Although Ellen Walston, the Injury Prevention Coordinator at the Eastern Carolina Injury Prevention Program (ECIPP) at ECU Health Medical Center, is no stranger to winning awards and giving presentations about injury prevention, she was no less thrilled to learn she was named the 2022 Safe Kids Coordinator of the Year.
“You’re nominated by your peers, and it’s a big deal,” she said of the award. “I’m blessed to be recognized.”
Walston has been with ECU Health for 31 years, the first 14 of which she served as an oncology social worker. Although she loved that role, she moved into injury prevention in 2006. ECU Health supports her in this role, but for every project she undertakes, she must seek external funding.
“If I want to do a water safety program, I have to write a grant,” Walston said. But, she added, the effort is worth it. “All of my work is to teach children and their parents about safety and to prevent unintentional injuries. My goal is to keep kids out of the hospital.”
Walston also serves as the Safe Kids Pitt County Coalition Coordinator.
“We have 50 coalitions in North Carolina, and we’re part of a worldwide network of more than 300 coalitions,” Walston explained.
An award-winning career
The work she’s done in these roles hasn’t gone unnoticed. She also received the Safe Kids Coordinator of the Year Award in 2013, and the coalition won Coalition of the Year awards in 2010 and 2021: That’s four awards in 17 years.
These achievements wouldn’t be possible without partnerships, and Walston said she has friends all over the state and country to partner on projects.
“You have to share your successes and what you’ve learned, and give tools to others,” Walston said. “If you have something that works, share it. I never tell anyone no.”
One of those partnerships has been with the Greenville Traffic Safety Taskforce, which was created out of necessity when the then-Greenville police chief approached Walston and her manager, Sue Anne Pilgreen, with concerns about car crashes.
“In 2018, we were number one in the state for crashes in cities our size. The chief wanted a new way to prevent these crashes so we put together the taskforce,” Walston said. “I was thrilled he was so forward thinking.”
From there, Walston helped build a multidisciplinary team of high-level leaders, including the hospital police chief, the ECU Health vice president from design and construction, Greenville traffic safety engineers, the ECU police chief, NCDOT and the Greenville police traffic safety sergeant.
“We then became an official Vision Zero community, one of only 12 in the state,” Walston said.
Vision Zero’s goal is to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries by improving the roadway environment, policies and related systems. The taskforce quickly began environmental modifications, such as high visibility crosswalks, modular medians and delineator systems in center turn lanes, throughout the city. They are currently seeking federal funding to install a High-Intensity Activated CrossWalk (HAWK) to help pedestrians cross the street more safely.
The outcomes of this taskforce were seen immediately; “In 2020 we went from number one in the state for crashes to number seven, and in 2021 we were number eight,” Walston said. Because of their work, the taskforce won the 2019 North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program Community Collaboration Award. In 2022, they won the Safe States Injury and Violence Prevention Achievement Award, and in 2023 they won the inaugural North Carolina Vision Zero Safety Award. Walston adds that another national award will be announced this year.
Sharing knowledge with others
Walston is eager to share her knowledge with others, and she’s done so through publications and conference presentations. She co-authored articles published in the November 2021 International Association of Chiefs of Police Journal and Exploring Perspectives – ECU Health Medical Center Journal, both addressing the evolution of Greenville’s Traffic Safety Taskforce.
She is also a veteran conference presenter.
“My husband says I go on my rock star tour,” she laughed when talking about her annual conference schedule.
This summer, she presented in Concord and Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and she’s slated to present in Washington, D.C.; New York City; and Denver, Colorado. The Washington, D.C. conference, the Safe Kids Worldwide Conference, is especially significant.
“That’s an international conference and I’m giving three presentations. It’s a big deal to break into that conference,” Walston said.
Walston said she loves to share knowledge to help others.
“It brings me great joy to bring positive attention to our hospital and community,” she said. “I want this work to be replicated everywhere, because we all have a mission to keep people safe.”
She also said what she learns at these conferences, she then applies to her work in here in eastern North Carolina.
“When I see something that works, I’m going to do whatever it takes to bring it to the community,” Walston said.
In addition to her passion for safety, Walston said implementing safety changes is a part of her legacy.
“There are mounted speed boards around school campuses in Greenville, for example,” Walston said. When I drive by one of those, I think I can’t wait to tell my grandchildren that I was instrumental in getting those put in place.”
Ultimately, Walston’s goal is to make Greenville, the surrounding communities and the state safer.
“It hurts my heart when there are preventable injuries, and I don’t want that for families,” she said. “I’ve been touched by severe injuries and deaths and I am always looking for ways to reduce risks.”