ECU Health nurses from every area of expertise across the health system gathered on June 20 at the East Carolina Heart Institute for the 10th annual ECU Health Nursing Summit where they shared best practices and innovations that will help chart the future of nursing in eastern North Carolina.
Titled “Connecting with: Minds, Hearts and Purpose,” nursing leaders at ECU Health designed the summit to acknowledge what nurses have experienced over the last three years, including what the COVID pandemic taught them as professional nurses, what they have lost and what it will take to move nursing forward together, according to Trish Baise, ECU Health chief nursing executive.
“With the ever-changing health care environment, it is important for ECU Health nurses to hear from state and national colleagues,” said Baise. “We are proud to welcome experts who are making a positive difference in the field by advocating and influencing policy, as well as nurturing innovations that address the workforce, the nurse practice environment and the health and wellness of nurses.”
In total, more than 178 nurses attended the summit, which was held face-to-face for the first time since 2019. Topics included policy advocacy, building positive environments, communicating across generations, self-care and wellness. The summit featured presenters from both ECU Health team members and experts from other areas, including North Carolina State Senator Gale Adcock and keynote speaker Katie Boston-Leary, director of nursing programs for the American Nurses Association.
“The Nursing Summit gave me ideas, things to research and refreshed my mind to help navigate this different health care world that we live in,” said Paula Bush, MIU manager at ECU Health Edgecombe Hospital.
The summit also served as an opportunity for ECU Health nurses across various levels of expertise and experience to connect directly with health system leadership, fostering a sense of community among health system nurses.
“Sharing best practices from both within and outside the health system helps spark a culture of innovation within nursing,” said Daphne Brewington, ECU Health system vice president of nursing excellence. “When we harness the expertise of our nurses, we can lead improvements and create environments where nurses thrive here at ECU Health.”
“I was really apprehensive about it because I’ve always been at one little hospital,” said Suzanne Foster, a travel nurse with ECU Health, “so it was a little intimidating coming to a larger hospital.”
Suzanne Foster isn’t the only nurse who found herself looking for new and different opportunities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I wanted to try travel, nursing and experience other facilities,” said Foster, “but I have a husband and a son that I dearly love and do not want to be away from. The fact that I can drive home at night is huge.”
She can do both thanks to the ECU Health Travel Staffing program. It’s an innovative approach to recruiting driven by the ever-changing health care industry and the need to meet nurses where they are.
“For an organization of our size to develop its own staffing agency is significant in the innovation of nursing care and staffing hospitals,” said Dennis Campbell, ECU Health Beaufort Hospital, a campus of ECU Health Medical Center interim president. “It’s no secret that there is a nationwide shortage of staff nurses and nurses are more mobile today than they have ever been.”
“I was getting a little bit burnt out in my current role, which frankly after COVID, I think a lot of us needed just a change of scenery,” Foster said.
“The travel staffing program mimics any other staffing agency. The difference is it’s ours,” said Campbell.
Since the start of the program, the system has hired more than 500 clinical team members. Of those, 89% have opted to extend their assignments.
“The team, everybody that you encounter is extremely considerate and thankful to have you on board,” Foster said. “Working at ECU Health has been wonderful.”
To learn more about the ECU Health Travel Staffing Program visit: https://careers.ecuhealth.org/pages/vidant-health-travel-staffing-program.
At ECU Health, the support team members provide to each other makes a difference – not only to those team members but also to the patients we serve across eastern North Carolina.
Recently, three ECU Health nurses were inducted into the East Carolina University (ECU) College of Nursing Hall of Fame while another earned a scholarship as she pursues her doctorate in nursing. These four ECU Health nurses each said the support of fellow nurses has uplifted them throughout their careers and the scholarship and inductions into the Hall of Fame is a reflection of that support.
Learn more about the honorees below.
Amy Campbell
Amy Campbell, quality nurse specialist at ECU Health, has been with the system for about 18 years over two separate stops.
Campbell started at ECU Health Medical Center as an associate degree nurse in pediatrics and said she was quickly encouraged and supported by fellow nurses and leaders to join the HomeGrown program, which helps team members go back to school and balance their work and school responsibilities, and she received her bachelor’s degree from ECU in 2001. Campbell left ECU Health to teach at Pitt Community College and ultimately returned to the health system with a master’s degree. During her second stop at ECU Health, she said she was once again supported to further her education and pursue a doctorate degree, which she completed in 2020.
“A lot of executives were so encouraging for me to get my Ph.D. and I was HomeGrown and I was able to do my research here so they really were supportive all along,” Campbell said. “I also went through the Ph.D. program with a lot of my colleagues here so that was really great, too. I couldn’t have done it if people hadn’t given me time to do my research and to go to school.”
Campbell is a Williamston native and she said the rural aspect of the care ECU Health provides for the region is close to her heart.
The close-knit communities of eastern North Carolina transfer over to the hospital setting where Campbell said it’s a family atmosphere for team members and the patients they serve.
“I believe that at ECU Health we really do rise by lifting others and people really try to make sure others get time in the spotlight, even though, if you ask any of the four of us, we really don’t like this spotlight,” Campbell said. “But for me, I’m able to embrace it because I want all those people who supported me to have their moment with me. I’m a single mom, I’ve been a single mom for 19 years, but I’ve had a wonderful family here. Everyone has always been so good and supportive of school or whatever I was going through to help me be successful.”
Angela Still
Angela Still, senior administrator of Women’s Services at ECU Health Medical Center, said she was humbled to join her colleagues who have been inducted into the ECU College of Nursing Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023.
Still has been with the health system for 36 years and is a 1986 graduate of ECU. As a Greenville native, Still said the opportunity to care for and support women in eastern North Carolina is special to her.
“The needs of the patients and families in our region, the disparities, and the social determinants of health are so different from what the rest of the state deals with every day,” Still said. “Our 29 counties are comparable to the size of some states but it’s rural. Access to care, access to healthy food, these are unique needs. At this point in my career I am not impacting the individual patient and family, I’m working to impact the region. It’s a population of mothers and babies that we want to be healthier because they are our future in the region.”
Still said that during her time at ECU Health, she’s been the beneficiary of great leadership and mentors and she’s been happy to give that back to the next generation of nurses as they rise through the system and across the state.
She said it’s crucial to invest time and energy into mentorship as it will make a difference for the individual, those they mentor in the future and the patients they serve.
“The opportunity to mentor people through my career has been just really amazing. I have people across the state I mentored that are not with the system anymore and they still call me to ask questions or just look for guidance,” Still said. “So just being able to make an impact on the people that are going to care for others is very special to me. We’re all eventually going to retire, so being able to mentor and guide folks that are going to be here long after I’ve left and are going to continue to carry that torch and make a difference for our communities, it’s a big deal.”
Georgia Perry
Georgia Perry is the nurse manager on 2 North Medicine and 2 North Progressive Care at ECU Health Medical Center and was also inducted into the ECU College of Nursing Hall of Fame this year.
Perry said the night of the induction into the Hall of Fame was special for her as she had a chance to look into the crowd gathered and see mentors, some of whom nominated Perry for the recognition.
Perry earned her bachelor’s degree from ECU in 2010 and began working at ECU Health as part of the very first New Grad Nurse Residency Program class. She started working on 2 South, became an assistant nurse manager, and eventually became the nurse manager on her current unit. She received her master’s degree in 2015 and said the backing of fellow nurses and leaders alike made going back to school a manageable task.
“I tell people all the time, if you can dream it, you can do it here,” Perry said. “I truly feel like the support system is really what makes it easy to go back to school to be able to juggle it all. There’s a wealth of mentors here, you can pick up the phone and call anybody and it doesn’t matter if it’s across service lines.”
Perry is a Newton Grove native and said working in rural medicine is important to her because she grew up in a rural area.
“I think it’s wonderful that we have such great access to really all specialties right down the road,” Perry said. “My family actually will travel and get to ECU Health Duplin Hospital and then have access to the tertiary center, so we live it. I’m really grateful for what we have here at ECU Health and I’m glad to be a piece of the impact we have on this region.”
She added that the team around her keeps her going while the patients they serve inspire her to bring her best each day.
Lauren Nichols
Inductees into the Hall of Fame help fund a scholarship for ECU College of Nursing students. Lauren Nichols, a staff nurse on the Cardiac Intermediate Unit at ECU Health Medical Center, earned a scholarship from the fund for this year.
Nichols, who has been working at ECU Health for seven years, is pursuing a doctorate in nursing with a family nurse practitioner specialty at ECU.
Nichols is from Edgecombe County and said she chose to work at ECU Health and continue her education at ECU because of the health system’s commitment to rural health care and eastern North Carolina.
“ECU Health’s mission really resonates with me,” Nichols said. “Growing up in such a rural community makes me want to do my part to help improve the health of the people of eastern North Carolina.”
She said she never doubted her decision to go back to school because of the support she has received, especially from nursing leadership.
Join the Team
ECU Health nurses make an incredible impact every day across eastern North Carolina. Learn more about opportunities to work alongside these amazing nurses and so many others here.
Trish Baise
Since my arrival to the organization in January, I have enjoyed the privilege of getting to get to know the nurses of ECU Health. I’ve visited our acute care environments and interacted with a number of ambulatory care teams. In every visit, I come away inspired by the level of nursing care that is provided on a daily basis in communities across eastern North Carolina.
This week, May 6-12, is National Nurses Week, and it is my distinct honor to recognize and celebrate the incredible contributions of our ECU Health nurses. They demonstrate the mission, vision and values of ECU Health by providing excellent care in our hospitals and clinics. Nurses also serve in other critical roles across our health system focused on improving well-being, quality, safety, outcomes and access.
All nurses, regardless of their role, have a profound connection to purpose. Our purpose might be to provide hope to the hopeless, administer life-saving care that impacts generations of a family, give the support a colleague needs at just the right time, teach the next generation of nurses or be a part of innovation that fundamentally changes health care. If we pay attention, our careers our filled with daily moments of purpose, some small, some life changing. Our nurses are joined in purpose by 4.2 million nurses nationwide. It is the tie that binds us together. Together we will build upon our shared purpose as ECU Health nurses and become a national model for nursing excellence.
During National Nurses Week and beyond, I encourage our community to take the time to celebrate each and every one of the nurses providing care for our family, friends and neighbors. Nursing is the backbone of health care, and achieving the ECU Health mission would be impossible without them.
Thank you, ECU Health nurses, for your compassion, commitment to excellence and all you do for your patients and their families every day. ECU Health, our patients and our communities all benefit because you choose to serve eastern North Carolina.
“It was very nerve wracking coming here,” said Denique Barnett, a pediatric rehab nurse at the James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital and international nurse at ECU Health. “I’m an only child, so leaving my family in Jamaica was very hard.”
For Barnett, pursuing her passion has been a journey of more than a 1,000 miles.
“The welcome that I received was a good one,” Barnett said.
The warm reception Denique received is one ECU Health offers nurses from around the world as part of the International Nurses Program.
“My passion is pediatrics, but specifically neonatal nursing,” Barnett said. “Back home there is no degree program for neonatology. So I decided that, you know, to further my studies and to self-actualize, I would need to come to the United States.”
Not only does the program foster additional growth and training for participants, it also fills an important recruiting need for the health system.
“We bring international nurses from all over the globe to come to our organization to spend about two years in a clinical environment,” said Charlene Wilson, chief people officer of ECU Health.
Launched in November 2019, 175 nurses from 21 countries have since spent time at ECU Health.
“Even though these are nurses that are seasoned nurses, they have to go through our NCLEX,” Wilson said. “They then go through the immigration process. They then begin to understand the culture of the various hospitals that have openings for international nurses. One of the things that is very different about their practice here versus their practice in their home countries is the technology.”
“At first, you know, getting used to just how things are done here using technology for me, that was a bit of a challenge,” Barnett said.
“I’m always told by the clinicians, including the doctors, that one of the things that is fascinating about what they bring is their analytical skills, because they don’t have the technology that we have here in the United States,” Wilson said.
It’s a unique perspective put to work for a common goal, improving the health and well-being of the region these nurses now call home.
“As an international nurse, making the leap is the best decision that you will make. There is a lot of opportunities for growth,” Barnett said. “There are a lot of benefits to being here at ECU Health, you know, just make the leap, come, you won’t be disappointed.”
Greenville, N.C. – After an extensive national search and interview process with stakeholders from across the organization, ECU Health is pleased to announce Trish Baise, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE as ECU Health’s first Chief Nursing Executive (CNE). Dr. Baise will officially join ECU Health on Jan. 1, 2023.
“The impact nurses have on patients and their loved ones – from their clinical expertise to delivery of compassionate care – is at the heart of all we do,” said Brian Floyd, chief operating officer, ECU Health. “The creation of the CNE position and the appointment of Dr. Baise to lead in this role allows our organization to innovate and collaborate to further build a nursing culture that helps recruit and retain talented nurses and care givers who are dedicated to serving our region.”
The CNE will serve as a catalyst and role model to advance nursing care, education, research, care delivery models and leadership across ECU Health’s ambulatory, outpatient and inpatient areas. In her role, Dr. Baise will be responsible for integration and coordination of the nursing practice for the health system.
Throughout her more than 30 years of health care experience, Dr. Baise has led forward-focused initiatives within nursing recruitment and retention, specifically within the areas of culture and experience. She also has proven expertise in designing and deploying quality initiatives that improve quality performance and create safer care environments for patients and team members.
In addition to her vast experience in care delivery, leading care teams and strategy development, her passion for and understanding of the importance of rural health care will help advance the organization toward our vision of becoming the national academic model for rural health care.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to pioneer the Chief Nursing Executive position at ECU Health,” said Dr. Baise. “ECU Health is a recognized leader in rural health care and the organization’s mission aligns with my professional values of providing high-quality care to communities in rural environments. I am constantly inspired by the difference nurses make in the lives of those they care for, and I look forward to working alongside the great nurses that live the ECU Health mission every day.”
Dr. Baise joins ECU Health from Atrium Health Cabarrus. Prior to her role at Atrium Health Cabarrus, Dr. Baise held various system leadership roles throughout her tenure at Ballad Health System (formally Mountain States Health Alliance and Wellmont Health Systems) – a 21-hospital health system including five teaching hospitals, in rural Tennessee for 11 years.
Over the past few weeks, two events were hosted in Greenville to honor the Great 100 nurses. While the pandemic impacted the in-person celebration events for the 2020 and 2021 Great 100 nurses, these recipients were able to celebrate their accomplishments this year alongside their 2022 Great 100 colleagues!
The Great 100 nurses are selected through nominations from patients, coworkers, friends and family members. To learn more about Great 100, click here. To find out more about the 2022 nurses honored with the Great 100, check out our Newsroom.
ECU Health Great 100 Nurses of NC Brunch Celebration
On Sept. 28, ECU Health hosted a brunch celebration to honor the Great 100 Nurses recipients from 2020, 2021 and 2022. Nurses and leaders from across the system attended the event and vocally celebrated the accomplishments of the honorees including Brian Floyd, president of ECU Health Medical Center and chief operating officer of ECU Health, Jay Briley, president of ECU Health Community Hospitals and Dr. Bimbola Akintade, dean of East Carolina University’s College of Nursing.
Great 100 Gala
The 34th Annual NC Great 100 gala was held at the Greenville Convention Center on Oct. 8. The black-tie gala honored the 2022 Great 100 nurse recipients from across the state, with 22 of those nurses from the ECU Health system.
Check out some photos from both these special events.
Great 100 Brunch
Great 100 Gala
Greenville, N.C. – Since 1989, The North Carolina Great 100, Inc. has recognized and honored nurses around the state for their commitment to excellence and to promote a positive image of the nursing profession. Out of thousands of nominations that are submitted annually, 100 recipients are selected based on their outstanding professional abilities and contributions made to improving health care services to their communities.
This year, 22 ECU Health nurses have been selected to the 2022 NC Great 100. This is the largest number of ECU Health nurses to receive this recognition. This year’s honorees will be celebrated at a gala hosted by The North Carolina Great 100, Inc. in Greenville on Oct. 8.
ECU Health extends heartfelt gratitude to these nurses for their contributions to patient care and living the ECU Health mission of improving the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina.
The ECU Health nurses chosen this year are:
Alyssa Ballestero, MSN, RN-BC, APRN, is a staff nurse III in the Neuroscience Intermediate Unit and a nurse practitioner with ECU Health Neurosurgery in Greenville. Alyssa has worked at ECU Health Medical Center for seven years. Alyssa earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina and her master’s degree in nursing, family nurse practitioner from Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts. She obtained specialty certification in medical-surgical nursing, as well as certification in emergency neurological life support and the stroke response team. Alyssa is an active member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.
Cathy M. Bellamy, MSN, RN LNC, is the manager of Education Services at ECU Health Edgecombe Hospital in Tarboro. She has been with the ECU Health system for more than 30 years. She started her career in Surgical Intensive Care at Duke Hospital before joining ECU Health. Cathy has varied experiences in pain management, endoscopy, surgery, orthopedics and pediatrics as a Clinical Manager. For the last 20 years, Cathy has worked in the field of Staff and Professional Development, doing what she loves in her role as a nurse educator with ECU Health Edgecombe Hospital and working on system initiatives.
Marcia Bryant, MSN, RN, NE-BC, is vice president of Clinical Operations and chief nursing officer at The Outer Banks Hospital in Nags Head. Marcia earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her master’s degree in nursing from East Carolina University. She was appointed Chief Nursing Officer in 2015, bringing nearly 30 years of nursing experience to the role. Her leadership posts include director of cardiac services for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and administrative supervisor for Emory University Orthopedics and Spine Hospital. She has also held nursing leadership roles at Mission-St. Joseph Health System in Asheville, and ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville. Bryant serves on the Outer Banks Dementia Task Force and led The Outer Banks Hospital to be the first dementia-friendly hospital in the state.
Kristy Cook, PhD, RN, IBCLC, is an assistant nurse manager in the Special Care Nursery/Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital at ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2009 and completed the BSN to PhD program at East Carolina University in 2019. Kristy began her career in the Newborn Nursery of Pitt County Memorial Hospital 14 years ago as a nurse extern. She has since worked in various units, such as Rehab Spinal Cord Injury, Mother/Baby, Special Care Nursery, and is currently training with the Neonatal Intensive population. She has grown with the organization, remaining at Maynard Children’s Hospital for more than eight years. Dr. Cook has served in numerous roles, including as a volunteen, nursing assistant, staff nurse, charge nurse, quality liaison, breastfeeding champion, lactation consultant and clinical coach.
Jamie Hall, BSN, RN, CIC, is an infection preventionist II at ECU Health Medical Center. She has been with the medical center for three years in infection control and prevention. Jamie earned her associate degree in nursing from Cape Fear Community College and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Mount Olive. Jamie started her nursing career as an operating room nurse and later worked as a staff nurse for a colorectal and general surgery outpatient clinic. Jamie is certified in infection prevention and control, is a DAISY Award recipient, a member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and serves on the North Carolina APIC Chapter Recognition Committee. Jamie is a co-chair of ECU Health’s central line-associated infections (CLABSI) sub-committee and is involved with system-wide CLABSI quality improvement projects.
Daniel Hill, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC was recently the manager of Patient Care Services—Medical Unit at ECU Health Beaufort Hospital, a campus of ECU Health Medical Center. Daniel will continue his tenure as a nurse practitioner at ECU Health Multispecialty Clinic- Belhaven beginning fall 2022. He is a board-certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse and a Family Nurse Practitioner. He began his medical career in the United States Army, serving multiple tours of duty in Iraq as a combat medic. After 15 years of military service, Daniel earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from East Carolina University and a master’s degree in nursing from Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been with ECU Health since 2019 and has served in various roles, including staff nurse, charge nurse and nursing manager.
Jamie Hoggard, MSN, RN, CCRN, is a clinical education specialist at ECU Health Roanoke-Chowan Hospital in Ahoskie. She has been with the system since 2009, starting as a nursing assistant before becoming a registered nurse, and has served in her current role for seven years. Jamie earned her bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University and her master’s degree from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She is a certified critical care nurse, certified in Nursing Professional Development, a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and a member of the Association for Nursing Professional Development.
Amanda Isbell, CNM, MSN, C-EFM, is a staff nurse with ECU Health North Hospital in Roanoke Rapids, and will continue her tenure as a nurse midwife with ECU Health Duplin Hospital in Kenansville beginning fall 2022. Amanda has been with ECU Health for 17 years, dedicated to her nursing career in maternal-newborn nursing. Amanda earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Chamberlain College of Nursing and her master’s degree from Frontier Nursing University with her post-graduate certificate in nurse midwifery. She is certified in nurse midwifery and fetal monitoring, and is a member of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses; the Association of Certified Nurse Midwives; Sigma Theta Tau; and Phi Theta Kappa.
Patrick M. Jones, RN-ADN, is a staff nurse III in the 3N Neurosciences Unit at ECU Health Medical Center. Patrick has been a nurse for nine years, and served at ECU Health Medical Center for five years. Patrick earned his degree from Pitt Community College in 2013 and practiced nursing in a variety of environments, including nursing homes, home health, and inpatient nursing. Patrick enjoys the positive impact nurses have in caring for patients, families and the community.
Kimberly Lodato, BSN, RN, CMSRN, is a staff IV nurse on the Medical/Surgical Unit at ECU Health North Hospital. Kimberly has been a nurse for 22 years and has worked on the same unit at the same hospital for the entire time. She graduated with an associate degree in 2000 from Halifax Community College and obtained her bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2021 from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Kimberly is a Certified Medical Surgical Nurse and a member of the Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses.
Lawrence Madubeze, BSN, RN, is an assistant nurse manager on the Neurosciences Unit at ECU Health Medical Center. Lawrence has worked at ECU Health for 10 years and in his current role for two years. Prior to his current role, Lawrence served as a cardiac travel nurse and a staff nurse on the Neurosciences Unit. He earned an associate degree from Cape Fear Community College and earned his bachelor’s degree from Fayetteville State University.
Pamela Di Mattina, MPH, BSN, RN, is a staff nurse IV in the Palliative Care Unit at ECU Health Medical Center where she has worked for three years. Pam earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2002 from Binghamton University in New York. She is a certified hospice and palliative nurse and was “the most outstanding nurse of the year” as a Vidant Brody Award recipient in 2021. She is the skin champion for her floor and is a member of the Hospice & Palliative Nurse’s Association. Pam is currently enrolled in the Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist master’s program at East Carolina University.
Grayson Moore, MSN, MBA, RN, is an education specialist for nursing at ECU Health Medical Center. Grayson has been with ECU Health Medical Center for 11 years and worked in nursing education for the last six years. Grayson earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from East Carolina University, master’s degree in nursing and business administration from University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and is currently pursuing her doctorate in nursing practice at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She is certified in Nursing Professional Development and is a member of the Association of Nursing Professional Development; the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing; and Betta Gamma Sigma.
Toria Moore, BSN, RN, is an education coordinator at ECU Health Edgecombe Hospital, where she has worked for 19 years. Toria has been in her current role for more than a year and previously served as a staff nurse in the Emergency Department. She received an associate degree in nursing from Edgecombe Community College and earned a bachelor’s degree from Fayetteville State University. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Nurse Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Lou Montana Rhodes, MSN, RN, is the vice president for the Office of Experience at ECU Health. Lou has been with ECU Health for 20 years, served as the vice president of nursing in two regional hospitals and worked in the Office of Experience for the last five years. Lou earned her associate degree at Beaufort County Community College, her master’s degree at East Carolina University and will graduate this year with her Doctorate of Nursing Practice focused in Nursing Leadership from East Carolina University. She is a member of the North Carolina Nurses Association, the North Carolina affiliate of the American Organization of Nurse Leaders and the Watson Caring Science Institute. Lou is a member of East Carolina University’s Sigma Theta Tau, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key Honor Society and the Society for Collegiate Leadership and Achievement. She also serves on the Center for Family Violence Prevention Board.
Meredith Pauli, BSN, RN-BC, is a staff nurse III for the Neurosciences Unit at ECU Health Medical Center. Meredith has worked at ECU Health for seven years. She earned her bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University and is certified in medical surgical nursing.
Erin Pearson, BSN, RN, leads clinical performance improvement work throughout the ECU Health system. She is a content expert in central lines and Foley catheters, guiding organizational best practice related to infection prevention. In her role, Erin collaborates with operations, information services and infection control and is responsible for building extensively successful relationships with those partners. She manages the best practice-based auditing program for ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville. Erin is a two-time DAISY Award recipient and has participated in multiple award-winning BSI quality improvement projects. She’s a recipient of the ECU Health Board Quality Leadership Award; North Carolina Organization of Nurse Leaders, Best Practice Award; and the 6th Annual ECU Health Quality Symposium, Outstanding Podium Presentation Award.
Shannon Powell, RNC-LRN, is a staff nurse IV in Special Care Nursery/Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital at ECU Health Medical Center. Shannon has been a member of the medical center team for 27 years, beginning her career at the hospital as a nurse extern in Newborn Nursery/Convalescent Nursery. Upon graduation from East Carolina University with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1996, Shannon transitioned to a registered nurse role. Certified in Low-Risk Neonatal Nursing, Shannon has dedicated her entire career at ECU Health to serving the neonatal population and their families.
Jessica Scheller, MSN, RNC-NIC, ACCNS-N, is a neonatal clinical nurse specialist at the James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital at ECU Health Medical Center. She has been with the hospital for 17 years and began her nursing career in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She has been in her current role for four years. Jessica earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from East Carolina University. She is a member of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses, National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialist and American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. She has a specialty certification in Neonatal Intensive Care nursing and Clinical Nurse Specialist Wellness through acute care (Neonatal).
Tara Stroud, DNP, APRN, NNP-BC, is the administrator for Patient Care Services at the James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital at ECU Health Medical Center. Tara has been with ECU Health for more than 15 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from East Carolina University and began her nursing career in the Neonatal ICU. Furthering her career, she earned a master’s degree in nursing from East Carolina University, practicing as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, and a doctorate of nursing practice in Executive Nursing Leadership from Baylor University. Tara maintains specialty certifications as a neonatal nurse practitioner and a nurse executive advanced. Tara is a member of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership and the North Carolina Nurses Association.
Beverly Venters, MSN, RN, CPHQ, is the director of Quality for ECU Health Bertie Hospital in Windsor and ECU Health Chowan Hospital in Edenton, and director of Nursing for ECU Health Chowan Hospital. Beverly received her associate degree in nursing at College of the Albemarle, bachelor’s degree in nursing at East Carolina University and master’s degree in nursing with an emphasis on Leadership in Healthcare Systems at Grand Canyon University. She started her nursing career in 1995 as a nursing assistant at ECU Health Chowan Hospital. She joined the Quality Department at ECU Health Chowan Hospital in 2006, and began providing leadership for the department in 2008. She is a member of the National Association for Healthcare Quality, the North Carolina Association for Healthcare Quality and serves on the Albemarle Hopeline Board. She is a certified professional in Healthcare Quality.
Rebecca Williamson, BSN, RN, CMSRN, is an assistant nurse manager for 4 North Surgery at ECU Health Medical Center. Rebecca has been with ECU Health for 13 years. She earned an associate degree in nursing from Beaufort County Community College and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She is a Certified Med-Surg RN, a DAISY Award honoree, and a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and North Carolina Nurses Association.
Each day at Vidant Health, incredible nurses go above and beyond to care for the patients and families of eastern North Carolina.
In February, ECU Health Medical Center (VMC) volunteer Frank Crawley had a moving experience with nurse Felicia Parker at ECU Health Cancer Care that he felt compelled to write about.
“What you don’t know is you did something to me that day,” Crawley said to Parker, as the two met again exactly a month after their interaction. “You moved me to do some things that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. That’s to write about some things having to do with this hospital and how much it has meant to me.”
This National Health Care Volunteers week, we are proud to share the below story written by Crawley after his experience at VMC.
“On the morning of Feb. 15, 2022, a call came to Patient Escort to bring a wheelchair to the Cancer Center, room 418, to transport a patient to the Dental Clinic. I took the call. When I arrived, I knocked on the door, opened it, greeted the occupants and announced that I was there to take the patient to the Dental Clinic. Lying in the bed was a frail, elderly man. Standing by his side was his wife, who immediately said there was no way her husband was able to make the trip to the clinic in a wheelchair.
I left the room and located the nurse assigned to room 418, whom I later learned was Felicia Parker. She and I both entered the room. Ms. Parker explained to the patient’s wife that her husband desperately needed dental work. The wife seemed very concerned that her husband lacked the strength to make the trip, that his blood pressure would drop and that he could have a seizure, particularly if taken in a wheelchair. She said that he might be able to make the trip in his bed. The soft-spoken Ms. Parker explained that the bed was too large to transport into the clinic. Additionally, she said that to alleviate the wife’s concerns, she would accompany her husband to the clinic, assuring her that every precaution would be taken. First, she explained that we would exchange the Staxi for a Stryker wheelchair, carry an oxygen tank with us, along with a blood pressure/heart rate attachment to monitor her husband’s vital signs.
The wife began to weep quietly. She walked into the bathroom and continued to sob, fearing for the welfare of her husband. Ms. Parker followed her to the bathroom. She spoke softly, lovingly to the patient’s wife, hugged, consoled and reassured her that we would take every precaution to see that her husband made the trip to the clinic without incident. Still hugging, Ms. Parker told the patient’s wife that she would call her once we reached the clinic. I was so impressed at that moment with the love, patience, caring and empathy Ms. Parker showed her — far beyond what I had expected to witness that day. With the wife comforted and reassured, Ms. Parker and I located a Stryker chair, added an oxygen tank and a vitals’ monitor. Next, Ms. Parker said that she was raising the bed to a sitting position so that the patient could sit upright for a few minutes and adjust to the change in position. Doing so, she explained, we would be able to see whether his blood pressure and heart rate would respond favorably to the positional change. Next, Ms. Parker and I moved the Stryker chair next to the bed and slowly moved the gentleman’s feet off the side of the bed. All went well — at first.
Within seconds of moving his feet off the bed, there was a sudden drop in the patient’s blood pressure and a change in heart rate. Carefully but quickly, Ms. Parker moved the patient’s feet back onto the bed and slowly lowered the bed. She immediately left the room and called for backup help — not calling for a “code blue” but the next level below, as I heard her say. Within a few minutes, the room was filled with attending physicians, nurses and aides. I quickly moved back, stepping out of the room to allow Ms. Parker and the medical staff space to work. Within what seemed like only a few minutes, the patient’s vital signs were restored to normal, and the room was calm again. Ms. Parker then turned to the patient’s wife, hugged and comforted her.
With the room restored to calm and the father’s vitals stable, Ms. Parker came to me and thanked me for my help.
“No,” I said. “Thank you for allowing me the privilege to witness, firsthand, nursing at its very best.”
Not only was Ms. Parker highly competent, as evidenced by the technical skills she displayed, she also possessed that rare ability to sincerely comfort, console and empathetically connect with the very distressed patient’s wife. Empathy is near impossible to teach. Neither can it be faked. Deeply moved and with tears in my eyes, I hugged Ms. Parker.
“Never had I expected to report to volunteer duty Tuesday morning and see the loving, compassionate face of Jesus on display,” I said.
That day was most rare and wonderful, and I knew it.
After writing down his experience, Crawley shared this with the volunteer team and eventually it found its way to Parker. When she received the email, she had her daughter read the story to her sons. Parker said she was moved by him sharing his experience with her and her family.
“It’s nothing that I gave a second thought to – it’s just what we do every day,” Parker said, who will celebrate three years in the system in June. “Sometimes we kind of don’t look at what we do, how it impacts others. Especially, we feel like it’s just something that we’re just supposed to do. You’re supposed to get up, you’re supposed to greet people when we see them. We don’t think anything of it. That’s what it was for me. It was just, ‘Hey, what you do does matter.’”
Crawley said he has been volunteering at the medical center for nine years. Previously, he was an education professor at East Carolina University.
“In the busyness of life, and I think it has a lot to do with my age, I look for those moments that I can connect with people or when I can see them connecting, because I believe that’s what we were born to do,” Crawley said.
“We do a lot of things for which we get paid and it’s difficult to find something in you down deep that in that busyness,” Crawley said. Then looking at Parker, he continued, “I know you had lots of other patients, but in that busyness to console the woman who wasn’t your patient. You saw something there that was a greater need and you met that need. That was just powerful.”
We are so proud to have experiences like this unfold along the halls of Vidant hospitals each day. Thank you to the care teams, volunteers and team members who serve eastern North Carolina. If you are interested in joining the Vidant team, visit our Careers site.
Two Vidant leaders were recognized on Friday, March 18 and inducted into the East Carolina University (ECU) College of Nursing Hall of Fame along with seven other recipients.
Dr. Julie Kennedy Oehlert, chief experience officer at Vidant Health, and Dr. Kamilah Williams, administrator for nursing professional practice, development and clinical education at ECU Health Medical Center (VMC), were each honored last week after being nominated by colleagues and accepted into the ECU College of Nursing Hall of Fame.
Dr. Williams is a 2005 graduate of the ECU College of Nursing and an eastern North Carolina native. She said she is proud to serve the community she calls home and the induction was a great honor.
“I’m so humbled and proud to be a Pirate nurse,” Dr. Williams said. “I’m proud to give back to my community here in eastern North Carolina, where I grew up as a young child. It’s an honor to serve and care for the population that I grew up with. I’m just grateful.”
Dr. Williams is tasked with developing nurses in her role at Vidant. Under her leadership, VMC achieved accreditation for the Nurse Residency Program and has developed an International Nurse Fellowship Program.
She said she loves what she does and is happy to give back to her profession and region through her role.
“When I think about the mission of our organization and being able to improve the health of the people here in eastern North Carolina, it’s exactly why I do what I do,” Dr. Williams said. “As a young child, I always knew I wanted to be a nurse and be able to give back to my community. Now in my role, to be able to help develop future nurses, it’s just a humbling experience.”
Dr. Julie Oehlert has used her experience as a nurse to improve the experience of patients, families and Vidant team members across eastern North Carolina. Dr. Oehlert came to Vidant and eastern North Carolina in 2016 and said the recognition made her feel at home.
“For me, I was so humbled and excited to be recognized with other Pirate Nurses,” Dr. Oehlert said. “I came from outside of Vidant but my heart is with Vidant and ECU. I feel welcomed into this community. I was so overwhelmed when I was nominated and accepted.”
Dr. Oehlert said she is proud to be part of a health system with so many Registered Nurses as leaders in different areas. With nurses in non-traditional roles lending their health care expertise and compassion for patients and families, the nursing heart can be seen in many facets of the health system.
“I don’t get to work directly with nursing but the nursing heart of all the leaders that have RNs behind their name, is pretty darn special at Vidant,” Dr. Oehlert said. “Many of our presidents and executives have that RN heart and that means we are always caring about our communities, we always have a holistic view on care and I love that.”
With the nine inductees for 2022, the ECU College of Nursing Hall of Fame that started in 2011 has grown to 150 members.
One of the past inductees on hand for the event was Dr. Daphne Brewington, senior vice president nurse executive at ECU Health Medical Center.
“It’s just been an amazing night and both Dr. Williams and Dr. Oehlert are so deserving of this award,” Dr. Brewington said. “I’m so proud that they have been inducted into the ECU College of Nursing Hall of Fame. I was inducted in 2018 so it’s just really special and surreal to be able to support colleagues that are on this journey as well.”
Inductees into the Hall of Fame also help fund a scholarship for ECU College of Nursing students, which has raised $170,000 throughout the years to support the next generation of nurses.
Learn more about the ECU College of Nursing Hall of Fame on ECU’s website.