Led by its mission to provide assistance to those in need and to help support the community, the Service League of Greenville recently supported the ECU School of Dental Medicine with a $25,000 gift toward patient care funds and the Smiles for Veterans program.
In 2023, the Service League of Greenville established the Laughinghouse Patient Care Fund in the School of Dental Medicine to support dental care needs for Pitt County residents. The recent gift invests an additional $20,000 into the Laughinghouse Fund and directs $5,000 for the upcoming dental care day for veterans scheduled for December 7 at Ross Hall.
“The Service League sees the Patient Care Fund as a way to partner with the School of Dental Medicine to provide assistance to those who are in need of dental services,” said League President Cassie Causey.
The Service League of Greenville is known for its decades of support for health care initiatives and the education of health care providers. In 2018, the organization showed its commitment to health care education through endowed scholarships for students enrolled in the ECU School of Dental Medicine, the College of Allied Health, the College of Nursing, and the Brody School of Medicine.
The Service League of Greenville Scholarship Endowment has funded more than $105,000 in scholarships to students and will continue to provide scholarship support at the Brody School of Medicine, the School of Dental Medicine and the College of Allied Health. In spring 2024, the League created an endowment in the College of Nursing to establish the Service League of Greenville Nursing Scholars. This million-dollar gift will provide full tuition and fees for the academic year in which students receive the award.
During the dental school presentation, League President Cassie Causey and Becki Orr, Laughinghouse Chair, met dental students Riley Girdharry and Peyton Piscorik, recipients of the Service League scholarship.
“Meeting these two dedicated dental students brings to fruition the mission of the Service League and the vision of Dr. Laughinghouse to focus on philanthropy, assisting those in need and improving the health of the residents of Pitt County,” said Orr. “It is gratifying to know that we are providing dental services to patients who are receiving assistance from the Laughinghouse Patient Care Fund.”
Recipient Girdharry said that caring for patients through the Laughinghouse Patient Care Fund will enhance his clinical experiences. “It brings me much joy to know that ECU’s School of Dental Medicine has provided means to support Pitt County residents and other demographics in the area,” he added. “My time to start treating patients is quickly approaching and I couldn’t be more excited to utilize the Patient Care Fund and aid the members of the community. I want to thank the Service League of Greenville for supporting me towards a goal of upholding the School of Dental Medicine’s mission and allowing me to give back to the community that gave me so much.”
Access East is a 501(c)(3) that strives to improve health access to, and coordination of, quality care in eastern North Carolina. Access East serves as an important part of the ECU Health system of care, offering support for under- and uninsured individuals and helping navigate the health care system through service lines such as Access East Care Management, HealthAssist, ACA Navigators and Health Opportunities Pilot.
Out in the field
One such facet of their service comes through the Farmworker Program, which works not only to help enroll members of the ENC H-2A (temporary visa) farmworker community in low-cost insurance, but also to direct them to available community health care options, and to provide emergency medical training like wound care or cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). In just under two months, the program has reached more than 2,000 farm workers.
Juan Allen, a community coordinator and Affordable Care Act (ACA) navigator for the program, plays a key role in helping the farmworker community receive the services and care it needs. “I’ve been with Access East for seven or eight years,” Juan said. “I was born and raised in El Salvador on a farm, which is what got me interested in doing this work.” The goal of the program, he said, is to help members of the migrant farming community prevent injuries and illness. “Last year we lost four farm workers to heat stroke, and someone else passed away because no one in the field knew CPR,” he explained.
“So, we go out to the farms and do CPR training, heat exhaustion and heat stroke education, Stop the Bleed training, education about tobacco sickness and anything else they need.” Juan said there is also skin cancer education and screenings, dental cleanings, mental health support and vaccines. “During COVID, we were coordinating vaccines, so that with providers’ help, we got 80-100 people vaccinated per day.”
Juan has also trained as an instructor for the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) trainings, which is an evidence-based, early-intervention course that, virtually or in-person, uses community-specific scenarios, activities and videos to teach people the skills they need to recognize and respond to mental health and substance use challenges. The ECU Health Foundation awarded funding to Safe Communities Coalition, a non-profit that works alongside the Eastern Carolina Injury Prevention Program (ECIPP) to prevent injuries. “Juan has reached a population (farmworkers) that we have struggled to reach, yet we knew desperately needed the education,” said Sue Anne Pilgreen, the executive director for the Safe Communities Coalition, the manager of the ECIPP and the manager of the Pediatric Asthma Program. “This past fiscal year, we have trained a total of 196 people in MFHA, and 92% felt like they could recognize someone who was suicidal after completing the class.”
“Juan is one of the hardest workers I know,” said Shantell Cheek, the director of Access East. “He has a passion to really help those who are underserved, and he is a true link between Access East, ECU Health and the Farmworker Program.” Wherever there is a need, she said, Access East and the Farmworker Program is there.
The program, which initially was established to help H-2A workers get visas and enroll in the ACA, has grown significantly. “We still do the ACA enrollment,” Cheek said. “But Juan provides care coordination, and different entities like the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Growers Association partner with us. We now help these individuals get medications they need, assist them when they go to the hospital and are being discharged, set up with primary care providers and provide the education like CPR and skin cancer. And it’s not just the migrant workers; it’s their families too. Wherever there is a need, anywhere across the state, they call Juan.”
Partnering with the Brody School of Medicine
She emphasized that Juan tirelessly creates partnerships with regional and community organizations. Shantell also highlighted Access East’s, and Juan’s, ongoing collaboration with East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine. “During their first or second year of medical school, students can select a project to work on and Juan’s name often comes up when they mention an interest in the communities we serve.”
Deanna Torres, a second-year medical school student at the Brody School of Medicine, worked with Juan this past summer as a part of a project required of the school’s four Distinction tracks. Deanna opted to apply for the Service-learning track, which is what led her to Access East. The other tracks include Health System Transformation and Leadership, Medical Education and Teaching and Research.
Deanna said she has always had a passion for grassroots community service. “I’m undecided on my specialty right now, but I know I want to help underserved, minority populations.” Deanna grew up participating in a variety of community service activities, including a medical mission to Honduras and a Benedictine Volunteer Corps trip to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in Mission, South Dakota. Once she entered medical school, Deanna continued her journey in service by joining the Service-learning track. “It isn’t required to join a track,” Deanna explained. “But when I was applying to medical schools, the Service-learning track was a major factor in deciding to come here.”
Students in the Service-learning track work extensively with medically-underserved, marginalized and rural populations during their medical school career. They attend a lecture series specific to that track, but they are also required to participate in a service-learning internship during the summer after their first year of medical school. “We select an organization to partner with, and then we create a longitudinal service-learning project aligned with that organization,” Deanna said. While the internship only lasts a summer, the students’ work on their projects continues until they graduate.
Making a difference
With Juan as her mentor, Deanna said she gained an insider’s perspective on a migrant farmworker’s daily life. “I saw how migrant farmworkers are processed after entering the country. I saw how farms are laid out, and I got to see their living conditions, which aren’t always great. I’ve lived in North Carolina my whole life, and I didn’t know how many farmworkers we have in this region or what their needs were.” This exposure led Deanna to her project’s focus, which is “Increasing Mental Health Services to Hispanic Migrant Farmworkers in Pitt County.” The migrant workers, she discovered, often struggle with mental health issues, like depression. “They leave their home country and their families, work in the heat and have no car or independence, and that can be challenging. I want to advocate for the lack of awareness and communication about mental health in the Hispanic community,” Deanna said.
Juan has been instrumental in helping Deanna make the connections and partnerships necessary to work on her project. “He’s a popular man,” she laughed. “Any time I mention Access East, everyone knows him.” Deanna said she appreciated Juan being willing to mentor her, despite his busy schedule. “As a medical student, it can feel daunting to reach out because everyone is busy, but he was always available and offered me resources, took me to the farms and provided logistics. He knows all about these things.”
Dr. Jennifer Crotty, a pediatrician and an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Brody School of Medicine, as well as the director of the Service-learning distinction track, facilitates connections between students in the Service-learning track and community partners. “The track primarily focuses on local impact and grassroots efforts,” Dr. Crotty said. Of how she came to direct this specific track, she cited her background in pediatrics. “I realized that to have healthy children, we need healthy families and communities,” she said. “That’s why we want to do this advocacy work.” Access East has been a significant partner in this work. “Access East addresses the things we know need to be addressed. When students work with them, they see the time and energy and resources it takes to do medicine in these rural communities.” While she has never met Juan personally, she knows her students get a great experience when they work with him. “He always finds a place for our students, and the students always say their experience was amazing.”
This work is valuable, Deanna said, because it puts a face and name to abstract medical concepts students learn in school. “It puts a story to what you’re learning,” she said. “It shows us that a patient isn’t just one disease, but they are dimensional, and it helps us be better physicians who treat in a holistic manner. This community needs us to advocate for them.” Dr. Crotty agreed, saying that having students participate in these service learning partnerships through ECU Health make them better physicians, no matter what specialty they choose. “They take the knowledge they gained through service learning to wherever they’re going. I love that someone in their surgery residency is thinking about whether their patient has enough food at home. We graduate good doctors because our students are exposed to these types of things, and they know how to handle it.” Juan said that ultimately, this work gives migrant farmworkers a voice. “They’re only here for eight months and they don’t know their rights,” he said. “Access East is vital to reach out to farm workers so we can be a go-between them and the health system.”
Healthy snacks, well-being resources, a mindful walking trail and more were all on display at ECU Health Medical Center’s new Resident Well-Being Zone as part of a recent pop-up event hosted by ECU Health’s Well-Being team.
Resident physicians from across the Medical Center were invited to the pop-up event as a way of showcasing the new space, intentionally designed to support their well-being as they continue in their journey in medical education.
The pop-up event, according to Dr. Christina Bowen, ECU Health’s chief well-being officer, is an important way of ensuring residents are aware of the resources available to them at ECU Health.
“We are thrilled to have a resident well-being zone and to be able to offer something unique and purposeful to our resident physicians, who play such an important role here at ECU Health Medical Center,” said Dr. Christina Bowen, Chief Well-being officer at ECU Health. “The pop-up events are a fun way to get our resident physicians engaged in well-being and mindfulness which we know will benefit them during their time here at ECU Health. Our team is excited to be able to host well-being events throughout the year.”
Located on the sixth floor of the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Cancer Center at ECU Health Medical Center, the Resident Well-Being Zone officially opened in August after years of thoughtful design and funding provided by the ECU Health Foundation. The space is filled with all the essentials a resident may need: exercise equipment, charting space, healthy snacks, coffee, even a ping-pong table and more.
Dr. Cole Carter, a fourth-year physical medicine and rehabilitation resident, said the pop-up event and the space itself have proven to be a welcome asset in the resident experience at ECU Health.
“I think it’s great,” Dr. Carter said, noting that his favorite part of the space is the ping-pong table. “It’s a great place to check out when you need a break from the busy schedule. You can get a great view of Greenville and just take time to relax. I try to come up here once a month or so. This is a great asset for our residents and for those who may be looking for a residency program.”
Dr. Mary Catherine Turner, interim associate dean of Graduate Medical Education, understands first-hand the value of a Resident Well-Being Zone. She said she was fortunate to have one during her time as a resident physician, and it helped her take a break, refresh her mind and get re-engaged in the mission-driven work of providing high-quality health care. Now, she is excited that current and future resident physicians get to experience a similar benefit as they care for patients and continue to learn at one of the busiest academic medical centers in the nation.
“A space like this is important for residents,” Dr. Turner said. “Residents need a place where they can go and disconnect from their work for a little bit and reconnect with themselves. And importantly this is a place where residents can congregate together. I think there’s a lot that can be said for building a community, and this allows them the space to do that.”
East Carolina University’s College of Nursing has received a significant investment of $3 million from the state of North Carolina to increase the number of entry-to-practice nurses who graduate from the college’s undergraduate program.
Of the nine UNC System schools that applied for, and received, funding increases to support their baccalaureate nursing programs, ECU received more than any other program, a signal of the state’s confidence in the College of Nursing’s capacity to graduate the most competent and practice-ready entry-to-practice nurses in the state.
“This is a huge investment in our program, and I think it will be a turning point in the history of Pirate nursing,” said Dr. Bim Akintade, dean of the College of Nursing.
In the current fiscal year, the college will receive $1,125,000 to expand the undergraduate program, with a further $1,875,000 projected to be transferred by May 2025.
In 2023, the college graduated 231 entry-to-practice nurses who achieved a 99.57% first-time pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), which nursing school graduates must take before becoming licensed to practice.
College leaders are working on details about the number of new students who will be admitted and the number of faculty needed to support that growth but acknowledge that more students will require more teachers.
“Our current faculty have proven they know how to prepare nursing students to become nurses,” Akintade said. “I have complete confidence that our team will use this funding to bring more world-class instructors into our classrooms and clinical spaces.”
“Our students learn an incredible amount in the classroom, but clinical rotations with a live patient and preceptors providing real-time feedback is where the student nurses learn how to be nurses,” said Dr. Shannon Powell, associate dean for academic affairs and an associate professor of nursing.
The college offers several education tracks for its graduates: a traditional undergraduate program, an accelerated BSN program for students who already have a bachelor’s degree, and a partnership with 17 eastern North Carolina community colleges to help registered nurses transition to their BSN degrees.
The need for nurses in North Carolina is great. Projections from the UNC Program on Health Workforce and Research show that by 2033, there will be a shortage of at least 12,500 registered nurses, overburdening an already overtaxed health care workforce, particularly in rural and underserved areas of the state.
In 2023, the College of Nursing signed an agreement with ECU Health to expand the number of nurses in North Carolina through an academic-practice partnership. More than two dozen student nurses recently graduated from a nurse extern program that placed them in clinical settings for eight weeks to gain skills and insights they will use once they graduate.
“Everyone understands that this is an all-hands-on-deck situation. We owe it to our families, friends and neighbors to make the most of this investment in the future of Pirate nursing,” Powell said.
ECU is once again achieving high marks for their Nursing program with a re-accreditation.
According to ECU Health the Nurse Residency Program at ECU Health Medical Center recently achieved re-accreditation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Commission on Accreditation Practice Transition Programs (PTAP) until July 2028. ANCC Practice Transition Accreditation validates hospital residency or fellowship programs that transition registered nurses (RNs) and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) into new practice settings which must meet rigorous, evidence-based standards for quality and excellence.
Trish Baise, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FACHE, chief nursing executive, ECU Health says, “I am proud to recognize and celebrate the incredible contributions of our ECU Health nurses who exemplify the mission, vision and values of ECU Health through their exceptional care in our hospitals and clinics.The Nurse Residency Program at ECU Health Medical Center plays a crucial role in recruiting and retaining excellent nurses that are passionate about serving eastern North Carolina. I take pride in our ECU Health nursing community, and I am grateful to every nurse who chooses ECU Health as their professional home.”
ECU Health Medical Center accredited transition programs try and promote continued learning skills for Nurses to deliver safe, professional high-quality care.
Takisha Williams, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, nursing education specialist and director of the Nurse Residency Program at ECU Health Medical Center concludes saying, “ECU Health takes great pride in the Nurse Residency Program being acknowledged by ANCC as a premier transition program for nurses. Our program is grounded in evidence-based practices to foster exceptional nursing care. ANCC accreditation provides nurse residents and fellows with confidence in our program, ensuring a structured path to development, rigorous evaluation methods and measurable learner outcomes.”
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s call for a warning label on social media is based on what many call a mental health crisis, not only across the United States but also in North Carolina.
According to the United Health Foundation, here in North Carolina, more than 70% of children with a mental health disorder do not receive treatment. Murthy’s initiative isn’t the only one in the works… The United Health Foundation has put together another initiative with East Carolina University’s Telepsychiatry Program to combat the issue.
Though many factors play into one’s mental health, Pew Research reports that 69% of adults and 81% of teens in the U.S. use social media. Thus, putting a large amount of the population at an increased risk of feeling anxious, depressed, or ill over their social media use.
That’s why the United Health Foundation and ECU are partnering with a new three-year, $3.2 million grant to address the youth mental health challenges in North Carolina.
“There’s a greater need on mental health, particularly given the rising prevalence that we’ve seen here in North Carolina. I think the data is heartbreaking. 9% of our children, ages 3-17 years old have experienced anxiety or depression,” says United Healthcare Community and State CEO Anita Bachmann.
It’s an issue that faces many challenges like a continued stigma attached to having open dialogue, having an open discussion about mental health, and care access due to a shortage in the amount of healthcare, according to Bachmann.
Dr. Sy Saeed North Carolina State Telepsychiatry Program Executive Director says they see over 10,000 children.
“Over 1800 showed a large to moderate level of anxiety, says Saeed. “We are providing both therapy and child psychiatry services.”
This program will help address mental health issues in teens sooner rather than later.
“Most mental disorders start early. As many as 75% of people who have mental disorders would have had their first episode of that illness by age 25. Anxiety, depression, and when people are having difficulty of stress and relationships,” says Dr. Saeed.
Officials say it will create a holistic and effective approach when treating children.
“Mental health for children includes mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being, and that provides the launching pad for how they think, feel, act, and handle stress,” says Dr. Saeed.
Dr. Saeed says the program currently treats 200 children with six clinics in North Carolina but the goal is to expand.
Dr. Saeed and Bachmann say that it’s vital for those dealing with mental health challenges to reach out to their healthcare provider or call the 9-8-8 mental health crisis hotline.
Greenville, N.C. – ECU Health is partnering with Food Lion Feeds, Sodexo and the ECU Health Foundation to provide free meals for kids, teens and people with disabilities as part of the Summer Meal Program. Meals will be available in Greenville, Bethel and Ahoskie. The selected sites this year were chosen based on the need in each county, existing partnerships and the social vulnerability index at each location.
During the school year, many kids and teens receive free or reduced-price meals. When schools close for the summer, those meals disappear, leaving families to choose between putting the next meal on the table or paying for other necessities like utilities or medical care. While over 57% of students in North Carolina receive free or reduced lunch, 66% of Pitt County students and over 90% of Hertford County students receive free or reduced lunch.
Meals will be available until food runs out each day at the following locations:
Greenville: English Chapel Free Will Baptist Church – 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday-Friday from June 10 to Aug. 23. The location will be closed July 22-26.
Ahoskie: Calvary Missionary Baptist Church – 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday-Friday from June 10 to Aug. 23. The location will be closed June 19 and July 4-5.
Bethel: Bethel Youth Activity Center – 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday-Thursday from June 17-July 17. The location will be closed July 3-7.
ECU Health has offered the Summer Meal Program since 2021, providing nearly 12,000 free meals to kids and teens during the summer months. In 2023, 51 ECU Health team members served more than 2,800 meals to kids in need.
No registration is required. For more information about the ECU Health Summer Meal Program, please email [email protected].
Health care providers of East Carolina University’s Healthier Lives initiative in the Brody School of Medicine continue to use the program to address health care needs for children in rural eastern North Carolina counties and are finding pathways to expand access to care at schools in Duplin County and beyond.
The Healthier Lives at School & Beyond Telemedicine Program originally launched in 2018 to deliver interdisciplinary services virtually to rural school children, staff and faculty during the school day. In response to COVID-19, the program continued to address health care needs for children and expanded access while students were learning remotely.
Since the fall of 2020, the program has used an ECU Transit bus to visit schools in Duplin, Jones and Sampson (Clinton City Schools) counties to provide high-quality health appointments. The retrofitted motorcoach has been used to provide screenings for 303 students, with additional visits planned for existing program partnerships and newly established ones.
The initiative was recognized recently by the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center with the Breaking Barriers Through Telehealth Award in the category for small, rural and safety net organizations. During the 2024 Rural Health Symposium, a presentation on Healthier Lives – On the Road Again: Rolling to Reduce School Suspension – was awarded first place in innovations panel.
Experiential learning
Delivering care in the community is also delivering learning opportunities for ECU students. Third- and fourth-year medical students and medical residents participate in clinic days, gaining hands-on experience providing health care to rural populations.
Recent Brody graduate Dr. Melenis Lopez said the Healthier Lives clinics demonstrate that service is truly ECU’s mission. During a school clinic in the fall, Lopez applied pediatric learning experience as a care provider. She collected patient history and assisted in making plans for children that could be passed on to the school.
“Providing care in a place that is convenient to the community can be lifesaving,” Lopez said. “Offering physicals can uncover developmental delays and health problems. Children can’t stay in school without these physicals and proof of vaccinations, so I’m happy we were able to be there for the kids.”
Lopez and her ECU cohort guided elementary students and their families through clinic stations to take vitals, check vision and hearing, and perform physical exams. Students could meet with mental health and nutritional professionals for additional screening when needed.
Lopez used her ability to speak Spanish to help the children feel comfortable and ease the burden on families who may not understand the forms or instructions from the care provider.
Rural health care
Dr. Krissy Simeonsson, associate professor for pediatrics and public health and the medical director for the program, is proud that Healthier Lives is giving ECU students the opportunity to experience health care in a rural setting.
“Students can see that they can help,” Simeonsson said. “Most students and residents we’ve had have that ‘aha’ moment and can see themselves in primary care. They realize they can succeed out here.”
Jill Jennings, ECU’s Healthier Lives program manager, said the hybrid approach of on-site clinics and telehealth makes it easier for the medical providers to communicate with parents in person and more readily make referrals for any nutrition or behavioral health follow-up virtual care.
A $1.2 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration funded the first four years of the program. Funding now comes primarily from Anonymous Trust, a private North Carolina foundation, and has been provided by the Harold H. Bate Foundation, the ECU Health Foundation, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Office of Rural Health.
“There are many opportunities for institutions such as ECU to leverage their resources to address community needs,” said Debbie Aiken, executive director of Anonymous Trust. “This initiative is a wonderful example of ECU recognizing health care disparities, and in partnership with a local school district, serving children who might otherwise not receive the care that they deserve.”
Aiken witnessed a program clinic in action at Rose Hill-Magnolia Elementary School in Duplin County. ECU medical students and residents, health sciences undergraduate and graduate students, Healthier Lives team members and partners from the school system and Duplin Health Department screened 47 students who otherwise would have been suspended for not having a health assessment completed by a medical provider.
“These partnerships should be happening across the state,” Aiken said. “Seeing it helps you truly understand the disparities in our rural communities. If more school systems understood that this is available, they would want to participate.”
Community engagement
Dr. Jenelle Brison ’24 said Healthier Lives provided an opportunity for community engagement for medical students. Brison encouraged fellow Brody students to participate.
“It’s so nice to interact with the little kids,” Brison said. “Events like this help break down barriers and offer unique training for students.”
While Brison ultimately hopes to focus on obstetrics and women’s health, she was at ease helping children with vision screenings and demonstrating a blood pressure cuff before taking vitals.
Dr. Bolu Aluko ’24, a Tiana Nicole Williams Scholar at Brody, was drawn to the opportunity for community engagement provided by Healthier Lives.
“Coming into the community is incredibly enriching,” Bolu said. “Every med student should do this. It’s a fantastic way to serve and practice our clinical training.”
Through an interpreter, the family of one student said they had received a call from the school that their son would not be able to return to class because he had not had a physical or proof of vaccinations. They had just moved from Mexico to Warsaw, North Carolina. Without the availability of a Healthier Lives clinic at the school, they would not have had access to a health screening for their son in time to meet the state-mandated deadline.
The family sat with an interpreter and was provided a nutritional referral and a connection to a primary care clinic in Warsaw to establish a medical home. “We’re grateful to know he’s healthy,” his mother said through the interpreter.
“You have to meet people where they are,” Simeonsson said. “A lot of families trust the school. When you see the families getting help for their children, you know the program is living up to expectations.”
Dr. Michael Granet has provided more than patient care and dental instruction as an adjunct assistant professor at the East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine’s community service learning center (CSLC) in Brunswick County.
Through gifts totaling more than $100,000, Granet has invested in and helped the school obtain state-of-the-art equipment for the CSLC. Granet, the staff and dental students at the CSLC now have access to a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT)/panoramic X-ray unit, which provides 3D imaging; a TRIOS intraoral scanner and CoDiagnostix software; and a 3D printer. The cutting-edge equipment allows the care team to provide scans for dental imaging instead of having to take impressions.
“Technology is at the forefront of dental education now more than ever before, and Dr. Granet’s gift of this state-of-the-art equipment provides our students and residents with vital exposure to digital dentistry,” said Dr. Greg Chadwick, dean of the dental school. “This gift, coming from a part-time faculty member, leverages our ability to expand the scope of care for the communities we serve.”
Dr. Dianne Caprio, clinical assistant professor at ECU and director of dentistry at the Brunswick CSLC, said dentists can create a virtual model of patient’s teeth or print the model if needed.
“Dentistry has gone digital, and we are just scratching the surface of all the possibilities,” Caprio said. “Having this equipment offers the students and residents an introduction to the digital dental world.”
Caprio said the new equipment allows staff the ability to design crowns, dentures and other prosthetics on the software and print them in the office. “We can plan for accurate placement of implants using the CBCT, TRIOS and the CoDiagnostix software by designing surgical guides and printing them in house,” she said.
Granet learned about the CSLC after moving to Wilmington from Maryland. He works at the center each Tuesday caring for patients’ periodontic and implant needs and serving as an instructor for the dental residents working there.
“I made donations to the clinic so this equipment could be here and we could all use it and patients could benefit from it,” Granet said. “All I did was give the money. What I get back is much greater than the money I give. I am in a happy place when I get here (Brunswick CSLC) on Tuesday.”
Staff at the CSLC honored Granet for his support with a plaque at the center. Caprio said the upgrade in technology is important to the CSLC, but Granet’s “greatest gift is his time and dedication to teaching the residents and students.”
In a ceremony more festive than formal, fourth-year medical students in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University learned March 15 where they will spend the next three to seven years completing residency training.
This year, 100% of Brody’s 79 members of the Class of 2024 — which began its medical school journey during the COVID-19 pandemic — matched with a residency program.
The traditional event is arguably the pinnacle of the medical school experience for Brody students. Before they opened their envelopes to reveal their next stop, the students were presented to the audience of family, friends and members of the Brody community to strains of music they each selected as they marched — or danced — across the stage in the ballroom of ECU’s Main Campus Student Center.
“Match Day is such a special time for these students from the Brody School of Medicine, all of whom have worked incredibly hard to reach this exciting moment,” said Dr. Michael Waldrum, dean of Brody and CEO of ECU Health. “Our medical students, by virtue of the education they receive here at Brody, are uniquely prepared to provide high-quality, human-centered care to the patients they will soon serve as part of their residency training and beyond. I want to extend a heartfelt congratulations to the Brody Class of 2024. We are grateful for the positive impact they will have on the lives of so many.”
Dr. Jason Higginson, executive dean of the Brody School of Medicine, said the class of 2024 represents Brody’s mission — a diverse group of students who come from all parts of the state, who will largely return to serve North Carolina as doctors.
“We have a 100% match rate, well above the national rate, which is also a testament to our faculty and staff,” Higginson said. “About 50% of our graduates are staying in North Carolina, which is our primary mission, and about 20% are staying locally.”
One of Brody’s secondary missions is getting future doctors to practice primary care, and half of the class of 2024 have committed to being on the front lines of health care.
“They are great kids. It’s one of our best classes ever,” Higginson said.
A perfect match
Before he even knew the mission carved out by the Brody School of Medicine to reach underserved patients and address health disparities, Connor Haycox was intent on improving lives.
During his undergraduate years at Davidson College, Haycox volunteered and interacted with patients from underserved communities and saw himself as a future physician to help bridge gaps in care.
“I wanted to go into medicine to help address that,” said Haycox, a native of Chapin, South Carolina. “I could see myself as a primary care physician; I figured I could do the most good for people on the front lines.”
Haycox matched in family medicine at ECU Health.
“I know this is where I’m supposed to be,” he said.
After college, Haycox spent two years completing a MedServe fellowship — an AmeriCorps program through which fellows assist in key primary care services and engage in community health work including outreach, education and other projects that impact community health. During the fellowship, Haycox worked in a rural family medicine practice in Benson, North Carolina, where he witnessed “the breadth of the problems patients presented,” he said. “I wanted to be able to meet them in their particular situation and help them maximize their health goals. I really started to see myself in that role.”
By the time Haycox was ready to take on medical school, he knew Brody was the place for him. His goals and his philosophy naturally aligned with the school’s mission, making it a perfect fit.
“The mission of Brody to develop family medicine doctors to serve the state was really a natural transition for me,” he said. “It just made the whole process that much more streamlined. I saw myself here from the start.”
Haycox sees himself serving eastern North Carolina long term — especially since his wife, Dr. Natalie Malpass, a 2022 Brody graduate, is completing a family medicine residency with ECU Health. The two met during Haycox’s stint in Benson, and that experience has cemented his view of medicine as part of teamwork and partnership.
“I think it’s invaluable to have a partner in medicine,” Haycox said. “It’s such a challenging field and an emotional investment, and I feel like having someone to be able to talk to about the things you see has helped me professionally, but it’s more just being able to walk through life with someone who understands.”
Working with the Benson clinic to respond shortly before medical school to help the team coordinate the practice as a COVID-19 testing site also showed him the importance of taking unforeseen circumstances and transforming them into something meaningful.
“Medicine is personal, and we adapt,” Haycox said. “We do that because we need to for our patients. The pandemic was a whole learning process, and it taught me that we may not have all the answers, but we can learn with our patients how to best come out.”
Navigating the pandemic with his classmates also taught him lessons about adaptation, appreciation and taking advantage of opportunities that presented themselves over the years. Haycox served as an anatomy tutor and was part of Brody’s Medical Education and Teaching Distinction Track cohort — which prepares students to be effective medical educators and develops their interest in academic medicine.
“I can see myself going into academic medicine in the future, so I wanted to develop those skills,” he said.
As for the culmination of his Brody experience, Haycox is excited to celebrate his next step alongside his family. For him, Match Day is the beginning of a new adventure in primary care and family medicine.
“Medical school is a long haul, so I’m excited to celebrate with my family,” he said. “Today, all of this kind of becomes more real.”
From motherhood and maternal medicine
For most medical students, finding out where they will complete their residency during Match Day is plenty to celebrate. For Ahoua Dembele, that’s just the start of the day’s festivities as her family is in town for an equally joyous celebration: a baby shower for her third child, due in just four weeks.
Dembele moved with her family from her home in Ivory Coast to Senegal, then attended boarding school in France. She returned to Africa’s north coast, this time Tunisia, with her family for six years before finally settling in Charlotte after graduating high school in 2011.
When Dembele arrived in the States, she had some measure of command of a number of languages – French, Arabic and an understanding her first language, Dyula, a dialect of Mande, but she didn’t speak English. She enrolled at Central Piedmont Community College for a crash course in a new language and started her educational journey.
After a few years at the community college and managing a pizza restaurant, she transferred to UNC Charlotte, where she graduated with a degree in biology because she was always fascinated with science.
She soon had her first son and worked for a while as a medical assistant in a doctor’s office in Charlotte.
Dembele was accepted as a medical student at Brody just before the COVID-19 pandemic complicated just about every aspect of life – especially education. The disconnected learning was tough, but she excelled, especially in light of having her second son just before starting school and getting married to her long-time partner who was frequently out of the country for business.
“I started medical school when my oldest was 2 or 3 and my youngest was 1. Daycare regulations were a little weird and my school was, too. We couldn’t go to Brody because of COVID, so I had to find ways to study,” Dembele said.
Her mother stayed with her to help with the boys and when her husband was home “he would do everything so that I could find places to study, but it was hard because they still need their mom, so I had to find ways to at least do bedtime every day.”
Dembele matched to undertake her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at ECU Health. She wants to make a difference in the lives of mothers and babies, especially after witnessing health conditions in eastern North Carolina through her clinical rotations. She hopes to sub-specialize in maternal and fetal medicine.
“Something about pregnancy has always attracted me. It’s miraculous, phenomenal, that a body can do that,” Dembele said. “It’s mind blowing. I’ve seen a lot of deliveries, but I’m always amazed, every time, even at my own.”
She credits Dr. Jill Sutton, a clinical associate professor at Brody who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology, with invigorating her desire to focus on pregnancy and women’s health.
“The first time she taught us she was so bubbly, so excited and so joyful when she was talking about pregnancy,” Dembele remembered. “Her enthusiasm, her devotion. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is who I want to be.’ She’s been a mentor for a long time, and I hope to stay here and continue to train with her.”
At Match Day, Dembele was joined by her husband, her boys and her mother, who traveled from Wisconsin, where they now live. She beamed with pride amidst a family that had travelled so far, and made real sacrifices, to stand with Ahoula as she tore open the envelope that revealed where the next few years of their lives would play out.
Dembele will have a few weeks with her newest child before starting residency as she and her husband planned — calculated — the pregnancy meticulously.
She is a scientist, after all.
‘That’s the kind of doctor I want to be’
The few minutes it takes for the National Resident Matching Program’s mathematical algorithm to match applicants and programs across the country can be daunting for many medical students to think about — but for Emmalee Todd, reflecting on those fateful moments feels a bit zen.
“I think that no matter where I end up, I will find a way to be happy and fulfilled and feel like I’m moving in the direction I want to move in,” Todd said. “I feel like regardless of where I have ended up, I’ve been able to find my own path in that setting.”
And they will do it again.
Todd, who crossed the stage to the inspiring lyrics of Shakira’s “Try Everything” from the movie “Zootopia,” was joined by their parents and girlfriend Friday as they opened their envelope to reveal that they matched in internal medicine and pediatrics — known as “med-peds” — at the University of Maryland.
“I’m really excited,” Todd said. “Maryland made a really good impression on me. I’m excited for it.”
Todd’s journey through medical school was inspired by leadership experiences, bonding with fellow students and learning to adjust to what comes in ways that ensured not only success but a lesson to carry with them into the next chapter. A member of Brody’s first class to begin medical school under “pivoted” protocol because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Todd said their class made up for lost time later.
“For most of us, 2020 was pretty lonely,” they said. “We were thrown into this whole new level of work and new level of stress, and we wanted to be able to lean on our classmates.”
The Class of 2024 leaned into the changes, however, and started forming bonds as they interacted during some classes and labs and outside of school. Those bonds have stood the test of time and have been a vital part of Todd’s experience — which really began when they were an undergraduate at Northeastern University in Boston studying behavioral neuroscience.
Todd became an emergency medical technician and got a firsthand look at medical care — after getting a taste of the health care field over the years from their mother, Dr. Karen Todd, a pediatrician and Brody alumna herself. That exposure, coupled with making friends from all over the country and world, helped lead Todd toward a career in health care.
“I was meeting people from places I’d never been before,” they said.
After working for two years as a medical assistant, Todd brought that same energy to Brody, where they could see themselves as part of a smaller class.
“It really came down to the vibes,” they said. “It was one of the few places I interviewed where I felt a connection to the people, students and faculty right away. I could see myself here.”
Todd has thrived, taking on leadership roles including class diversity representative, executive treasurer and vice chair on the Medical Student Council, an elected organization that represents the medical student body as a voice in education, political and social interests.
“I got nominated our first year and decided I was going to run,” Todd said. “I got elected, and there I was. When you’re asked for your input, it’s because someone thinks your input is valuable. It is an honor, the trust [my classmates] have placed in me to be a voice for my class, to speak up and advocate for changes, policies and guidelines that are going to improve or rectify parts of our experience.”
Todd, who was drawn to med-peds because of an experience during a third-year rotation.
“I was trying to be open-minded, though I initially thought I wanted to do emergency medicine,” Todd said. “During my internal medicine rotation, I spent two weeks in the med-peds clinic and fell in love with the feel of it, with the attendings and residents and their personalities and the way they thought about medicine and approaching their patients. The more I got to interact with them, the more it reinforced that that’s the kind of doctor I want to be. They were passionate about trying to do the right thing for their patients.”
Drawing upon every memory and experience they gained along the way — from undergrad to Match Day — Todd is ready to embrace the next step and to take advantage of all the lessons waiting on the horizon.
“I thought when I was in undergrad that I wanted to get my Ph.D.,” they said. “I love neuroscience; I loved feeling like I was on the cutting edge of the frontier of knowledge, pushing into something that people have never known about before. But the more I got into the clinical environment, I really liked the detective work aspect of medicine, the team feel of it. All of the members of the health care team bring their own skills to the table but have the same goal, which is making the patient better.”