Dr. Shannon Longshore has built her career around a simple but powerful belief: children deserve honesty, compassion and the very best care medicine can offer. In her many roles across the pediatric medicine community, that patient-focused approach is making a major impact.
Recently named Senior Medical Director and Surgeon in Chief at James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital at ECU Health Medical Center, Dr. Longshore also serves as Division Chief of Pediatric Surgery at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, medical director of Pediatric Trauma since the program’s inception, and medical director of the Eastern Carolina Injury Prevention Program (ECIPP).
For more than 13 years, Dr. Longshore has been a cornerstone of the pediatric surgery community in eastern North Carolina, guiding families through some of the most frightening moments of their lives, performing lifechanging operations, and helping shape the future of pediatric care at ECU Health.
Dr. Longshore earned her medical degree at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. She went on to complete a general surgery residency at the University of California, Davis in Sacramento, followed by a research fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, and ultimately a pediatric surgery fellowship at Loma Linda Children’s Hospital in Loma Linda, California. She is board certified in both General Surgery and Pediatric Surgery, bringing nationally recognized expertise to the region’s only children’s hospital.
For Dr. Longshore, technical skills are only part of the story.
“I love the idea of having a problem and being able to fix it,” she explained. “Most pediatric surgeons will tell you the congenital anomalies – babies born without their esophagus connected – those are the cases we love to treat the most. You do that operation, and they go on to live a pretty normal life. That feels amazing.”
If you ask Dr. Longshore what keeps her grounded in such a demanding specialty, she will tell you it’s the kids.
“Kids just want to get better,” she said. “There’s no secondary gain for them. They want to get back to playing, back to school, back to being themselves.”
Erika Greene, trauma program manager at Maynard Children’s Hospital, said Dr. Longshore’s leadership is nothing short of extraordinary.
“Even after reaching the highest level of pediatric trauma verification, Dr. Longshore never stops looking for ways to grow our program,” Greene said. “She continues to strengthen our pediatric trauma resources, expand our team and ensure we have pediatric expertise at the bedside the moment patients arrive.”
When Dr. Longshore stepped into leadership of ECIPP, the program was much smaller in scope. Over time, her vision and persistence helped elevate them into nationally recognized efforts.
“She has really helped take us to the next level,” said Sue Anne Pilgreen, manager of ECIPP and ECU Health’s Pediatric Asthma Program. “She’s been incredibly intentional about helping us pursue grant funding, supporting research and encouraging publications and presentations.”
That support has translated into meaningful growth and visibility.
“For example, we had two presentations accepted at the Pediatric Trauma Society meeting last year,” Pilgreen said. “That’s a very big deal and having two accepted was an even bigger accomplishment. She played a huge role in helping us get there and making sure we had a seat at the table.”
Pilgreen also credits Dr. Longshore as a consistent advocate for prevention initiatives.
“She was involved at every level,” Pilgreen said. “Whether it was meeting with leaders, supporting new initiatives or going into schools with us, she’s always been willing to show up and do the work.”
That hands-on, “boots on the ground” leadership style, combined with strategic vision, has helped grow the program from a small team into a comprehensive effort focused on child safety across the region. ECIPP has reached thousands through prevention efforts, including more than 3,000 individuals in mental wellness initiatives and over 2,600 people through firearm safety programs in 2025. The program also plays a critical role in reducing preventable injuries through traffic, pedestrian and passenger safety efforts, reaching more than 3,200 individuals in 2025 through occupant protection initiatives and supporting environmental improvements that make roads safer for the community.
“It’s taken our program from being great to something truly exceptional,” Pilgreen said.
Dr. Longshore is quick to emphasize that exceptional pediatric care is never a solo effort. It’s the product of a deeply collaborative environment.
“When you interact with child life, or our therapy dog, Sam, our anesthesia team or our nursing team, that’s their mission: to make this the best possible experience for kids,” she said. “Nobody wants their child to have surgery, but it’s our job to make it the best experience we can.”
After more than a decade in Greenville, Dr. Longshore is beginning to see the lasting impact of her work.
“It’s a small community,” she said. “You start taking care of siblings. You run into families at swim meets. Someone will point to a child and say, ‘You operated on him.’”
Her own children were swimmers, and she recalls a moment when a parent approached her on the pool deck to share how far their child had come since surgery.
“As surgeons, we don’t always get that long term follow up,” she said. “To see a child you operated on swimming next to your daughter, that’s the cool part of this job.”
As Surgeon in Chief, Dr. Longshore now plays a pivotal role in shaping the vision and culture of Maynard Children’s Hospital. Her leadership blends clinical excellence with a commitment to ensuring that every child and family who walk through the doors feels seen, supported and cared for.
“She’s never satisfied with ‘good enough’—she always wants to do better,” said Greene. “She always wants to do more, to be better, to serve children in every way possible. You couldn’t place a more perfect person in the role of chief of Surgery.”