In the heart of eastern North Carolina, community partnerships are driving meaningful change in rural health care. ECU Health, alongside Conetoe Family Life Center and Access East, hosted a CommUNITY for Health and Wellness event at the Robersonville Public Library on Friday, May 16, to provide free health screenings, education on health care benefits, fresh produce and essential resources to residents.
ECU Health Community Engagement Coordinator Charmaine Reader provided everyone who walked by the pop-up with a friendly face and information about the event.
“We’re here to show love, love on the community of Martin County and provide resources that address social determinants of health like food security, health care access and more,” said Reeder.
Creating access to care in Martin County is a particularly important endeavor. The county’s only hospital closed in 2023 but the need for services remain.
This event is one of many ways ECU Health has rallied around the community in alignment with the organization’s mission to improve the health and well-being of the region.
For Debbie Burkhart, manager of the Robersonville Public Library, the event was a natural extension of her passion to support her community. Robersonville Public Library hosts one of ECU Health’s Health Hubs, helping community members connect with vital resources by offering technology-equipped spaces for virtual health care visits and support for social determinants of health like food, housing and employment.
“Today we’re also shedding light on our health hub location where they can gain access to these resources Monday through Friday,” said Reeder. “Debbie is great with helping individuals and connecting them back to us when they need assistance. She also helped spread the word about today and helped us get people here who needed to be here.”
Burkhart sees the library as not just a place for books but a resource for the community, whether that means helping people access health care information or simply providing a welcoming space.
“It’s all about community,” Burkhart said. “Without the community, we wouldn’t have a library; without the library, we wouldn’t have a community.”
After people got their free blood pressure screenings, Conetoe Family Life Center welcomed attendees on their bus to shop for free, fresh, locally grown produce. Jamie Harrison from Conetoe Family Life Center emphasized the importance of bringing fresh produce and nutrition education to residents.
“A lot of eastern North Carolinians live in a food desert,” Harrison said. “By partnering with ECU Health, we can help bridge that gap by making healthy food more accessible. Events like this introduce people to new fruits and vegetables and get them to try fresh recipes. We also can provide education on helping people grow their own produce.”
Sandra Grigg, a local resident, appreciated the impact of these initiatives on her community and said she comes to events like this because of how important the resources provided are to all of the residents.
“I want people to know that Martin County is full of really great people,” said Grigg. “They just need more information, and the fact that you’ve got the table here that’s talking about how to get health insurance if you don’t have it, that’s really, really important. I would encourage people to always come to these because of the information, because of what they teach you, what they show you.”