The Great 100 Nurses in North Carolina honors nurses around the state for their commitment to excellence. The recipients are distinguished for their outstanding professional ability and contributions to improving health care services in their communities. This year, 25 ECU Health nurses were honored, including Elaine Cudnik and Kate Freeman.
Elaine Cudnik
Although Elaine Cudnik, a pediatric nurse practitioner and the executive director of Children’s Advanced Clinic Practice at ECU Health, was born in Durham, North Carolina, she moved to Washington, D.C. as a child. After graduation, she worked at Children’s National Hospital, then moved to Reno, Nevada, where she lived and worked for seven years. In 2021, she joined ECU Health.
“I grew up as a city kid, and Children’s National was a big city hospital,” she said. “Reno was humbling, because it’s not that different from Greenville, except geographically. There are towns in rural Nevada where a physician assistant or nurse practitioner might be the only provider, and it has a similar rural need as Greenville.”
That service to a smaller, more rural community, is what drew Elaine to ECU Health. “I wanted to deliver care in the community I lived in,” she said. “Here, you aren’t anonymous. You can’t go into the grocery store or your kids’ sporting events without seeing someone you cared for.”
That sense of community, coupled with opportunities for growth, has kept Elaine here. “I love how we’re home grown here. We build people up and prepare bright people to lead.”
Elaine also values the growing enthusiasm of being with ECU Health. “COVID hit many organizations hard, but ECU Health has been an exciting example of how you can rebound and rebuild with a strong team,” she said. “There’s positive momentum, and our nurses are leaders in our profession.”
As for being a Great 100 Nurse, Elaine said it’s a part of the legacy she wants to leave. “I’m closer to retirement than beginning my career,” she said. “I have a desire to improve access and the method of delivery on health care in rural areas, and we’ve made concerted efforts to stand up sustainable models of care. For example, in 2021, our children’s transport team only transported neonates, and we averaged 200 transports a year. This year, we’re on track to hit 1,200 transports for interfacility transports of critically ill pediatric patients and neonates.”
Christy Harding
Christy Harding, a nurse manager on 3 East at ECU Health Medical Center, grew up watching her mother serve as a unit secretary at Beaufort County Hospital. “I frequently spent time by her side. In many ways, I was raised by the nurses and doctors who worked with her, and they became family,” she said. “Being surrounded by such compassionate, skilled professionals sparked my passion for health care. Today, I’m proud to work alongside a few of those incredible nurses who helped shape my childhood and career.”
During her childhood, Christy said she saw the dedication of the health care teams and the impact they had on people’s lives. That, and her highly-skilled, compassionate team maintains her sense of purpose even on the most challenging days.
Even so, Christy didn’t expect to be a Great 100 Nurse. “I’m deeply grateful, and this recognition fuels my commitment to keep growing, learning and giving my very best to the patients and community I serve.”
She emphasized that ECU Health’s representation in this year’s list is a testament to the exceptional care we provide. “Great nurses tend to attract other great nurses,” she said. “It creates a cycle of excellence, because people want to work where they feel inspired and where standards are high. It also creates a powerful environment of trust and mutual respect.”
Angela Still
Angela Still, the executive director of patient care services in Women’s Services, has dedicated her entire career to women’s health and obstetrics. Her parents encouraged her to pursue pharmacy school, and in college she considered being a physical therapist, but a nursing faculty member suggested nursing because of its diverse options for specialties. Now, she couldn’t imagine doing anything different. “My parents taught me when you’re having a bad day, find someone you can help; you’ll feel better. In nursing, you don’t have to look far for that opportunity,” she said.
Angela chose ECU Health because, “the mission isn’t just a statement on a wall. It’s truly how we make our decisions.” She also values her work in women’s health and obstetrics because she said you never forget the nurse who took care of you when you have a baby. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be there for someone on what could be the best day or the worst day of their life,” she added. “We love on those patients.”
Being a Great 100 Nurse is not something Angela takes lightly, and she said ECU Health “promotes the profession of nursing and recognizes the value nurses bring to the table.” She highlighted the work she and her team have done over the years, including estabilishing a perinatal outreach program promoting best practice and education to improve the health and well-being of mothers and babies across eastern North Carolina.
“We are boots on the ground helping to make eastern North Carolina the best place to give birth and be born. I’ve spent my career trying to make a difference for the moms and babies of eastern North Carolina, and there’s still a lot of work to do.”
That ECU Health represents a quarter of the Great 100 this year is important because, she said, it reminds people that there is a very large medical center in this part of the state that values nursing and nursing’s contributions. “This is a great recognition of our organization.”
Megan Tripp
Megan Tripp is the assistant manager of nursing in the ECU Health pediatric day medical unit, and she said she decided to be a nurse after experiencing a family medical emergency. “My cousin and I were riding bikes one day and they had a seizure. I didn’t know what to do, and I wanted to know how to help in the future.”
Since then, Megan has achieved her associate’s degree in nursing (AND) from Lenoir Community College, her bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), and is working towards her master’s degree in nursing with a specialization in nurse education (MSN-NE) degree, also at UNCW.
She was drawn to ECU Health because of the high level of care it provides, and she was interested in working in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) because there was a standalone children’s hospital. “I love the pediatric population and my colleagues,” she said. Megan has been with the system for 12 years.
While she doesn’t like to be in the spotlight, Megan said it was a dream come true to be named a Great 100 Nurse. “It means so much to me to know I’ve made an impact on those around me, and it doesn’t surprise me at all that a quarter of the Great 100 are from ECU Health. We strive for excellence and work to do and be better.”
Victoria Respess
Victoria Respess said her grandmother’s illness exposed her to health care, and the excellent care her grandmother received inspired Victoria to pursue nursing. “I always had this inner desire to care for people, and I like teaching people preventative care,” she said.
She began at what was then Pitt County Memorial Hospital as a nurse extern in the PICU – a place she stayed after graduating from ECU with her BSN in 2000. “That externship gave me a place where I was rooted and a place to come back to,” she said. “It wasn’t proximity that kept me here; it was being able to go back to a unit with excellent nurses, knowing they would nurture me and foster my growth.”
She said it was difficult to leave the PICU, but after graduating with her MSN in 2008, she worked with the trauma team and now is with cardiac surgery as a nurse practitioner. “I believe in what we do for the patients of eastern North Carolina. I believe we can make a difference, and I love that we serve people from these 29 counties,” she said.
That passion for her work made it more meaningful when Victoria discovered she was a Great 100 Nurse this year. “I was very emotional when I opened that letter,” she said. “My manager nominated me and that’s such an honor. Tears came to my eyes and I felt like all that time and sacrifice I’d put in the last 21 years were working towards something.”
Victoria emphasized that it was an honor to take care of people, something she strives to do outside her day job. “Outside of work, my husband and I are actively involved in our children’s schools and the local community. We participate in career days, support Cub Scout activities and volunteer at schools to help create a positive experience for all students. Community engagement and education are deeply important to our family.”
Kate Freeman
Although Kate Freeman, a staff nurse III in Labor and Delivery at ECU Health Roanoke-Chowan Hospital, began her career in immediate care in Ahoskie, she found her passion in Labor and Delivery in 2017 after graduating with her RN from Edgecombe Community College.
She discovered her passion for health care after watching her grandfather, the only physician in her small town of Engelhard, North Carolina, care for her community for 52 years. “I knew from a young age that I wanted to work in health care,” she said. “My mom, grandmother and great aunt all worked in his office, and I couldn’t wait to grow up and join them.”
She didn’t initially envision herself working in labor and delivery. “During nursing school, I precepted in the ICU and loved the adrenaline, unpredictability and critical thinking,” she said, also noting that fellow Great 100 nurse Claire McFadyen was one of her preceptors in the ICU. “But on my first day in Labor and Delivery, I witnessed a pre-term birth that required a transfer to the level II nursery, a full-term delivery and a level of teamwork that truly amazed me. It showed me labor and delivery offered the same intensity as the ICU, but with the added beauty of witnessing life enter the world. I was hooked.”
Kate said she loves the small-town atmosphere of her hospital. “I know nearly everyone’s name and where they work. Both of my children were born here, and I knew we were receiving the best care possible. It feels like home, so why leave something that feels so right?”
To be named a Great 100 Nurse is an honor Kate said she’s always dreamed of. “I love my job and show up each day committed to giving my patients the best care possible. I am incredibly humbled because there are so many deserving nurses out there. I’m grateful to be among them.”
The recipients will be honored at a statewide gala in October, to be held in Goldsboro, North Carolina.
Further Reading
ECU Health claims a quarter of the Great 100 Nurses of North Carolina
Twenty-five ECU Health nurses recognized among Great 100 Nurses of North Carolina