FirstHealth of the Carolinas has honored recently retired CEO Charles Frock for his two decades of leadership with the regional health care system.

The FirstHealth board of directors voted to name the administration building on the campus of FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital the Charles T. Frock Leadership Center. In a related recognition, the Found-ation’s board of trustees created the CEO Visionary Fund for Professional Leadership and Enrichment.

Frock retired at the end of October after a 20-year career that began in 1991 when he was named president of then-Moore Regional Hospital.

Under his leadership, FirstHealth evolved into a multi-county health care system that now includes three hospitals, a rehabilitation center, sleep disorders centers, dental care clinics, family care centers, fitness centers, charitable foundations, a hospice program, home health services, critical care transport, EMS, medical transport services and an insurance company.

Calling Frock “an amazing strategist” who “positioned FirstHealth to meet the challenges of the future,” Chairman Alex Bowness said the FirstHealth board wanted a prominent place to acknowledge the former CEO’s accomplishments and decided that the building from which he had led the organization for most of his tenure would be a fitting location.

“We wanted to recognize Chuck for all of his accomplishments in taking us from Moore Regional Hospital to FirstHealth of the Carolinas,” Bowness said. “He was very interested in education, and (the administration building) is where most of our educational conferences and seminars are held.”

A related piece of commemorative artwork honoring Frock’s contributions to FirstHealth has been commissioned for display in the rotunda that connects the administration building with the main hospital.

In announcing the establishment of the CEO Visionary Fund, Dr. John Ellis, the Foundation’s representative to the FirstHealth board, noted Frock’s commitment to education.

“Of all his skills, his commitment to education was one of his greatest strengths,” Ellis said. “He shared that with everyone around him. He encouraged all of us — board members, senior staff, physicians, staff — to become more educated and more involved in what’s going on in medicine. Education was one of the tenets of his leadership.”

Funded through the Foundation’s Elizabeth W. and Walter W. Reid III Gift Trust, the CEO Visionary Fund was created to “foster the continuation of visionary leadership and growth at FirstHealth” for which Frock’s tenure came to be known.

Half of the $200,000 fund is available for use now. The remainder will fund an endowment supporting various educational opportunities, including continuing education scholarships for administrative, physician and nursing leaders and a speakers’ series featuring experts in leadership development and innovation in health care.