since the 1950′s. He appreciated firsthand how an independent pharmacy can be a true wellness partner in the local community. His goal is to bring that community pharmacy service back to our communities, where taking care of people is the rule and not the exception.
As a clinical pharmacist practitioner (CPP) and innovator, Dr. Patel is driven by his passion to care for patients and move the pharmacy profession forward. He practices evidence-based medicine as a clinician in conjunction with physicians and physician assistants, yet is also a trained compounding pharmacist. This allows him to be more creative in problem solving for disease management. Above all else, he strongly believes in preventative health. He’s able to manage disease effectively by not only treatment but getting to know his patients better to provide lifestyle suggestions dietary and vitamin needs.
Dr. Patel is also a preceptor for pharmacy students and pharmacy technician students in addition to being a residency director for a PGY-1 Community Based Residency. As an educator, he trains students to think about healthcare as a whole, community-based practice to ensure the best quality of care for each patient. He enjoys training younger generations of pharmacists and encourages them to reach their potential beyond the daily duties. He believes clinicians need to practice while keeping this statement in mind, “You should always do the right thing, you should always do your best, and always keep the patient first.”
Dr. Patel initially was a pharmacy technician in the US Army. While in the US Army, he realized his passion was in patient care and wanted to become a pharmacist. Soon thereafter completed his doctorate from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. Now, as a veteran, giving back to the community is a passion of his. Dr. Patel is on the board of several charities and advisory committees. He was recently appointed by the governor to serve on the North Carolina Public Health Commission. He actively participates and helps with the TIPS fundraiser for the Autism Society of North Carolina. Dr. Patel resides in Raleigh, NC and tries to support his ACC teams but is still a Gator at heart. He enjoys spending time with his wife and two energetic boys. In the slight chance he has down time, you can find him on the nearest golf course.
Mrs. Hendershot-Houston
Physician Assistant
Mrs. Raquel Hendershot-Houston joined ECMC in 2022 as a physician assistant. A native of Florida and a graduate of the University of Florida she worked as a physician assistant in surgical services at Wake Med before joining ECMC. Mrs. Hendershot-Houston enjoys working out as well as hiking and traveling in her spare time. She is recently married and her husband Josh and her have 2 fur babies. Mrs. Hendershot-Houston is accepting new patients.
Dr. P.K. VYAS, M.D.
Internal Medicine ECMC Founder, CEO & Medical Director
Dr. Vyas founded ECMC after he completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Cooke County Hospital in Chicago. He is board certified in Internal Medicine. A native of India, Dr. Vyas attended medical school at Baroda Medical College in Gujarat, India. Dr. Vyas obtained his U.S. citizenship shortly after moving to North Carolina.
Dr. Vyas has always felt that giving back to the communities that have given him so much was of utmost importance. During his years of practice in Benson, he has been instrumental in countless community projects and has provided resources to meet the needs of many worthwhile organizations.
To name a few of the projects and organizations that Dr. Vyas has supported include The Dr. P.K. Vyas Community Park in Benson, The City of Dunn Dr. P.K. Vyas Recreation Center, Johnston SECU Hospice House, The Harnett Osteopathic Medicine.
Dr. Vyas has two children, Nikhil, real estate attorney, and Jessica, Physician Assistant at ECMC. He is an avid tennis fan and talented singer. He spends many of his weekends singing at various functions for the Indian Hindu community.
Dr. V.K. REDDY, M.D.
Internal Medicine, Nuclear Cardiology
Dr. V.K. Reddy joined ECMC in 2000. A native of India, Dr. Reddy obtained his medical degree from Srivenkateswara Medical College in 1990 and worked at SVIMS Hospital in Tirupati, India. He completed his residency at New York Methodist Hospital and subsequently practiced in Jamaica, the West Indies, as well as in West Virginia prior to joining ECMC. Dr. Reddy is board certified in Internal Medicine and Nuclear Cardiology.
Dr. Reddy’s areas of focus are internal and geriatric medicine at ECMC; however, he sees patients of all ages.
Dr. Reddy obtained his U.S. citizenship in 2005 and is married to Pallavi and they have three children. In his spare time, Dr. Reddy is an avid soccer and ping pong fan, and enjoys spending time with his family.
Dr. RITESH D. PATEL
CPP, RPh, BC-ADM, CDE
Dr. Ritesh D. Patel is a Board Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) and Board Certified in Advanced Diabetes Management (BC-ADM). Dr. Patel’s interest in the field of pharmacy sparked young age where he grew up around his grandfather who owned an independent pharmacy since the 1950′s. He appreciated firsthand how an independent pharmacy can be a true wellness partner in the local community. His goal is to bring that community pharmacy service back to our communities, where taking care of people is the rule and not the exception.
As a clinical pharmacist practitioner (CPP) and innovator, Dr. Patel is driven by his passion to care for patients and move the pharmacy profession forward. He practices evidence-based medicine as a clinician in conjunction with physicians and physician assistants, yet is also a trained compounding pharmacist. This allows him to be more creative in problem solving for disease management. Above all else, he strongly believes in preventative health. He’s able to manage disease effectively by not only treatment but getting to know his patients better to provide lifestyle suggestions dietary and vitamin needs.
Dr. Patel is also a preceptor for pharmacy students and pharmacy technician students in addition to being a residency director for a PGY-1 Community Based Residency. As an educator, he trains students to think about healthcare as a whole, community-based practice to ensure the best quality of care for each patient. He enjoys training younger generations of pharmacists and encourages them to reach their potential beyond the daily duties. He believes clinicians need to practice while keeping this statement in mind, “You should always do the right thing, you should always do your best, and always keep the patient first.”
Dr. Patel initially was a pharmacy technician in the US Army. While in the US Army, he realized his passion was in patient care and wanted to become a pharmacist. Soon thereafter completed his doctorate from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. Now, as a veteran, giving back to the community is a passion of his. Dr. Patel is on the board of several charities and advisory committees. He was recently appointed by the governor to serve on the North Carolina Public Health Commission. He actively participates and helps with the TIPS fundraiser for the Autism Society of North Carolina. Dr. Patel resides in Raleigh, NC and tries to support his ACC teams but is still a Gator at heart. He enjoys spending time with his wife and two energetic boys. In the slight chance he has down time, you can find him on the nearest golf course.
Mrs. Hendershot-Houston
Physician Assistant
Mrs. Raquel Hendershot-Houston joined ECMC in 2022 as a physician assistant. A native of Florida and a graduate of the University of Florida she worked as a physician assistant in surgical services at Wake Med before joining ECMC. Mrs. Hendershot-Houston enjoys working out as well as hiking and traveling in her spare time. She is recently married and her husband Josh and her have 2 fur babies. Mrs. Hendershot-Houston is accepting new patients.
Accreditations:
ECMC is accredited by the following organizations:
Nuclear Medicine, CT, and Echo are accredited by IAC (Intersocietal Accreditation Commission)
Mammogram is accredited by ACR (American College of Radiology) and FDA (Food & Drug Administration)
Sleep Study is accredited by AASM (American Academy of Sleep Medicine)
Giving Back
ECMC has generously donated to various organizations throughout our local communities to encourage strength and caretaking. Several of the organizations that ECMC has helped include:
Town of Benson Parks & Recreation,City of Dunn Parks & Recreation, Harnett Health Foundation, Campbell University School of Medicine, Johnston Health Hospice House, Countless Fire Departments, EMS, Law Enforcement Agencies, Senior Centers, Schools, and local churches