2022 ANA Innovation Award Winners Address Gaps in Health Equity and Education Brought on by COVID-19
SILVER SPRING, MD – Today, the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the American Nurses Foundation (the Foundation) announced the winners of the 2022 ANA Innovation Awards sponsored by Stryker, a leading global medical technology company. The ANA Innovation Awards highlight, recognize and celebrate exemplary nurse-led innovations that improve patient safety and health outcomes.
Winner of the Individual Nurse Award:
Dr. KaSheta Jackson developed Community Pop-Ups: A Rural Approach, an innovative health care delivery model implemented as community-based pop-up clinics across eastern North Carolina to address social and economic health care barriers. This program makes health care both more accessible and approachable by directly providing preventative services, improving health care equity, and offering resources within communities with the greatest need. This is done through a system-level collaboration at Vidant Health with community-focused intervention. Through partnerships with community leaders and other Vidant Health team members, these clinics have evolved from solely offering health care screenings to providing COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, mental health resources, access to fresh produce, and employment opportunities.
Community Pop-Ups have been held in a variety of informal community settings, including baseball fields, farms, and parks, to build trust and improve community engagement. Designed and led by nurses, Community Pop-Ups follow the tenets of a holistic nursing care plan, addressing the community’s physical, mental, and environmental needs. In 2021, Community Pop-Ups provided care to more than 400 community participants, identified acute diseases, provided numerous jobs, gave away 500 produce boxes, and delivered 500 health passports in rural locations across Eastern North Carolina. In 2022, Community Pop-Ups plans to make a more substantial impact in the communities it reaches and establish a model for addressing the social determinants of health through qualitative data.
Winners of the Nurse-led Team Award:
A multidisciplinary team of frontline nurses developed the RediStik® Wearable Simulation Task Trainers. They identified educational gaps in the lack of realistic, versatile, and engaging training tools for nurses to learn skills in peripheral intravenous (PIV), Port-a-Cath, and Central Venous Catheter (CVC) care and maintenance. Nurses and other health care professionals are trained to insert peripheral and central venous catheters to administer fluids, draw blood, and deliver medications. The RediStik® innovation offers nurses the opportunity to have hands-on practice while receiving real-time feedback from instructors via zoom. Nurses have access to a system of individual and wearable simulation trainers as well as immersive skills videos filmed from the nurses’ point of view, which are accessible on YouTube® and through a QR code found on the RediStik® Kits.
The RediStik® Wearable Simulation Task Trainer project exceeded initial design goals and has proven to be an asset to the nursing community, according to survey data. Prior to training, 15% of nurses surveyed said they were “confident” on starting PIV lines. After training, 96% of nurses surveyed were “confident”. Nurse confidence and patient outcomes improved not only in Houston, Texas, but in Sub-Saharan Africa through Texas Children’s Hospital’s partnership with the Global HOPE (Hematology Oncology Pediatric Excellence) initiative, which is dedicated to treating and dramatically improving the prognosis for children with cancer and blood disorders in sub-Saharan Africa. The funds from this award will support the distribution of the RediStik® trainers to additional health care systems and nursing schools both locally and internationally.
“The 2022 ANA Innovation award winners have proven that nurses are able to make incredible strides and improve health while navigating turbulent times. These nurses created solutions that scaled beyond their organizations, into their communities, and globally,” said ANA Vice President of Nursing Innovation, Oriana Beaudet, DNP, RN, PHN. “Nurses are the conduits of positive change across health care through their work and advocacy, which was solidified by the Gallup ranking as the Most Honest and Ethical Professions for the 20th consecutive year.”
“As a loyal advocate and supporter of the nursing community, we are honored to partner with ANA and the Foundation as a proud sponsor of the ANA Innovation Awards,” said Stryker’s Vice President and General Manager, Jessica Mathieson. “This year’s winners truly embody the meaning of nurse-led innovation, and we can’t wait to see their ideas expand and grow.”
The 2022 individual nurse and nurse-led team, ANA Innovation Award recipients, will receive monetary prizes of $25,000 and $50,000, respectively. These funds support translational research, development, prototyping, production, testing, and the implementation of these innovations. The award winners will have one year to further develop their innovation and will share their outcomes and findings in 2023. The ANA Innovation Awards are sponsored by Stryker.
You can celebrate these incredible nurse innovators at the 2022 Navigate Nursing Webinar. All are encouraged to attend – nurses, communities, industry members, health care leaders, health systems, innovators, schools of nursing and public health, and nursing advocates. The 2022 Webinar expands upon how nurses can lead in new ways moving into the future.
You can also learn more about how ANA is supporting nurse-led innovation by visiting the ANA Innovation website, where you will also find a list of resources, upcoming events, and nurse-led innovation stories.
Roanoke Rapids, N.C. – February 10, 2022 – Vidant North Hospital is pleased to announce its Heart & Vascular Care will move into a newly renovated, expanded clinic location near the hospital on Feb. 14, 2022. The upgraded facility allows Vidant Heart & Vascular Care to provide multiple advanced clinical services, including thoracic surgery, vascular surgery, cardiac electrophysiology and pediatric cardiology, to Roanoke Rapids at one convenient location.
“The opening of our renovated clinic aligns with National Heart Month, and a very symbolic day we associate with matters of the heart, Valentine’s Day,” said Dr. Kenneth Robert, regional medical director of ambulatory services, Vidant North Hospital. ”Vidant Heart & Vascular Care will help support a focus on raising awareness for heart disease, screenings, education and promotion of access of care close to home through a connected system of care.”
The addition of new clinical providers expands the ability for more patients to be examined quickly in the event of cardiovascular needs. A local team including a cardiologist, interventional cardiologist and an adult nurse practitioner will be on-site, and a team of outreach providers will be available through specific scheduled times. This outreach team includes an electrophysiologist, scheduled once a week and typically scheduled by referral, a thoracic surgeon, scheduled once a week by referral and a pediatric cardiologist, scheduled once a month by appointment.
“This opportunity allows cardiac providers to better serve the community in a meaningful way and to build upon the relationships with patients and their loved ones,” said Dr. Brian Cabarrus, Vidant cardiologist. “This upgrade in clinical space and greater access to cardiac and peripheral diagnostics helps enhance the patient and team member experiences.”
The services and accessibility of quality care offered by Vidant Heart & Vascular Care – Roanoke Rapids ties directly into Vidant and the future ECU Health’s commitment to improve health outcomes in communities across eastern North Carolina.
“This is an important day for Vidant North Hospital and the communities it serves,” said Jason Harrell, president, Vidant North. “Providing high-quality, comprehensive heart and vascular care close to home is an important part of how we meet our mission to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina.”
Vidant Heart & Vascular Care – Roanoke Rapids will be open weekdays, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The clinic will offer care for patients that do not have a primary care provider and will connect them with one after their initial visit.
The new location for Vidant Heart & Vascular Care – Roanoke Rapids is 220 Smith Church Road, Roanoke Rapids, NC, 27870. For medical referrals, appointments and consultations, call 252-537-9268.
Edenton, N.C. – Feb. 7, 2022 – Vidant Health is excited to announce the opening of a new immediate care location in Edenton on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. Vidant Immediate Care – Edenton will be the only immediate care clinic in Edenton, filling an important need for the community, and will serve both adults and children.
Vidant serves a vast, underserved region of more than 1.4 million people, many of whom face high rates of chronic diseases, lack access to care and are uninsured. The new clinic helps meet an immediate need for community members living in and around Edenton by providing services that can treat patients, refer patients to specialists and help connect patients with primary care providers. Vidant Immediate Care – Edenton is a community investment, expanding access to care in an area with limited care options.
“Vidant Health is proud to open Vidant Immediate Care – Edenton to provide high-quality care to community members,” said Megan S. Booth-Mills, FACHE, administrator, regional operations, ECU Health Physicians. “This clinic will enhance access to care and is another example of how Vidant strives to meet the mission to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina. The clinic will provide convenient care options closer to home for the surrounding area and represents an important investment that fills a community need.”
Vidant Immediate Care – Edenton will offer treatment for a variety of issues including cold and flu-like illnesses, bee stings and insects bites, skin rashes or infections, sore/strep throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sprains, strains and other minor injuries and illnesses.
Immediate care fills a vital gap for those experiencing an illness or injury that is not life threatening but cannot wait for an appointment with their primary care provider. Immediate care is appropriate when an illness or injury requires care within 24 hours but is not serious enough to go to the emergency department. This includes minor accidents, sprains, burns, fever, gastrointestinal issues, skin rashes and infections.
“Bringing an immediate care clinic to Edenton can help reduce unnecessary emergency department visits that usually include longer wait times. This ensures resources are available for those experiencing a true emergency like a heart attack or stroke,” said Brian Harvill, president of Vidant Chowan Hospital. “If you are experiencing a non-emergent issue but cannot wait to be seen by your primary care provider, please visit Vidant Immediate Care – Edenton. Expanding access to health care, especially in the midst of the pandemic, helps ensure our community members receive the high-quality care they deserve.”
Vidant Health Immediate Care – Edenton will initially open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and will adjust hours to fit community needs. Heather Pfahlert, PA-C, will practice at the immediate care and has 17 years of experience, including in the emergency department.
The practice is located at 701 Luke St., Suite C, Edenton, N.C. 27932. The clinic accepts walk-ins, but we encourage patients to call ahead for suggested times to help reduce their wait. To contact the immediate care, please call 252-482-6811 or visit VidantHealth.com/ImmediateCareEdenton.
Work culture makes a difference in recruitment, retention and team well-being, and all health care organizations strive to offer a more loving work environment where team members can thrive.
Vidant Health Chief Experience Officer Dr. Julie Oehlert joined the SEE YOU NOW podcast, from Johnson & Johnson and American Nurses Association, and discussed leading organizational change on Episode 64: Reporting Powers: Leading With Love.
A new, loving culture
Dr. Oehlert said “power-over” or hierarchical relationships are at the core of many relational issues, and missed opportunities in health care. She encourages all of health care to work together with team members on culture innovations.
“I think most organizations use the definition of culture of ‘How we do things around here,’” Dr. Oehlert said. “That cultural definition is like you’re a fish swimming in a bowl. It is not actionable. We believe that culture is defined by how our relationships are structured with each other – how we treat each other, how we treat patients, how we treat our community, and that definition is very actionable and everyone can impact the culture.”
As team members partner to create a new, loving environment, team and organizational goals become much more achievable. Dr. Oehlert said measures such as whether team members are afraid of reporting safety events, if they feel heard by their manager, and if the community believes the health system is their partner, are key indicators of a positive, changing culture.
Dr. Oehlert noted the importance of looking to an organization’s own team members to change cultures and innovate in their own space. She believes that health care can improve if they listen to their team members who want to have a voice in their own work environment.
“You don’t need other people to help you with your culture. Do you know you have innovators sitting around in your hospital? They’re everywhere,” Dr. Oehlert said. “Your EVS and food services workers will redesign your food delivery in a hot minute. Don’t bother to pay a consultant. Your innovation awaits you if you walk into your departments. Give them an environment and ask them, listen to them and they will design beautiful things.”
It starts at the top
A culture shift in health care must include changes to leadership development. Transformational leadership is full of love, kindness and mentorship.
So, she and the Organizational Development department felt they needed to carve its own path.
“I called our chief operating officer and I had all of these books sitting around me, you know your scholarly books on leadership development,” Dr. Oehlert said. “So I’m looking at all these different models and I’m putting my head in my hands and I’m like, ‘None of these are going to take us where we want to go. We’re going to have to develop our own leadership curriculum and our own leadership framework.’”
A team came together and different and new frameworks were pulled together to create a unique system for Vidant to develop talented team members and grow leaders.
This new system was necessary to transform and later maintain a culture of love, empathy and power-with attitudes from organizational leaders.
“Leadership development is so important because the leaders are at the top of the hierarchy; if they are perpetuating fear or dominance, whether intentional or not, because some leaders were just taught to lead that way, that has to shift,” Dr. Oehlert said. “A new leadership way of being has to emerge.”
Policies reflect culture
Policies are a reflection of the workplace culture and policies can frequently be outdated and not in line with the culture of the organization.
Dr. Oehlert said as the culture shifted, the organization needed to review policies and procedures.
“It’s amazing how many policies, once you read them with a lens of caring and love that you realize – ‘This is terrible. Why would we have this policy?’” Dr. Oehlert said. “Are your policies by their nature punitive? How do you handle mistakes and coaching and errors with your team members? Do you have grace when they are humanly failing? Do you have grace for their mental health issues? You really have to dismantle that.”
Looking for more?
Find and listen to the SEE YOU NOW podcast, Episode 64. Reporting Powers: Leading with Love, wherever you get your podcasts.
Read more on Dr. Oehlert’s previous appearance on the SEE YOU NOW podcast.
As the nation honors the memory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Vidant Health team members took a moment to reflect on what it means to care for others through the impactful work they do each day to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina.
Advanced Heart Failure & Mechanical Circulatory Support Social Worker Terrani Moore has assisted patients at Vidant Health for nearly 10 years. “I enjoy people—that is one of the biggest things that drove me to this profession and being able to care for people,” Moore said. “I love having the opportunity to make meaningful changes in their lives and not only for me to make the changes but to empower them to make changes.”
Vanessa Polk, a chaplain with Pastoral Care at ECU Health Medical Center, shares this sentiment. “Each day I have an opportunity to be with individuals at their most vulnerable moments –from the birth a child to a poor prognosis to a family crisis to coping with the impact of the pandemic to the end-of-life of a love one,” Polk said. “What I find most meaningful about what I do is that it allows me to offer others sacred attentiveness that communicates to them that I care and they are safe with me.”
Jannette Nelson, an Experience greeter at Vidant Health Maynard Children’s Hospital, understands the importance of making sure patients, who she refers to as “her angels,” are comfortable during each visit. “My motto is love what you do, treat others as they wish to be treated and always remember your name goes further than you do, and it’s up to you the way you want it to go,” Nelson said. “You have to have compassion and that’s why I say treat others as you wish to be treated. If that were my child—what would I do? If it were me, what would I want someone else to do?”
Rev. Dr. King once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” It’s a question that resonates among those who have chosen health care as a profession—especially as COVID-19 continues to affect the industry in countless ways.
“I am very blessed to work with a team that all of us have a heart for people for our patients and the community around us,” said Moore. “We are able to help patients but if we see others in need outside our building, we offer a helping hand, a listening ear.”
Gratitude for one another—and the inspiration that comes along with watching fellow team members support others—also provides deep meaning for Chaplain Polk.
“During the early stages of the pandemic when we were trying to figure out innovative means to provide spiritual care for patients who had restricted physical access to their loved ones, [my colleague] Father Gaston never wavered,” Polk said.
“Whenever I became overwhelmed by the impact COVID-19 was having on our patients and team members, Father Gaston’s expressions of faith and words of wisdom strengthened me and drew me back onto the path of my purpose. Without dismissing the reality of human experiences, Gaston has a special way of helping others to find peace and fortitude within the distress of their uncertainties.”
On this day of honor and remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the legacy he leaves behind, we find meaning in the important work Chaplain Polk, Janette Nelson, Terrani Moore and other Vidant Health team members do in support of eastern North Carolina.
Thank you for what you do today and every day in service to eastern North Carolina.
Vidant Health continually reinvests dollars back into the health system to fulfill our mission of improving the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina. With a focus on team member and patient experience, we reinvest in our care environments, including technology and unit aesthetics throughout the health system every year.
The Renal Dialysis Unit (RDU) at ECU Health Medical Center (VMC) moved to a new, reconstructed space on 1 East with upgraded amenities, more space and increased privacy for patients.
The RDU provides numerous treatments for patients including hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and apheresis. Laura Respess, manager of Patient Care Services, said hemodialysis (or the removal of waste from the blood) involves two venipunctures if the patient has a graft or fistula, or by accessing the central line, and then hooking the patient to a dialysis machine. Blood is pulled out a little at a time, goes through the dialyzer to remove toxins and/or fluid and is then returned to the patient. Intensive treatments such as hemodialysis mean that patients spend a lot of time in the hospital, and the new RDU offers a more peaceful and private experience for patients while receiving treatment.
The new space on the first floor offers easier accessibility for patients due to location, and improved patient flow with an increased bay count from 12 to 20. Additional amenities such as TVs in each bay offer patients a welcome distraction from treatment.
This upgraded unit has received glowing reviews from patients, providers and the RDU care team in the short time it has been open. Patients have praised the larger bays with TVs and privacy, while providers have been excited about new machines and the presence of windows that provide brightness in the space.
“The team experience is enhanced because we are all on one floor (previously it was split on two floors). There is plenty of storage space, and everything is new, clean and inviting,” Respess said.
By reinvesting back into the system, we are improving the quality of care for patients, and enhancing experiences for patients and team members. As we look toward our future as Vidant Health, the care and services provided, such as renal dialysis treatments, will have even greater impact for those we proudly serve.
One year ago, the ECU Health Medical Center (VMC) Pharmacy team distributed the first rounds of the COVID-19 vaccine to hospitals and clinics throughout our region. The VMC Pharmacy team serves as one of 11 vaccine distribution hubs – and the primary hub for eastern North Carolina – designated by the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). These 11 hubs provide vital access to the vaccine across regions and serve as one point of distribution during periods of short supply.
Since December 2020, the VMC Pharmacy has distributed over 240,000 doses of Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen (J&J) vaccines throughout the region, which includes over 100,000 doses to 65 different providers. Distribution of the vaccine ranges from local area medical offices to health departments in New Hanover to Halifax counties. The team also provides vaccines to communities as far away as Ocracoke Island. Assistant Pharmacy Director Andy Grimone explained, “To get nearly 250,000 doses of vaccine and supplies to where they need to be takes a tremendous amount of teamwork and logistics. This team knew the importance of this project and never looked back.”
Vaccine distribution requires coordination starting in the Pharmacy’s storeroom. The team packs and ships the vaccine under strict temperature monitored conditions and repackages supplies (such as needles, syringes, diluent, vaccine cards, etc.) in specific shipment quantities.
Transferred vaccine quantities range from one to 200 vials at a time to meet the needs of individual providers (i.e. small physician practices to mass vaccine clinics). In addition, each transferred vial has to be logged and approved by the NCDHHS via the COVID Vaccine Management System (CVMS) to track vaccine inventory.
The VMC Pharmacy team also helps to coordinate vaccine shipments to VMG clinics, Vidant’s Occupational Health departments, Home Health and third-party partners across the region. Not surprising, the largest clinic supported by the Pharmacy team’s vaccine efforts was the Vidant/Pitt County Large-Scale Vaccine Clinic at the Greenville Convention Center – where more than 80,000 doses were administered between January and April 2021. This site required daily, diligent management and transportation of the vaccine, which could not have been accomplished without the help of Vidant couriers. The Vidant couriers have been critical in assisting with the successful distribution of vaccines to various locations across the system for the past year.
Thank you to entire VMC Pharmacy team for helping provide doses of hope to our communities!
For nearly two years, Vidant Health and Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University team members have demonstrated their resiliency and dedication to the patients and communities we serve throughout eastern North Carolina.
Vidant is proud to announce Dr. Nupur Sharma, senior resident physician in pathology in the Brody School of Medicine and Vidant, was awarded the David C. Leach Award from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
The Leach Award recognizes residents and fellows who have fostered innovation and improvement in their programs, advanced humanism in medicine and increased efficiency and emphasis on educational outcomes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Sharma has adapted and innovated to help her colleagues continue to learn. While the pandemic limited clinical interactions for medical students and residents, Dr. Sharma began an online reading group with nearly 100 participants for other residents on hematopathology, the study of diseases of the cells that make up the blood.
Based on notes from these group discussions, Dr. Sharma and her colleague Dr. Akanksha Gupta, a hematopathology fellow from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, co-authored a board-review book.
“The most important mission at ECU is to provide high-quality education to its students,” Dr. Sharma said. “We use innovative learning strategies and delivery methods to maximize access. Now, residents can access these modules anywhere, anytime, making learning flexible. My work in the form of this comprehensive curriculum and an easy-to-read, board-review book reflects that mission and provides students with an innovative approach to learning.”
Dr. Sharma will be honored during the virtual 2022 ACGME Annual Education Conference being held March 30 through April 1, 2022.
Dr. Sharma’s efforts to support her colleagues and fellow physicians is an example of the dedication Vidant team members continue to display in the care they provide in the midst of enduring an ongoing pandemic.
“I hope that my journey motivates students to see opportunity in adversity,” she said. “The idea is to find creative solutions to challenges in education. I hope medical students will find my story inspiring and consider it as a career choice.”
The David C. Leach Award was created in 2008 to honor Leach, the former executive director of the ACGME (1997-2007), and his contributions to resident education and physician well-being. This award acknowledges and honors residents, fellows, and resident/fellow teams and their contributions to graduate medical education.
Dr. Sharma’s innovative leadership is an example of how Vidant and ECU work together to meet the combined mission to improve the health of eastern North Carolina. Through high-quality, mission-focused initiatives, Vidant and ECU are building upon the shared vision of creating the national model for rural health care.
Dr. Philip Boyer recommended Sharma for the award alongside Dr. Ann Sutton, clinical associate professor in pathology and Sharma’s mentor.
“Dr. Sharma has made truly exceptional contributions to curriculum development and teaching with an impact both locally in Greenville and nationally and internationally,” Dr. Boyer said. “She is developing skill sets that will serve her well as a fellow and as an academic pathologist.”
Please join us in thanking Dr. Sharma for her innovative work and all health care heroes for their lasting legacy as leaders in our communities.
GREENVILLE, N.C. (Nov. 12, 2021) – Today, East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine and Vidant Health took the first step in the final approval process in creating ECU Health with a goal of becoming a national academic model for providing rural health care.
ECU’s Board of Trustees approved a joint operating agreement between the Brody School of Medicine and Vidant Health that will enable the two organizations to more effectively and efficiently address current issues facing the region — such as health disparities and care delivery obstacles — while also better anticipating future health care and educational needs.
Under the joint operating agreement, the Brody School of Medicine and Vidant Health will retain their separate legal entities, but will function collaboratively under a new, shared brand launching in 2022, known as ECU Health. Most Vidant entities and ECU Physicians will operate under the new brand while the Brody School of Medicine’s name will not change.
“This agreement represents an important milestone in the long-standing affiliation between two entities bound by the same mission as we work toward the creation of ECU Health,” Chancellor Philip Rogers said. “It signals the point where we can begin to move forward together on our journey to launch a clinically integrated academic health system and deliver on the commitment to provide quality health care for all eastern North Carolinians.”
The agreement also requires approvals from the Vidant Health Board of Directors, ECU Health Medical Center Board of Trustees, the Pitt County Board of Commissioners, and the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. The UNC Board of Governors is expected to consider the agreement for final approval during its Nov. 17-18 meeting.
The majority of Vidant Health’s locations, ECU Health Physicians and ECU Physicians will rebrand to ECU Health. However, there are no changes to the employment status or benefits of current employees – and no assets are exchanged – as a result of the approval of the joint operating agreement.
ECU and Vidant Health announced their intentions to clinically integrate in June when Dr. Michael Waldrum, chief executive officer of Vidant Health and distinguished professor at the Brody School of Medicine, was appointed dean of the Brody School of Medicine. Waldrum continues to serve as CEO of Vidant Health in a dual role that is further outlined by the joint operating agreement.
“Today’s announcement is about the residents of eastern North Carolina and brings into reality the collective vision our two institutions have shared for nearly 50 years,” Waldrum said. “Rebranding Vidant to ECU Health in 2022 further signals and strengthens our commitment to bring the best research, doctors and care to the East. We have proven in recent years, and particularly during the pandemic, what can be accomplished when we focus our energies on the mission to improve the health of eastern North Carolina.”
The joint operating agreement is a legal framework that will allow the work of clinical integration and rebranding to begin in earnest with the purpose of:
- Improving the value of and the access to quality care and providing patients with a more streamlined health care experience.
- More efficiently using clinical staff across the combined operations, regardless of which organization employs them.
- Helping to facilitate new strategies and interventions for the most prevalent health needs of eastern North Carolina.
- Creating operational efficiencies and reducing costs.
- Establishing a shared leadership and governance structure for ECU Health.
Under the terms of the agreement, which will be effective Jan. 1, 2022, the two organizations will work together to:
- Evaluate and modify existing practices to improve quality and coordination of care.
- Integrate certain management structures and strategic planning efforts.
- Develop a plan for shared services to support the integrated entity.
- Leverage the capabilities of each organization to advance the collective research and education infrastructure.
- Coordinate philanthropic initiatives.
“Our mission has not and will not change. How we execute the mission is what is at issue,” said Dr. Jason Higginson, executive dean of the Brody School of Medicine. “We are going to be looking at areas where efficiencies can be built into our process and where value can be added to what we’re doing to improve the final outcome. So rest assured, what Brody is here for and what it stands for is not changing.”
Waldrum noted that the Brody School of Medicine has a rich history of training physicians for North Carolina and that mission will continue as ECU Health serves the 1.4 million residents of eastern North Carolina.
“Through harmonizing our operations wherever possible and building on our unique expertise in caring for rural and underserved communities, ECU Health will set the standard and be a national model for rural health care delivery,” Waldrum said.
About ECU Health
Vidant Health is a mission-driven, 1,708-bed academic health system serving a region of more than 1.4 million people in 29 eastern North Carolina counties. The not-for-profit system is made up of more than 13,000 team members, nine hospitals including an academic medical center, home health, hospice, wellness centers, and ECU Health Physicians, a multi-specialty physician and provider group with more than 500 providers in more than 100 practice sites in eastern North Carolina. Vidant is affiliated with The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. As the largest employer in the East and a major resource for health services and education, Vidant’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina. For more information, visit VidantHealth.com.
About East Carolina University
East Carolina University, or ECU as it’s best known, offers 87 bachelor’s, 68 master’s and 18 doctoral degrees to 28,000 students on its Greenville, North Carolina, campus and through an acclaimed online learning program. ECU also boasts the largest business school enrollment and largest number of new nurses and education professionals produced by a four-year North Carolina university, in addition to the largest studio art program in the state. Located near Atlantic coast harbors where pirates once roamed, ECU adopted the “Pirates” mascot in 1934 for its athletics program and competes in NCAA Division 1. Visit: www.ecu.edu.
The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University was founded more than 40 years ago to increase the supply of primary care physicians serving North Carolina, improve the health status of eastern North Carolina and enhance access of minority and disadvantaged students to a medical education. Each year, the school graduates close to 86 medical students and welcomes about 125 residents and fellows. Brody consistently ranks No. 1 in North Carolina – and in the top 10% nationally – for graduating physicians who practice in-state, practice primary care and practice in rural and underserved areas. It also ranks in the top 10% nationally for graduating Black and Native American physicians.
Each year on Veterans Day, Vidant Health honors and thanks the nation’s military veterans for their bravery and service for our country.
This year, ECU Health Medical Center (VMC) hosted a Veterans Day celebration on Wednesday, Nov. 10, to honor the nearly 500 veterans, in addition to the hundreds of military and veteran family members and those currently serving in a Reserve or Guard capacity, who are Vidant team members. Team members who have served in all branches of the military attended the event at VMC, which began with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Reverend Raynard Griffin of Vidant’s pastoral team led attendees in prayer to reflect on their service. Van Smith, executive vice president at VMC, thanked team members for their service and for their hard work and dedication to caring for the community.
“Military service requires a commitment that is beyond the ability and comprehension of many,” said Smith. “In times of peace, and especially in times of war, it necessitates an allegiance to something greater than oneself. Here at ECU Health Medical Center, we’re also called to a common purpose as stated in our mission statement: to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina. In our veteran colleagues that we have here and that are serving right now throughout ECU Health Medical Center and all across Vidant Health, we are fortunate to have people who know what it means to make a commitment like that. They’ve done it.”
Proud Air Force veteran now CVIU Staff Nurse at VMC
Among the 500 military veterans who now serve as Vidant team members is Audrey “Lee” Webb.
Born and raised in Windsor, North Carolina, Webb comes from a long line of family members who served in the military. Both her father and brother retired from the United States Army, while she was the first in her family to enlist and serve in the United States Air Force.
During her eight years in the Air Force, Lee traveled the world. She was stationed in Virginia, South Korea, Germany and Oklahoma. It was during her time in South Korea, that she picked up the nickname “Lee,” and it stuck with her ever since. Lee also served during Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia, and when her unit first arrived in the country, she was one of two women in a group of 67 men.
While enlisted, Lee worked in Non-Destructive Inspections (NDI). NDI personnel identify possible defects in systems and equipment. Wear, tear and fatigue occur in metals without visible signs. Similar to employing x-rays to visualize internal body parts, NDI personnel use non-invasive methods to inspect the insides of metal objects.
One of her most memorable times was being awarded the “Below the Zone.” Below the Zone is a competitive early promotion program that offers exceptional Air Force members the opportunity to earn their next rank six months early. Members are nominated by their chain of command and undergo a rigorous interview process to go over their major accomplishments and attributes. Lee was one of two Air Force members who earned Below the Zone in her unit.
After being honorably discharged from the Air Force as a Sergeant (E-4) in 1995, Lee came back to eastern North Carolina to use her GI bill to attend nursing school at Pitt Community College. Right out of college, she was hired at Vidant (previously Pitt Memorial Hospital). She has worked as a nurse at VMC for over 20 years now, currently serving as a Staff Nurse III on CVIU.
When asked how her military training has helped with her current career, she replied, “I am used to team building and teamwork. In the Air Force, we were mission-focused, and we are mission-focused in health care, as well.”
Lee said, “Traveling and serving in third-world countries and seeing the conditions there, really makes you appreciate what we have here. I am proud to have served our country. I love America!”
This Veterans Day – and every day – we are grateful to Vidant team members who served our nation and now serve eastern North Carolina. We are Vidant Proud of their commitment and dedication to improving the health and well-being of those around them. Please join us in thanking these heroes for all they do, for all of us. Watch a recap of the celebration at VMC below.