Ellen Walston, injury prevention program coordinator and Safe Kids Pitt County coordinator at ECU Health, had a busy start to 2025. As one of four Injury Prevention Coordinators with the Eastern Carolina Injury Prevention Program (ECIPP), Walston works with and supports local organizations, such as Safe Kids NC, the Transportation Public Health Leadership Program, the Vision Zero Institute, the Greenville Traffic Safety Taskforce and the Mid-East Tri County Rural Planning Organization – just to name a few.
“Every single time I go to meetings, conferences and events, it’s to celebrate ECU Health. I want people to know we are deeply passionate about preventing all injuries,” Walston said.
Working with and leading the community
One way Walston participates is through the Greenville Traffic Safety Taskforce, which was created when the then-Greenville police chief came to Walston and Sue Anne Pilgreen, manager of ECIPP and the Pediatric Asthma Program, with concerns about car crashes. The chief wanted to find ways to prevent these accidents and Walston was instrumental in establishing the taskforce. The multidisciplinary team became an official NC Vision Zero community after that – one of only 12 in the state.
“Ellen’s enthusiasm, drive and passion never cease to amaze me,” said Pilgreen. “She is gifted in many ways, but her ability to bring partners together to produce change is one of the things that really stands out. Ellen has been a key driver behind our traffic safety efforts and many of the environmental changes in Greenville.”
Vision Zero seeks to eliminate traffic fatalities and injuries by making improvements to roadways, policies and related systems. NC Vision Zero communities are selected to participate in intensive virtual and in-person training for three days to develop traffic safety projects in their communities, and Greenville’s taskforce quickly implemented strategies such as high-visibility crosswalks, modular medians and delineator systems in center turn lanes.
According to the NC Vision Zero website, “Greenville is now the leader in Vision Zero, not only in North Carolina, but nationally. The Greenville Traffic Safety Taskforce has earned one international, two national, and two state achievement awards for their improvements to roadway safety and strong community partnerships.”
Walston has presented on the taskforce’s successes and Vision Zero efforts at 16 state conferences, two international conferences and 11 national conferences over the past five years, with five of those conferences taking place in 2025.
In addition to her work with the taskforce and Vision Zero, Walston was invited by the NC Department of Transportation to join the Rural Planning Organization (RPO) for Pitt, Beaufort, and Martin counties.
“I represent the hospital and Pitt County,” Walston said. “There’s only one other planner from Pitt County. We are developing an action plan in hopes of receiving the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant to make traffic safety modifications. The action plan is the first step to complete for the funding process and multi-disciplinary leaders are chosen from their communities to provide oversight and feedback to the planning process.”
Walston was also recently appointed to the Transportation Public Health Leadership Program, which is a national collaboration among five states to identify key leaders in public health that are making a difference in transportation safety. All teams will convene at the Lifesavers Highway Safety Conference in April 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland.
“Our participation in this leadership initiative is a way to show people ECU Health is focused on the community as well as patient care,” she said.
Representing ECU Health
Walston said that at many of the conferences she attends, she’s approached by others looking to partner with or learn more about ECU Health’s commitment to safety.
“In February, I presented at the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Research and Innovation Conference. A professor from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte talked to me afterwards and said he would like to work with ECU Health. He had applied for funding from the National Science Foundation for a grant to study adolescent behavior with e-scooters, and he needed data. If he gets funding, I will be able to provide information and data to help him,” she said.
At another conference in March, Dr. J. Eason, the director of the NCDOT Historically Black Colleges and Universities Outreach Program, approached Walston about partnering with ECU Health by having their interns visit the Traffic Garden.
“The Winterville Traffic Garden is located at Hillcrest Park and was provided as a gift by Bike Walk NC with funding from the AARP Community Grant Program,” Walston said. “It is a hands-on learning environment for children and adults to interact with and learn rules of the road.”
Walston’s ongoing work was recognized in May of 2024 with a Safe Kids North Carolina Excellence in Injury Prevention by an Individual Award. In October, the ECIPP was recognized with the Martha Collar Partnership Award at the Safe Kids Worldwide International Childhood Injury Prevention Convention (PREVCON). She has no plans to slow down anytime soon.
“My job is to keep children out of the hospital,” she said. “I am so grateful for the ability to help the community. I want to be the voice of the East and be an ambassador for the hospital. I am always looking for ways to improve, because prevention is key, and we accomplish so much within the walls of our hospitals.”