During the 1990s, the 143-bed North Tower was constructed. Also, a new Heart Center, a 12-bed pediatric intensive care unit and a family birthing center were all built during the decade. Off site, the outpatient SurgiCenter opened. In the mid-1990s, hospital administrators realized the only way for the hospital to survive in the dynamic health-care environment that a change was needed. Privatization was a way to streamline the decision-making process to make it more competitive against other hospitals. A vocal group of residents did not want the hospital to change from public to private. The county commissioners decided for privatization by a narrow margin. The hospital went from a public, not-for-profit to private not-for-profit in 1998. PCMH came under the umbrella of University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina (UHS) in 1999; UHS manages or owns eight hospitals in eastern North Carolina. That year, the hospital employed 4,150. The Wellness Center opened in 2000 and the first successful procedure in the United States using the da Vinci Surgical System was performed by East Carolina University surgeon Randolph Chitwood. It was the second such procedure in the world. EastCare purchased its second helicopter and the hospital began construction of a four-story emergency department with a roof helipad that year. The Gamma Knife was brought to the hospital in 2005. Vidant Medical Center was designated a Primary Stroke Center in 2007 by the Joint Commission. It is the only primary stroke center east of Interstate 95. The East Carolina Heart Institute at Vidant Medical Center, a way to reshape cardiovascular health in the state, was opened in 2009. That year, the hospital employed 7,373.