Greenville, N.C. – ECU Health is proud to announce that Dennis Campbell, II, DHA, RN, president of ECU Health Beaufort Hospital – a Campus of ECU Health Medical Center, has been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s list of 240 Community Hospital Presidents and CEOs to Know for 2026. The national recognition highlights hospital leaders who are making a meaningful impact in their communities by advancing access to high-quality care, strengthening their organizations and developing innovative solutions to meet local health care needs.
“This recognition is only possible because of the incredible team here at ECU Health Beaufort Hospital, and I am honored to work with dedicated people who make an impact across our region,” Campbell said. “Patients deserve a place to receive high-quality care, and team members deserve a supportive, fulfilling work environment, close to home. We are proud to continue to move forward and help build the national model for academic rural health care.”
According to Becker’s, these leaders prioritize expanding their institutions’ offerings, making sure to weave primary care, specialty treatments, rehabilitation and public health programs into a broader picture of community health. Simultaneously, they are shaping the cultures that attract and retain talented caregivers, building long-term strategies that position their hospitals for growth and maintaining the financial discipline that keeps high-quality, cost-effective care within reach for their communities.
“Dennis’s commitment to all facets of rural health care is a shining example of what makes our mission-driven health system successful,” said Jay Briley, president, ECU Health Medical Center. “He understands that workforce development, operational excellence and meaningful community partnerships are essential to innovate and grow right here in eastern North Carolina. This recognition reflects not only his leadership, but also his unwavering dedication to ensuring patients in rural eastern North Carolina have access to the care they need, when and where they need it.”
Since joining ECU Health, Campbell has focused on expanding access to services, strengthening workforce development efforts and fostering partnerships that improve the health and well-being of communities across Beaufort County and the surrounding region. His leadership has helped advance ECU Health’s mission to improve rural health outcomes while ensuring patients can receive exceptional care in eastern North Carolina.
Greenville, N.C. – The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association has awarded all nine ECU Health hospitals Get With The Guidelines® achievement awards for demonstrating commitment to following up-to-date, research-based guidelines for the treatment of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer readmissions to the hospital.
“For the fourth consecutive year, every ECU Health hospital has earned national recognition for delivering evidence-based care for some of the most serious and prevalent health conditions affecting eastern North Carolina,” said Brian Floyd, chief operating officer, ECU Health. “Achievements like this require an extraordinary level of commitment from physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists and support teams across our system who work every day to ensure patients receive the right care at the right time.
This recognition reflects the strength of our health system and our dedication to bringing nationally recognized care to the rural communities we serve.”
Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 4 leading causes of death in the United States, respectively, according to the American Heart Association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Report. Studies show patients can experience better outcomes when care teams consistently follow evidence-based treatment guidelines. Every 40 seconds, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke, adding up to nearly 795,000 new or recurrent cases each year. Tragically, stroke claims about 140,000 lives annually. Eastern North Carolina bears an even heavier burden, with stroke mortality rates exceeding national averages. The region also grapples with disproportionately high rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, highlighting the importance of targeted prevention and timely intervention.
“People in eastern North Carolina face some of the highest rates of stroke, heart disease and diabetes in the state, making access to high-quality care critically important,” said Dr. Niti Armistead, chief quality officer and chief clinical officer, ECU Health. “The Get With The Guidelines program helps ensure that patients receive care grounded in the latest scientific evidence, and these awards demonstrate our teams’ unwavering commitment to that standard. Whether a patient arrives at one of our community hospitals or our academic medical center, they can be confident they are receiving care built on proven practices that improve outcomes, reduce complications and support healthier lives.”
Evidence shows that patients fare significantly better when health care providers follow established treatment protocols, such as those outlined in the Get With The Guidelines program. Consistent adherence to these evidence-based practices leads to improved recovery outcomes and can help reduce the devastating impact of stroke and heart disease.
“These awards reflect ECU Health’s commitment to caring for people in their community who need cardiovascular care,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, chair of the American Heart Association Quality Oversight Committee. “By following the American Heart Association’s quality improvement protocols, ECU Health can help advance our shared vision of better patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates — a win for patients, families and health care systems.”
ECU Health recognitions include:
ECU Health Beaufort Hospital – A Campus of ECU Health Medical Center
- Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll and Stroke Honor Roll
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Stroke Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Resuscitation Bronze Adult
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Gold
ECU Health Bertie Hospital
- Get With The Guidelines – Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Referring Center Bronze
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Stroke Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Gold
ECU Health Chowan Hospital
- Get With The Guidelines – Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Referring Center Bronze
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Stroke Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Gold
ECU Health Duplin Hospital
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll and Stroke Honor Roll
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Stroke Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Referring Center Bronze
ECU Health Edgecombe Hospital
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Stroke Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
ECU Health Medical Center
- Target: Survival – Adult
- Get With The Guidelines – Resuscitation Newly Born Silver
- Get With The Guidelines – Resuscitation Neonate/Infant Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Resuscitation Pediatric Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Resuscitation Adult Bronze
- Get With The Guidelines – Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Receiving Center Gold with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
- Get With The Guidelines – Coronary Artery Disease NSTEMI Gold with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
- Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus, Advanced Therapy and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
ECU Health North Hospital
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Stroke Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Silver Plus with Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Gold
ECU Health Roanoke-Chowan Hospital
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Stroke Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Bronze
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Referring Center Bronze
Outer Banks Health Hospital
- Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus with Target: Stroke Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
- Get With The Guidelines – Rural Stroke Gold
- Get With The Guidelines – Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Referring Center Bronze
For one week each summer, Camp Needles in the Pines transforms a traditional summer camp experience into something much more meaningful for children living with Type 1 diabetes. Located at Camp Boddie in Blounts Creek, campers spend their days kayaking, swimming, climbing, creating crafts and making lifelong friendships. Unlike most summer camps, however, every child at Camp Needles in the Pines shares a common bond: managing Type 1 diabetes.
Founded in 1985, Camp Needles in the Pines serves children ages 8 to 14, while older teens participate as counselors-in-training before eventually becoming counselors themselves. The camp is supported through a partnership between the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, ECU Health and ECU Health Foundation, with funding assistance from Children’s Miracle Network and community donors.
For Camp Director Mindy Saenz, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator with ECU Health Pediatric Specialty Care, the camp’s impact extends far beyond outdoor activities and summer fun.
For Camp Director Mindy Saenz, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator with ECU Health Pediatric Specialty Care, the camp’s impact extends far beyond outdoor activities and summer fun.
“A lot of the kids might be the only one in their whole school who has Type 1 diabetes,” Saenz said. “Here at camp, every single camper has Type 1 diabetes. Everybody counts carbs together, gets insulin together and understands exactly what everyone else is going through.”
This year, 51 campers from across North Carolina – and even one from Texas – attended camp. Throughout the week, they participated in activities including paddleboarding, archery, rifle and shotgun shooting, arts and crafts, STEM projects, ecology programs and a traditional camp talent show.
While camp looks like a typical summer camp on the surface, extensive planning ensures every camper can safely participate.
“The biggest thing is making sure we have enough medical staff,” Saenz said. “Each group has a medical staff person assigned to be with them at all times.”
Camp leaders also coordinate donated insulin, blood glucose testing supplies, glucose treatments and other medical necessities. Daily diabetes education and nutrition classes are woven into the schedule, helping campers build confidence in managing their condition.
Perhaps most importantly, campers are encouraged to celebrate milestones. Whether it is checking their blood sugar independently for the first time or changing an insulin pump site on their own, each achievement is recognized in front of fellow campers.
“We announce it and everybody cheers,” Saenz said. “It’s really about fostering independence and helping them realize they can do these things themselves.”
That sense of support and belonging is what keeps many campers coming back year after year.
Madelyn Sutter knows that feeling well. Now 18 and serving as a counselor-in-training, she has attended Camp Needles in the Pines since she was 8 years old.
“At home, my only experience was my sister also being Type 1,” Sutter said. “There was no one else in my school or sports. Being at camp, everyone is the same for once. Everyone has diabetes and everyone’s going through the same thing.”
Today, she enjoys helping younger campers navigate challenges she once faced herself.
“A lot of them have that same experience where there’s no one at home that’s going through the same thing as them,” she said. “I remember being their age, so I can help them get through whatever’s going on.”
Sutter said the community campers find at Camp Needles in the Pines is unlike anything else.
“It’s my favorite week of the year,” she said. “I count down the days.”
For 16-year-old counselor-in-training Kade McLawhorn, the relationships built at camp are the reason he returns every summer.
“It’s just the people,” McLawhorn said. “Year after year, having the same people you can hang out with and bond with. Sometimes we don’t get to see each other that much, but at least once a year we come together and make some great memories.”
In addition to supporting campers, Camp Needles in the Pines provides a unique learning environment for future health care providers. Dr. Caleb Oakley, a fourth-year Internal Medicine-Pediatrics resident at
ECU Health volunteered at camp this year while completing a pediatric endocrinology rotation.
“In the hospital, things are very black and white with protocols,” Dr. Oakley said. “When you come to camp, you get to see the art of medicine and how individualized diabetes care really is.”
Working alongside campers allowed Dr. Oakley to gain experience with insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitors and the day-to-day realities of living with diabetes.
One of the moments that left the biggest impression on him was watching campers reach personal milestones.
“You can see how proud they are of themselves,” he said. “They’re away from home, outside their comfort zone, and taking big steps in managing their own care.”
Beyond the clinical experience, Dr. Oakley said camp also showed him the importance of community for children living with Type 1 diabetes.
“One thing I underappreciated before coming here was how different it can feel being a kid with Type 1 diabetes,” he said. “At camp, they’re not outsiders. This is the norm. They get to just be kids.”
For Saenz, that feeling of belonging remains at the heart of Camp Needles in the Pines nearly four decades after its founding.
“It’s really about being with other people who understand,” she said. “The friendships they build here last a lifetime.”
Tonya Moye, a mammography technologist IV, began her career at what was then Pitt County Memorial Hospital (PCMH) in 1991, where she worked in x-ray and CT. A severe car accident in 1995 and an unexpected move to Dare County set Moye up for the opportunity to work at what became Outer Banks Health, where she’s been ever since.
Moye’s interest in radiology began with a high school research paper on radiologic technology, and after graduation she attended Pitt Community College where she got her degree in x-ray and special imaging. Transitioning to PCMH made sense for the Winterville native – partially due to its proximity to home and partially because she completed much of her training at that very hospital.
“It already felt like home for me,” she said. “My mentor taught me so much, and I worked with a few people I knew from high school. A few of our radiologists had small children and I babysat for them.”
Seeking continuing education credits, Moye opted for a certification in mammography.
“The way life and God work, I used that knowledge a few years later when Outer Banks Hospital needed a mammography tech,” Moye said. “The supervisor was a guru and said she’d teach me everything she knew, so I made a change from x-ray and CT.”
That change was fortuitous; Moye said she is blessed to still love what she does every day.
“I have some patients I have seen every year since the day I started at this hospital, and that’s 24 years,” she said. “I know about their kids and pets and lives, and they know about mine. And, if something shows up on their mammogram, they feel like someone there really knows them and cares. They’re more than a number.”
In 35 years, Moye said she’s never considered working anywhere else.
“This is close to home. My mother still lives near Greenville,” she said. “Also, our department sees many patients, and our team works well together. My colleagues have seen me through health problems and kids and life. The people I’ve worked with have made work a good place to be.”
That includes her leadership’s support of her ongoing education, a vital part of her success and ability to evolve as technology changes.
“When I transitioned to mammography, my leadership supported me in taking classes at Johnson Community College and other continuing education,” she said. “Becky Ward, the director of radiology, has been the best leader I’ve ever had. She’s supportive and fights for what we need. We’re blessed to have her.”
A lot has changed when it comes to radiology, so having that level of support means Moye’s been able to adapt quickly.
“I can still smell the chemicals we used to process images,” she laughed. “That was when x-ray film was recycled for the silver in it. Now everything is digital. I never imagined computers would become such a large part of imaging, but it’s amazing how much everything has changed. But I am happier and more at peace than I have ever been in my life. My work enhances that.”
Retirement isn’t in Moye’s immediate future, but travel is, including a dream trip to Greece.
She also has a new grandchild on the way, and she has considered teaching in a radiology program.
“I think students don’t realize how vast radiology is and what options they have. You can go to school for two years and have so many areas you can work in,” she said. “I’d tell students or new graduates to focus on being their best, because that will take them where they want to go. Things change, but what’s consistent is how you treat your patients.”
Greenville, N.C. – ECU Health Medical Center is the fifth institution in the nation to begin using the bioMérieux VITEK® REVEAL™ analyzer, a rapid blood culture testing tool that can help providers identify effective antibiotics for certain bloodstream infections approximately 24 hours sooner than standard methods.
The new tool, which was implemented in July, can help enable faster treatment, improve patient care and reduce broad-spectrum antibiotic resistance. The analyzer can work directly from a blood culture sample that tests positive for certain, designated types of harmful bacteria to determine which antibiotics are most effective for treatment.
“We know that seconds count when it comes to treating disease, and the Vitek Reveal analyzer is an innovative tool to focus therapy for patients right here in eastern North Carolina,” said Dr. Brooks Mitchell, interim director of microbiology, ECU Health Medical Center. Providers equipped with the right information are more likely to make the right decision with less risk of a patient developing resistance that can slow down their recovery.”
ECU Health Medical Center will use the Vitek Reveal analyzer to identify specific microbes that cause sepsis. That allows providers to escalate care accordingly, and in some cases could mean shorter stays at the hospital.
Clinicians will still play the vital role of identifying patient-specific factors such as allergies or other adverse reactions to certain antibiotics and determining the best treatment options for patients. The ability to select the right antibiotic to treat specific microbes also means patients are less likely to develop resistance to broad-spectrum antibiotics, maintaining medication’s efficiency in treating microbial disease.
The road to launching the new Vitek Reveal analyzer was a multidisciplinary effort between ECU Health Medical Center’s Microbiology Lab and Infectious Disease Pharmacy. The analyzer will be used in tandem with existing tools to maximize its efficiency.
“Having the right tool for the job is important, but it matters more when those tools are in the hands of skilled professionals,” said Jay Briley, president, ECU Health Medical Center. “We are excited to offer state-of-the-art care close to home for patients in eastern North Carolina, and even more excited to see the impacts this tool and our dedicated physicians and team members will have on treating disease across the region.”
When ECU Health Beaufort Hospital recently began offering the MISHA® Knee System, it provided a new treatment option for patients living with medial knee osteoarthritis who are not ready for a knee replacement. Dr. Dimitri M. Thomas, orthopedic surgeon at ECU Health Beaufort Hospital, is the only physician in eastern North Carolina offering the MISHA Knee System, providing patients in the region access to this innovative treatment closer to home.
Now, newly published long-term research led by Moximed is reinforcing the potential benefits of the innovative technology.
Results from a five-year study conducted in 10 orthopedic clinics across the United States and Europe found that patients treated with the MISHA Knee System experienced sustained pain relief, improved function and long-term durability.
The findings add to growing evidence supporting the MISHA Knee System as an effective option for patients seeking relief from knee osteoarthritis while maintaining an active lifestyle.
“Knee osteoarthritis can significantly impact a person’s quality of life, making everyday activities difficult and limiting their ability to remain active,” said Dr. Thomas. “These five-year results are encouraging because they demonstrate that patients are not only experiencing meaningful improvements after surgery, but that those improvements are lasting over time.”
The study followed patients with medial knee osteoarthritis who had failed non-surgical treatments such as medication, injections and physical therapy. Researchers tracked outcomes for five years after MISHA Knee System implantation and reported strong results across key measures:
- 96% of patients experienced clinically meaningful improvement in pain
- 86% of patients experienced clinically meaningful improvement in physical function
- 90% of patients avoided conversion to knee replacement surgery or high tibial osteotomy during the five-year period
The MISHA Knee System is a less-invasive treatment designed to ease knee pain and help patients return to the activities they enjoy by reducing peak forces on the painful joint during walking, running or standing. Unlike knee replacement surgery, MISHA preserves the patient’s natural anatomy and does not require the removal of bone, cartilage or ligaments.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, millions of Americans live with osteoarthritis, a condition that can cause chronic pain, stiffness and reduced mobility. While conservative therapies can help manage symptoms, many patients continue to search for solutions that relieve pain without immediately progressing to joint replacement.
“For active patients who are looking for meaningful relief but are not candidates for or not ready to consider a knee replacement, the MISHA Knee System offers another pathway,” Dr. Thomas said. “Our goal is always to help patients maintain mobility, reduce pain and continue participating in the activities that matter most to them.”
The study also highlighted the ability of many patients to maintain active lifestyles years after surgery, including participation in activities such as running, biking and tennis.
Dennis Campbell II, DHA, RN, president of ECU Health Beaufort Hospital, said access to innovative treatments closer to home remains a priority for the hospital and the communities it serves.
“As we continue working to improve access to advanced care across eastern North Carolina, it is important that patients have local options that can help them stay active and independent,” Campbell said. “The publication of these long-term results further strengthens confidence in the MISHA Knee System and the value it can provide patients facing the challenges of knee osteoarthritis.”
Today, Dr. Dimitri M. Thomas, orthopedic surgeon at ECU Health Beaufort Hospital, remains currently the only physician in eastern North Carolina offering the MISHA Knee System procedure, providing patients in the region access to this innovative treatment closer to home.
Patients interested in learning more about the MISHA Knee System can contact ECU Health Orthopedics – Washington at 252-946-6513. To read the full peer-reviewed publication, visit JBJS Online.
Children and seniors are at particularly high risk of heat-related injury if they are left in a hot car, even for a short time. ECU Health’s Center for Child and Family Wellness Eastern Carolina Injury Prevention Program, the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program, Martin-Pitt Partnership for Children and Safe Kids Pitt County gathered to demonstrate that parked vehicles and hot weather can be a deadly combination for people stuck inside.
“Children heat up three to five times faster than adults and cannot cool themselves down as quickly,” said Ellen Walston, injury prevention program coordinator and Safe Kids Pitt County coordinator at ECU Health. “Seniors’ body temperature also regulates slower. Cracking your windows or leaving them down does not help, despite popular opinion. That is why it’s so important that you never, ever leave a child or a senior in a vehicle unattended, even for a minute.”
Walston said that 50 North Carolina children have died in hot cars from 1998-2025. At the demonstration, pairs of children’s shoes were displayed on a table to illustrate that total.
Also on display was a police vehicle with a temperature gauge depicting the temperature inside and outside of the vehicle. On an unseasonably cool summer day in the mid-80s, even as the temperature outside dipped and rose the air inside the car continued a steady climb to eclipse 130 degrees. Walston said that on a hot day, temperatures inside a parked vehicle rise 20 degrees in a span of ten minutes and continue to rise.
Walston said nationwide more than 50 percent of child deaths in hot cars happen because kids are forgotten in vehicles. Leaving an item like a backpack, cellphone or something else you will remember can serve as a good reminder to check your backseat.
About 17 percent of deaths occur when children are intentionally left behind, Walston said. The remaining deaths come from children gaining access to, but being unable to escape from, a hot vehicle.
“No amount of time, whether it is a trip inside the store or the bank or whatever it may be, is a safe amount of time to leave a child unattended,” Walston said. “When you are at home, lock your vehicle so kids cannot play inside. Small steps can make a big difference when it comes to keeping our children safe.”
Greenville, N.C. — ECU Health Medical Center recently surpassed 100 GammaTile® procedures for patients with brain tumors, marking a significant milestone in advancing access to innovative cancer care across eastern North Carolina. The achievement places ECU Health among a limited number of centers nationwide with this level of experience using GammaTile®, an FDA-approved, surgically targeted radiation therapy designed to improve outcomes for patients with operable brain tumors.
“Reaching 100 GammaTile® procedures is a significant achievement that reflects ECU Health’s commitment to advancing brain tumor care for patients across eastern North Carolina,” said Dr. Stuart Lee, chief of the division of Neurosurgery at ECU Health and medical director of The Gamma Knife Center at ECU Health Medical Center.
“For many of our patients, GammaTile® offers the advantage of receiving surgery and radiation treatment during a single hospitalization, helping reduce barriers to care and ensuring they can access advanced treatment closer to home. There are few centers in the country with this level of experience, and it reflects the expertise of our multidisciplinary team and our commitment to advancing the standard of care for patients with brain tumors.”
With the American Cancer Society estimating more than 24,000 malignant tumors of the brain or spinal cord diagnosed in 2026 across the United States, the need for timely access to advanced treatment options continues to grow.
ECU Health began offering GammaTile® therapy in 2019 and has steadily expanded its use, particularly for patients with metastatic brain tumors requiring surgery. The treatment involves placing small, bioabsorbable collagen tiles embedded with radiation sources directly into the tumor cavity at the time of surgery, allowing for immediate, localized radiation therapy. Unlike traditional approaches, which often require patients to return weeks after surgery for radiation treatment, GammaTile® delivers therapy at the time of tumor removal, eliminating delays and reducing the risk of missed or postponed follow-up care.
“For patients across eastern North Carolina, this milestone means greater access to advanced cancer treatment close to home,” said Jay Briley, president, ECU Health Medical Center. “By bringing these cutting-edge treatments to our region, we can provide the specialized care patients need without requiring them to travel far from their homes and support systems. This achievement reflects ECU Health’s ongoing commitment to innovation and reinforces our role as a regional leader in delivering specialized care.”
In early 2026, ECU Health earned GammaTile® Center of Excellence Program designation from GT Medical Technologies, recognizing the organization’s clinical expertise, patient education and commitment to improving outcomes for patients with operable brain tumors.
Greenville, N.C. – ECU Health Medical Center was one of 32 institutions across the nation to participate in the national ROADS (Randomized Controlled Trial of Resection Surgery and GammaTile® versus Standard of Care) clinical trial, a randomized study investigating how GammaTile® therapy compares to the traditional standard of care for patients in treatment for newly diagnosed, operable metastatic brain tumors.
The study, conducted by GT Medical Technologies, determined that GammaTile® therapy, which ECU Health began offering in 2019, can significantly lower rates of tumor regrowth in those patients and improve overall survival rates compared to traditional treatment, which consists of surgery and recovery before patients undergo stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT), a form of targeted radiosurgery, at the tumor site.
“The results of the ROADS clinical trial are very encouraging,” said Dr. Stuart Lee, chief, division of neurosurgery, ECU Health, and medical director of The Gamma Knife Center, ECU Health Medical Center. “Patients who underwent surgery with GammaTile® saw dramatically lower rates of tumor bed recurrence and significantly improved overall survival compared to patients who had surgery followed by radiosurgery four weeks after their operation. We are proud to participate in this important clinical study which affirms ECU Health’s commitment to providing the highest level of care close to home.”
ECU Health earned GammaTile® Center of Excellence Program designation from GT Medical Technologies in early 2026. The designation honors institutions that demonstrate outstanding clinical skill, patient education and commitment to improving outcomes for patients with operable brain tumors. On May 21, 2026, ECU Health celebrated treating its 100th GammaTile® patient. ECU Health is one of six GammaTile® treatment centers in North Carolina and was one of the first adopters of the technology in the eastern United States.
GammaTile® involves placing small, bioabsorbable collagen tiles embedded with radiation sources directly into the tumor cavity at the time of surgery, allowing for immediate, localized radiation therapy. The study indicated patients who received GammaTile® therapy experienced significantly lower rates of tumor regrowth, a greater likelihood of living longer without the tumor recurring and better overall survival compared to patients who received standard SRT.
“Clinical trials like ROADS give ECU Health the data we need to determine how we can offer the best possible care for patients in eastern North Carolina and a chance to share that data with other health systems across the nation,” said Jay Briley, president, ECU Health Medical Center. “Our participation in this trial reflects our commitment to leading the way in cancer care as a top performer nationwide and one of the few institutions with this capability in the state.”
A minimally-invasive procedure is helping patients at ECU Health feel more comfortable treating their benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
Aquablation therapy treats lower urinary tract symptoms caused by BPH, a condition in which the prostate gland enlarges and leads to various urinary symptoms. Without timely treatment, BPH can cause severe health issues like permanent bladder or kidney damage, bladder stones and loss of control over the bladder.
Common symptoms of BPH include frequent urination, difficulty starting urination, a weak or interrupted urine stream, inability to completely empty the bladder and dribbling at the end of urination. BPH is particularly common among older men, affecting one of every two men between the ages of 51 and 60.
“BPH is one of the most common issues to affect men as we get older,” said Dr. J. Nathaniel Hamilton, chief of urology, ECU Health.
Aquablation therapy is an ultrasound guided, robotic-assisted, heat-free waterjet for the treatment of BPH. The system’s real-time ultrasound imaging provides the surgeon with a multi-dimensional view of the prostate enabling personalized treatment planning tailored to each patient’s unique anatomy. A jet of water is sent through a patient’s urethra to remove prostate tissue without the need for an incision and without impact to the anatomy that controls sexual function.
“New technology is always being developed for treatment in that space,” said Dr. Hamilton. “At ECU Health, we always strive to have the latest and greatest resources that give our patients a better quality of life,” Dr. Hamilton said. “Patients and their spouses are pleased that Aquablation helps address this common prostate issue without needing to make difficult sacrifices in their relationships.”
ECU Health started Aquablation in late January of 2025 and performed over 150 procedures within the first few months of the technology being available to patients.
Furthermore, Dr. Hamilton said clinicians can perform Aquablation faster than certain other procedures, which allows surgeons to address more cases and keeps patients from being under anesthesia for a prolonged period of time.
“The best patient is one who has significant urinary symptom and has not responded well to medications but doesn’t have a prostate large enough to require a simple prostatectomy, where we go in and remove the middle of the prostate gland,” Dr. Hamilton said. “Most of my patients are coming back saying they feel great, their bladder feels empty and they are not waking up at night anymore.”
ECU Health continues to perform the most Aquablation procedures in North Carolina east of Raleigh. With the procedure becoming more well-known, Dr. Hamilton said that its use will vary from person to person and that treatment is ultimately dependent on individual patients’ needs.
“We investigate what treatment works best for patients on an individual, case-by-case basis, and Aquablation may not be right for everybody,” Dr. Hamilton said. “When patients hear about the treatment or read about it, even if it’s not the right fit for them, I think it’s a great thing to get folks in the door and start a conversation about their prostate health.”
Patient’s interested in learning more about prostate care at ECU Health can visit Urology – ECU Health.