To be a health care provider is to answer a calling. For some, the journey to health care is a straight line; for others, the road is winding. This series features stories from ECU Health team members who took the winding road, but found the destination to be worth the effort.
Tim Barnes, the clinical manager for radiation oncology, has spent 17 years with ECU Health, but a career in health care wasn’t his original plan.
“I grew up wanting to work in law enforcement,” Barnes said. “My four-year degree is in criminal justice and in 1996, I started my career at the Wilson Police Department. I worked there until 2006 and served in various roles from patrol officer to the SWAT team to homicide.”
Somewhere along the way, however, Tim felt called to do something different.
“Medicine and law enforcement are both fields you have to feel led to do,” he said. “As a child and through high school and college, I had a strong desire to be in law enforcement. But somewhere along the line, and maybe it was because I was getting older or was married and had a family, there was a point I felt a calling to the medical field.”
Having a close friend diagnosed with head and neck cancer planted the seed for working in health care.
“When my friend passed away, that directed my focus on cancer care specifically. So, I started researching different jobs and opportunities where I could transition from law enforcement into the medical field,” Barnes said.
That’s how Barnes ended up in radiation therapy.
“I drove over to Pitt Community College and looked into their Radiation Therapy Technology program and met the program director at the time, Elaine Spencer,” she said. “She explained the process of going back to school and I just followed her advice – which is how I ended up here.”
Barnes joined ECU Health in 2009 as a radiation therapist, when radiation oncology was a part of the Brody School of Medicine.
“I worked there until the radiation oncology department moved into the new cancer tower, and I’ve been there ever since,” he said.
Barnes said that although law enforcement and medicine don’t seem connected, there’s a lot he applies from his experience as a police officer to his current role.
“It’s obviously a very different job, but my attention to detail, my focus on safety and the importance of working as a team – I learned those skills from my time with the police,” he said. “It’s very high risk in law enforcement, and you learn to depend on each other and function as a team. That carries over into the medical field and how departments and teams coordinate to take care of patients.”
That collaboration and support is very important to Barnes.
“I have always felt like I belong here,” he said. “We have an awesome team. To do what we do, you must feel led here, and the people on my team are here because they care. It’s not just a job; our people are doing more than just a technical service. They believe in what we do and really want to care for our patients.”
That’s only one reason why Barnes said he would gladly advise anyone to pursue a career in health care.
“There are so many options and opportunities, so you can go out and research to see what fits your lifestyle and interests,” he said. “I chose radiation therapy, but that’s just one specialized area. There are those who treat patients directly, but there are other options, too. Nothing works if you don’t have leadership and administrative support. Nothing stays clean without the environmental support staff. If someone isn’t sure what’s right for them, I’d highly suggest they look into health care.”
Barnes said a lot of people are surprised when they hear he was a police officer, but for him, the transition to health care makes sense.
“People hear I worked in homicide and say that’s such a big jump to treating patients,” he said. “It is definitely different, but I’m still doing a job where I serve and help people, and really, that’s what matters at the end of the day.”
When Ricky Blount, a supply chain professional, joined what was then Pitt County Memorial Hospital, now ECU Health Medical Center, he was fresh out of high school.
“I graduated from D.H. Conley High School in 1979 and started working here not long after,” Ricky said. “I was supposed to join the military, but my mother had open heart surgery, and she needed someone to be home with her while she recuperated. I started work at the hospital thinking I’d just be here a year.”
That year turned into 45, and during that time he’s mostly worked in one department: radiology.
“I started in patient transport, but after six months I moved to vascular interventional radiology (VIR). I learned on the job and enjoyed it. From there, I became a technical assistant in VIR,” Ricky said.
Recently, he made a change to working in Supply Chain, but he still supports the radiology department.
“VIR wanted someone who was familiar with radiology to do the supplies for the whole department, and my manager wanted to give me more challenging things to do.” To learn the skills related to his new role, Ricky said his team sent him to Maryland for a week of training. “I learned how to do different reports, inventory and manager supplies in the Pyxis machines,” he explained.
Over the years, Ricky said the hospital has changed a great deal.
“It’s much larger, and radiology has grown bigger and bigger. I’ve seen a lot of growth and people come and go,” he said. “Paychecks have grown a lot too. I started at $2.65 an hour, but that was pretty good pay in 1979.”
Through it all, Ricky said he’s worked with great people. “I have a good relationship with the physicians, and they trust my judgement,” he said. “Radiology has also been very supportive. I’ve had great managers and co-workers. They’re family-oriented and work with you when things come up.”
As for his future plans, Ricky said that he hopes to retire soon. “I turned 65 on June 12, but it’s a little scary to think about not working,” he said. “My wife will have projects around the house for me to do and I might find some part time work. I’ll also do some volunteer work at my church.”
Ricky said he has no regrets about staying with ECU Health beyond that first year. “It’s a great place to work. I like helping people and I enjoy what I’m doing. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t change anything.”