When Connie Burleson moved from Sanford, North Carolina, to Swan Quarter in coastal Hyde County, one of her favorite pastimes became driving the back roads and taking in the area’s natural beauty. She navigates the Lake Mattamuskeet and Pamlico Sound wetlands and refuges saturated with birdlife. She passes farmland dotted with soil furrows, both fruitful and fallow. “That’s my joy,” Burleson said, “riding around and seeing things. I’ve been here three years, and there is still always something I haven’t seen.”One thing she and her neighbors in Hyde and surrounding counties can count on is that they, too, are being seen.
For the past two years, the School of Dental Medicine at East Carolina University has operated the Hyde County Outreach Clinic in the back of the Swan Quarter post office building. Students, residents, faculty and staff travel once a month from Greenville to care for patients in a county that currently has no practicing dentists. Burleson has sought care at the office since day one, getting a cleaning and routine follow-up care over the years. “It’s so nice having this so close to home,” she said, “and it’s awesome working with the students because you’re able to help with their education. All of this is helping Hyde County so much, too.”
The ECU dental school also has programs in place in Bertie and Jones counties to address oral health care in schoolchildren, creating a virtual triangle of care that encapsulates rural populations in critical need of dental care and services. These three county-based programs are making strides in reaching patients of all ages in some of North Carolina’s most underserved communities. “Our county-based programs are a testament to the dedication of our faculty, staff, students and residents to reach patients in rural areas where care is needed most,” said Dr. Greg Chadwick, dean of the ECU School of Dental Medicine. “The enthusiasm of our community partners and our patient bases also speaks volumes, validating that what we are doing is not only working, but also serves as a vital part of our school’s mission.” Just over two years ago, a ribbon was cut and a promise was kept.
Today, the Hyde County Outreach Clinic is bustling with patients and providers. Neighbors chat with neighbors while they await their appointments — “How’s the farming?” “How’s the family?” — and seasoned dentists introduce students and residents to the challenges and rewards of rural dentistry.
In 2019, the Anonymous Trust — a philanthropic group that aims to support rural and underserved communities — provided the School of Dental Medicine a grant award of $144,000 for portable dental equipment and personnel to launch the Hyde County Outreach Clinic.
In December 2022, the Hearst Foundations — national philanthropic resources for organizations working in the fields of culture, education, health and social services — approved funding in the amount of $100,000 for the school to provide dental care to underserved, uninsured and low-income rural patients. Portable dental equipment and special patient care funds will allow the school to provide high-quality dental care to North Carolina’s most medically underserved communities, beginning with the Hyde County clinic.
On a Friday in early August, the clinic’s internet was spotty. Without a secure connection, records and images couldn’t be accessed, and the day couldn’t begin. But where there is a problem and a group of dentists, there’s always a solution; usually, it’s an out-of-the-ordinary idea that withstands trial and error. Today is no different.
“That’s how it is, doing dental care in a rural community,” said Dr. Rob Tempel, the school’s associate dean for extramural clinical practices, as he and other providers finally made the vital internet connection. “It’s great for these students to have this kind of experience solving problems.” The experience students gain, he added, shows the level of dedication they have to serving their state now and as they graduate and embark on careers in dentistry. “It’s incredibly fulfilling to know that the students who are selected to attend this school continue to demonstrate and grow their passion to serve rural communities,” Tempel said. “Their positive energy continually refreshes us as faculty to see them genuinely want to do it.” Those fourth-year students are a part of something so much bigger.
Once a month on a Friday, the clinic provides care for anywhere from 15 to 25 patients. Since the clinic’s creation, close to 170 unique patients have undergone cleanings and procedures, keeping them close to home and bypassing the sacrifice of time and gasoline traveling to Greenville or dental offices in other counties. More than 120 dental students have traveled to Swan Quarter to provide care. The office has become part of Hyde County’s primary care team, bridging dentistry with overall health services, a key part of the School of Dental Medicine’s mission.
Fourth-year student Sydney Lewis said the opportunity to serve Hyde County comes during a rotation in the Ross Hall Service Learning Center on campus. “I have been anticipating being able to go to the Hyde County clinic since it was first started,” said Lewis. “I did a simple procedure on one patient that seemed small to me, but this patient told my faculty that their provider ‘must be a magician’ because their denture had not fit great in a while, but now it did. This made me so happy, and I will probably remember that forever.” Experiences like Lewis’s help solidify trust between patient and provider.
“Engaging with the local community helps students understand the importance of building trust and rapport with patients,” said fourth-year student Markus Mosley. “This relationship is crucial in rural settings where health care providers are often integral parts of the community. Participating in community-oriented service-learning projects helps students recognize the broader social determinants of health and the importance of public health initiatives.”
To Luana Gibbs, director of the Hyde County Health Department, the clinic is a partnership that also represents combining state and local resources for the good of the residents. “Vision, desire, support, collaboration and determination have been key,” she said. “First, there had to be the vision and desire to even attempt this type of service model, and I must give props to ECU for that. Multiple people with a passion to help our community have come together and succeeded in this partnership.” That collaboration includes ECU undergraduate students as well. Honors College student and public health major Aaron Mulkey has had the opportunity to observe procedures at the Hyde County clinic, shadowing providers and cementing his aspirations of dental school. “I love the hands-on approach to helping the community,” he said. “The commitment of the ECU dental school sparks passion in my mind.”
Fellow Honors College student and aspiring dentist Melony Grace Hodges serves as coordinator of the Hyde County clinic, gaining valuable insight on the business side of a dental practice. Many of the patients already know Hodges — she grew up a stone’s throw from the clinic and is vocal about her plans to return to her roots and provide oral health care to the community that raised her.
Burleson paused in the waiting area after her appointment and watched as Hodges checked other patients in and handled bills and phone calls. “I don’t know her very well,” Burleson said, “but I sure am proud of her. The dental school’s School-Based Oral Health Prevention Programs also ensure that similar homegrown smiles start out early in life.
Launched in Bertie County in 2019 through a $400,000 grant from the Duke Endowment and in Jones County in 2023, the program places ECU hygienists in select schools to provide oral health care and preventive education to children. The program offers comprehensive dental exams, X-rays, cleanings, fluoride varnish application and dental sealants to all public elementary and middle school children.
The Jones County program is jointly funded by the BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina Foundation and the Duke Endowment; in addition to planning funding, the school received a $400,000 implementation grant in late 2022. For the past two years, the Delta Dental Foundation has provided a grant to offset the cost of care for uninsured children. The Bertie program is now self-sustaining through insurance, while Jones county’s is still grant-funded. Costs are also significantly reduced by the use of teledentistry, through which hygienists in the schools can connect with dentists on campus to discuss and diagnose cases.
“Seeing the students get more confident in their smiles and actually getting problems addressed is really rewarding for all of us,” said Rachel Stewart, dental hygienist and supervisor of the School-Based Oral Health Prevention Programs. Over time, Stewart has seen children become less apprehensive about receiving dental care, making it easier for parents to seek additional care in dental offices close to home. “Some of them do already have a lot of dental conditions and things going on, but we’re able to provide care in an environment where they’re already comfortable,” she said. “I think it lessens the anxiety, and now 99% of the time they’re excited.”
To date, more than 1,300 children have been served across Jones and Bertie counties, according to Stewart, including nearly 6,000 appointments during which more than 16,000 procedures were completed. Of the children served, 76% are on Medicaid — easing the challenges of patients connecting with Medicaid providers in rural counties — while 20% are uninsured and 4% have the cost of care covered privately. Most children enrolled in the programs are between 4 and 12 years old and range from kindergarten to 12th grade.
“The impact on the kids continuously grows as we are building relationships with the children, the schools, parents and community,” said Gina Hamilton, one of the school’s public health dental hygienists who cares for patients in Bertie County schools. “We are building trust and helping the children develop healthy habits.” The School-Based Oral Health Prevention Programs are also led by dental school faculty member and principal investigator Dr. Wanda Wright, along with faculty members Drs. Michael Webb and Vanessa Pardi.
“Most dental diseases are preventable, but many children unnecessarily suffer from dental disease because of lack of access to dental services and inadequate home care,” Wright said. “Poor oral health can have a detrimental effect on children’s performance at school and on their quality of life. Ensuring that students have preventive oral health services in school is important in helping them stay healthy and ready to learn.” Educational leaders in Bertie and Jones counties are also celebrating the strengthening collaborations. “This partnership is totally aligned with the district’s strategic plan as we try to ensure that our students have increased academic, social and emotional outcomes,” said Dr. Otis Smallwood, superintendent of Bertie County Schools. “Research tells us that poor oral health in students could lead to decreased academic outcomes, so we are very fortunate and proud of this partnership with ECU School of Dental Medicine.”
Pardi said the programs’ benefits extend to unique clinical experiences for students and exposure to potential careers for schoolchildren. The multi-dimensional benefits of the dental school’s county-based programs not only meet the school’s mission but stand to change the lives of all those involved — from patients young and old to dental students themselves. “Having grown up in a rural county, I’ve always felt a deep connection to these communities and knew that I wanted to give back by practicing in a similar setting, or ideally, in my hometown,” said fourth-year dental student Rebecca Sutton. “The Hyde County clinic provided me with my first experience providing care in a rural area, which was profoundly rewarding and solidified my passion for serving the place that shaped me.”
After a 50-year evolution, Vidant Health and East Carolina University (ECU) announced on June 23 that Vidant and ECU’s Brody School of Medicine (BSOM/Brody) would align to become a clinically integrated, academic health care organization. This integration will allow the two organizations to provide efficient, effective and high-quality care to eastern North Carolina residents, become the national model for academic rural health care and develop a shared brand.
As a first step toward this integration, Dr. Michael Waldrum was appointed Dean of the BSOM, effective July 1, while continuing to serve as Vidant’s chief executive officer.
The next step of this process is signing a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) that allows the two organizations to work together to formalize the clinical integration, through unified operational processes and strategic goals while remaining legally separate entities. Employees of ECU and Vidant Health will remain employees of their respective organizations. More information is available on the Clinical Integration MyVidant page.
FAQs
Why is it important to integrate Vidant and the BSOM?
Vidant and BSOM are clinically integrating in order to:
- Improve the value of and the access to quality care and provide patients with a more streamlined health care experience.
- More efficiently use clinical staff across the combined operations, regardless of which organization employs them.
- Help to facilitate new strategies and interventions for the most prevalent health needs of eastern North Carolina.
- Create operational efficiencies reducing costs.
- Establish a shared leadership and governance structure for ECU Health.
What is the purpose of having Dr. Waldrum as the leader of both Vidant and BSOM?
With a single leader in both organizations, Dr. Waldrum has the ability and decision-making authority to implement unified operational and clinical decisions that lead to better outcomes for patients and communities served in eastern North Carolina. This integration helps both organizations meet the combined vision of becoming a national model for rural health care.
What does the JOA mean for the overall clinical integration process?
The JOA provides the legal framework that allows the two organizations to move forward with formalizing the clinical integration, through unified operational processes and strategic goals while remaining legally separate entities. The JOA also provides guiding principles, formal structures and grants certain authorities to achieve clinical integration between Vidant and BSOM.
Each of the JOA components (ECU, BSOM, Vidant Health, Vidant Medical Center, etc.) will maintain their corporate/legal existence. The JOA does not involve the transfer, sale or acquisition of Vidant or ECU assets.
The purpose of the JOA is to align clinical patient care efforts; further develop existing clinical integration for the benefit of patients; expand and develop the long-standing academic affiliation; and utilize revenues to sustain the patient care, education and research activities of all components of the JOA.
What is the difference between the JOA and the announcement in June 2021?
In June 2021, ECU Chancellor Rogers appointed Dr. Waldrum as dean of the BSOM, effective July 1. This announcement also included Vidant Health and ECU’s intention to move forward with a defined framework to achieve greater operational integration to complement its current clinical integration.
The signed JOA provides the legal framework and governance structure for the future ECU Health. The JOA explains how the organizations will operate as a unified system and Dr. Waldrum – as CEO/Dean – will make operational decisions to achieve integration.
Who approved the JOA?
The JOA between Vidant and ECU was approved by the ECU Board of Trustees on Nov. 12. This was the first step in the approval process. The Pitt County Board of Commissioners, Vidant Medical Center Board of Trustees, Vidant Health Board of Directors and the UNC Board of Governors will also review the JOA in the near future.
What has taken place since the announcement in June 2021?
Since the announcement of Dr. Waldrum’s new role as Dean of BSOM in June, an executive committee was formed with leaders from both organizations. The committee has been advising on the JOA components. They will continue to be responsible for overseeing and providing strategic guidance for the full clinical integration and creation of the future ECU Health. The committee has sub-committees reporting to it, concentrating on distinct areas such as clinical operations, finance, legal, marketing and communications.
What is the vision and future for ECU Health?
The work to fully integrate Vidant and BSOM clinical operations has been more than 40 years in the making. This work will continue in the weeks, months and years ahead. Leaders from both organizations will work with faculty, staff, patients and other stakeholders to elevate these two community-focused organizations under one brand – ECU Health – in a way that combines the strengths of both organizations with the goal of providing the most effective, high-quality and efficient care for patients and our communities throughout the region.
New Brand
Is Vidant’s name changing?
Once approved, the JOA becomes effective Jan. 1, 2022. Soon after, Vidant will change its name to ECU Health and rebrand itself throughout 2022. ECU Physicians and Vidant Medical Group will also be changing their names to align under the ECU Health brand.
The CEO and Dean roles are important roles for each organization. How will both organizations ensure that one person can do both roles effectively? What resources will be available to leadership to ensure we are successful in this unique situation?
Dr. Waldrum has a team at Vidant and at Brody to help manage the responsibilities. He reports to both the chancellor for the medical school’s interests and the Vidant Health Board of Directors for Vidant’s interests. As executive dean, Dr. Jason Higginson is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the BSOM. Similarly, Brian Floyd remains responsible for Vidant hospitals and Dan Drake will remain responsible for Vidant Medical Group (VMG) clinics. Once the JOA becomes effective, there will be a new Joint Operating Committee (JOC) with VH and ECU leaders that will provide ongoing advice, guidance and oversight to Dr. Waldrum in the management of ECU Health.
What is Dr. Waldrum’s role at Brody?
Dr. Waldrum represents the BSOM in internal and external matters including, but not limited to, chair of the Brody Council, board and committee meetings, medical school operation decisions, ceremonies, fundraising and academic conferences. At Brody, he reports to the university’s Chancellor. Through this shared leadership structure, Dr. Waldrum remains CEO of the health system.
Is ECU planning to build a new medical school?
ECU and Vidant are cautiously optimistic the NC General Assembly will include funding in its final state budget for the construction of a new medical education and research building on ECU’s Health Sciences Campus.
VH team members
Will Vidant team members become ECU state employees? Or, will ECU employees become Vidant team members?
No, there will be no change in employment status.
Will benefits change?
No, Vidant team member benefits will remain the same.
At BSOM, benefits will also remain the same, with the exception of small changes already planned and unrelated to the JOA starting Jan. 1, 2022.
Will roles or departments be consolidated between the organizations?
At this time, no decisions have been made to combine departments or areas. In the coming months, Dr. Waldrum will work with the JOC to determine how workflows will be organized going forward. This includes improving efficiencies and avoiding duplication across the organizations, which may include combining select non-clinical support services/departments.
Will Vidant team members be able to take on dual roles (working for ECU and Vidant)?
At the effective date of the approved JOA (Jan. 1, 2022), there are no changes to the current employment structure. We will communicate if decisions are made to offer a dual employment model to other positions in the organization.
Vidant Medical Group / ECU Physicians
Will VMG and ECU Physicians be combined?
The provider groups will remain two distinct organizations, operating under the ECU Health brand with shared leadership and shared services to support operations. This integration will be focused on the development and adoption of a high performing, clinically integrated set of multi-specialty services across sites of care that is physician led, professionally-managed and patient centric.
How will this be structured?
ECU Physicians and VMG will be led by shared leadership. VMG and ECU Physicians will share the same workflow processes and approach to work, incorporating consistent clinical evidence-based protocols and unified clinical expectations.
Who can I reach out to for additional questions?
Vidant team members, physicians and credentialed providers can send questions about the clinical integration to ClinicalIntegrati[email protected]. BSOM or ECUP physicians, faculty and staff can go to https://medicine.ecu.edu/feedback/ to submit questions.
The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University held its 10th annual Medical Education Day April 25, celebrating scholarship and innovation in medical education.
The event included podium and poster presentations and the popular “Shark Tank” program, during which student presenters have five minutes to pitch their in-progress research to an expert panel and receive feedback on how best to move their projects forward.
Medical Education Day is traditionally a gathering of leaders, educators, students and other scholars that aims to provide a forum for sharing educational innovations in curriculum and teaching, enhances understanding of new approaches in medical education and strengthening the network of Brody community members interested in promoting educational excellence.
“Today marks another significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to advancing medical education and enhancing the quality of health care delivery in eastern North Carolina and beyond,” said Dr. Lisa Domico, teaching assistant professor in Brody toxicology, during opening remarks. “Today we will not only recognize the achievements of our educators, researchers and learners but also remember our dedication to the Brody mission. Our mission drives innovation, excellence and continuous improvement in medical education.”
The keynote speaker was Dr. Andrew Southerland, the Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor of Neurology and executive vice chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Virginia Health/UVA Stroke Center. Southerland is a 2006 Brody graduate and was a Brody Scholar. He is the past recipient of an early career award from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) National Clinical Research Program and has served as principal investigator for numerous clinical studies in the field of stroke and cerebrovascular disease.
Southerland’s address was titled, “Teaching Clinical Diagnostic Reasoning in the Age of AI – Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto.”
Southerland discussed how artificial intelligence (AI) — which he also called “augmented intelligence” — can improve health care while the importance of a doctor-patient relationship remains at the forefront. He detailed some commercial AI products that contribute to medical care and how they can improve patient and provider experiences.
“I became interested in how we as educators need to consider artificial intelligence when it comes to medical education for the next generation,” Southerland said.
Southerland noted specific examples of products and programs in AI can help physicians better care for their patients. Providers can use AI and build upon its benefits using critical thinking and existing expertise.
“This is what we as humans can do well and how we can think about AI as a way to oversee what it’s doing,” he said.
Students earned accolades for their work during the event. Second-year medical students Jacob Richardson and Alissa Davis won the Shark with the Biggest Bite award for their presentation “Utilization of Artificial Intelligence Image Generation Tools to Augment Mnemonics for Medical Students: Proof of Concept.”
Alexandra Doherty, fourth-year medical student, won the Outstanding Podium Presentation award for her presentation, “A Delphi Consensus Study for the Development of a Specialty-Focused Ultrasound Curriculum for Fourth-Year Medical Students.”
The first-place poster award went to K. Ryan Dickerson, fourth-year medical student and Medical Education and Teaching Scholar, for his project “Near-Peer Created Full Length Practice Laboratory Practicals in Gross Anatomy and Embryology: An Effective Method of Learning in the Anatomical Sciences.”
The second-place poster award went Arden Vessie, fourth-year medical student for her project “Peer-Led Medical Spanish Education: Effects on Interprofessional Student Functional Language Self-Efficacy.”
The third-place poster award went to Michael Kovasala, first-year medical student and Taylor A. Creech, first-year medical student, for their project “Interprofessional Near-Peer-Created Resources in Gross Anatomy: Medical Student Support and Perceived Impact on Emotional Well-Being.”
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.”
East Carolina University’s College of Nursing will have Service League Scholars among their Pirate nurses beginning in 2024-25 academic year thanks to a $1 million gift from the Service League of Greenville.
Service League Scholars will earn full tuition and fees for the academic year in which they receive the award. Two scholars will be named in the inaugural year.
“The Service League’s investment in Pirate nurses will make a meaningful impact on the health and well-being of our state and region. Through the Undergraduate Nursing Scholarship Endowment, the legacy and impact of the Service League will continue in perpetuity at ECU,” Chancellor Philip Rogers said. “The Service League is stitched into the very fabric of East Carolina University and ECU Health through 80 years of service and support of the medical center and the students who are educated at ECU. We are grateful they are dedicated to furthering our mission.”
The Service League of Greenville Undergraduate Nursing Scholarship Endowment was established by the league in honor and recognition of the nursing profession. It is one of the first major gifts made through the ECU Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm supporting ECU Health and ECU’s health sciences campus.
“It is fitting for the Service League endowment to be one of the first major gifts established through the ECU Health Foundation as it highlights the alignment of the health system and the university and our shared mission to benefit the well-being of eastern North Carolina,” said Scott Senatore, chief philanthropy officer, of the foundation. “The Service League is an outstanding community partner and a prime example of the relational bonds that connect ECU Health and the university. Their gift will further student success in the College of Nursing and outstanding patient care at ECU Health.”
The Service League is well known by anyone who has visited ECU Health Medical Center. The nonprofit manages three gift shops at ECU Health, coffee kiosks and vending machines throughout the medical center.
Supporting health care initiatives and the education of health care providers closely aligns with the Service League’s mission to promote interests among its members in the community’s social, medical, economic, cultural and civic conditions.
League President Wendy Farrior said the organization committed to supporting health care education in 2018 through an endowed scholarship for students enrolled in the ECU School of Dental Medicine, the College of Allied Health Sciences, the College of Nursing (CON) and the Brody School of Medicine. Since then, league members have realized the significant impact these scholarships have had on health care in eastern North Carolina, she said.
The Service League of Greenville Scholarship Endowment has funded more than $105,000 in scholarships to students. The original endowment will continue to provide scholarship support at Brody, the School of Dental Medicine and the College of Allied Health Sciences.
“Nurses have a special place in the heart of the league. The profession is well-represented in our membership and many remain active in their nursing careers,” Farrior said. “With this scholarship, the league hopes to encourage nursing students to practice in eastern North Carolina after graduation and thereby continue the league’s legacy of service and partnership with the hospital.”
Dr. Bimbola Akintade, dean of the College of Nursing, said scholarship investment is a significant part of the formula the college needs for continued success in the education of nurses.
“Your heart was in the right place when you made this (scholarship) decision,” Akintade said. “Our students are challenged in this program, and our standards are high. We produce the best nurses in North Carolina, and we’re competitive against any program in the country.”
Karen Gagnon, chair of the league’s scholarship committee, said the selection of the College of Nursing is a response to the national nursing shortage and because the CON represents the largest group of students within health care with the lowest scholarship support.
“For years, the college has prepared nurses to transform health care in North Carolina,” Gagnon said. “We hope to transform student lives by helping them graduate without the significant burden of loan debt and provide a connection between the recipients and ECU Health.”
The Service League of Greenville Undergraduate Nursing Scholarship Endowment will create the first full scholarship in the CON. Eligible students will have a demonstrated financial need, a 3.0 GPA or higher and a commitment to community service. Recipients are expected to be residents of eastern North Carolina, with first preference given to Pitt County residents.
Jeanne Martin, interim chair, baccalaureate nursing education department, said the need for scholarships is very real. Scholarships remove barriers for students who are putting themselves through the nursing program.
“This scholarship will pay dividends for a long, long time,” Martin said. “The need is real, and this is going to make a big difference.”
Proceeds from the league’s business within ECU Health have been used by the league to fund a wide variety of hospital equipment needs and capital projects. The organization’s members consider the scholarship endowments a natural extension of the league’s mission.
“The Service League has historically invested money into the bricks and mortar of the hospital,” Gagnon said. “It was time to bring the buildings to life.”
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.”
Over the years, students in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University have personally witnessed the impact of cancer on countless lives.
Some have watched loved ones fight the disease, while others have worked with cancer patients during clinical rotations. Other students and alumni have even been cancer patients themselves.
Whatever their unique experiences with cancer have been, the response has been powerful. Their encounters with cancer turned into a growing tradition that benefits children from across eastern North Carolina who are fighting cancer battles of their own.
The eighth annual Pirates vs. Cancer event on April 12 raised close to $15,000 for pediatric cancer patients at ECU Health’s James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital.
Led by Brody students, the fundraiser has gained popularity and momentum over the years, with volunteers having their hair cut and donated, getting their heads shaved and even — for special faculty volunteers — receiving a pie to the face in support of the cause.
“One thing that I love about Pirates vs. Cancer is that you are able to see with your own eyes the direct impact of this work on the children at Maynard Children’s Hospital,” said Carly Uhlir, Brody student and event coordinator for Pirates vs. Cancer. “We know that every dollar we raise will add up to make a difference. Kids with pediatric cancer are more than just patients — they are among the strongest and bravest in our community. I want to continue the Pirates vs. Cancer mission that the founders so strongly believed in years ago and that has transcended all these years.”
Dr. Cedric Bright, senior associate dean of admissions for Brody, volunteered to receive pies in the face during the event on the lawn of the Health Sciences Student Center.
“It does your heart good to help the students with this type of thing to support those that are going through trying times with cancer,” he said. “Patients teach us so much, and this is just one way of us trying to give back to those patients that teach us so much.”
Jillian Berntsen of Kinston had her hair cut as an audience looked on and cheered — much like the health care teams and supporters helping her daughter during her cancer journey.
Berntsen said her daughter is receiving in-patient care at Maynard Children’s Hospital, her latest stay stretching for nine weeks. Pirates vs. Cancer gave the family a welcome respite from the hospital walls.
“There are so many things this hospital does, and the people we get to interact with have really become our family at this point from everything she’s been through,” Berntsen said. “We never really thought we’d have to experience anything like this and had no idea that things like this existed. This is the first time we’ve left the hospital in nine weeks, and knowing we had this to look forward to all week was something to get us through another week.”
The event was also eagerly anticipated by Brody students and community volunteers who wanted to help create a memorable and meaningful way to benefit pediatric patients. It has become part of a lifeline of support that keeps this special patient population equipped with resources to help them during their cancer journeys.
“The funds raised by PVC are critical to the maintenance of a positive environment for pediatric cancer patients here in Greenville,” said Grant Irons, Brody student and interdisciplinary chair of Pirates vs. Cancer.
Irons, who plans to pursue medical oncology as a specialty and spent time before medical school working with cancer patients, said the event also offers students a chance to see the realities of what some patients face and an opportunity to pause and look at the bigger picture.
“As future health care leaders, it is important to remember why we are here,” he said. “We entered the health care field to improve the lives of others. To become a well-rounded physician, I believe it is important to be involved outside of the classroom. There are endless opportunities to support our patient population here in Greenville, and I would encourage all health sciences students to lend a hand in these efforts.”
Dr. Cathleen Cook, Brody clinical associate professor of pediatric hematology/oncology and faculty advisor for Pirates vs. Cancer, said the event gives students exposure to the care of pediatric patients right here in eastern North Carolina.
“This fundraiser allows them the chance to see their financial contributions directly help these children while they are hospitalized in James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital and cared for in our ECU Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic,” Cook said.
Previous donations through the event, she added, have been used to remodel an inpatient playroom, a space of respite for patients undergoing treatment. Pirates vs. Cancer also helps fund a portion of summer camps for pediatric hematology and oncology patients — Camp Rainbow and Camp Hope.
“Often, donors and volunteers are unaware of the administrative costs that are allocated from the proceeds and not able to see their donations at work,” Cook said. “For Pirates vs Cancer, 100% of the donations are re-invested in our pediatric patients, most specifically our oncology patients. It is my vision to continue to engage these future physicians annually and help support their goal of expanding this fundraiser.”
Brody student Katie Holt decided to get involved with the event to make an impact beyond fundraising. She served as this year’s president of Pirates vs. Cancer.
“Helping to put on this event is awe-inspiring because it puts into perspective the actual size of the Brody and health sciences community,” Holt said. “Applying to Brody, you are frequently told about the passion of the community in serving Greenville and eastern North Carolina. Helping to organize this event gives you a front-row seat to this passion in action.”
Holt said the annual event has caught on across the community.
“People I have never met have reached out to us to offer their help,” she said. “Businesses across the community donate their time and money. Employees from all different departments buy T-shirts to support us. Students across the many health sciences schools donate their hair. The event has shown us firsthand that ECU doesn’t just talk about serving others but goes above and beyond to invest in its community.”
Holt said the event, in addition to benefiting pediatric cancer patients, helps center medical students and remind them why they chose health care careers.
“Serving others, through this event or another community service program, benefits the community as well as serves to fight burnout and protect your mental health,” she said. “I know it has done this for me and many others on the Pirates vs. Cancer team by connecting us to something bigger than ourselves and keeping our sights fixed on a point beyond the next test.”
Uhlir said the event brings participants full circle in seeing their own life journeys while also understanding the magnitude of the battles other people face.
“It is both humbling and inspiring. As medical students, we often lose sight of the big picture. These patients have been through so much, so it is an amazing opportunity to be able to support them directly,” she said. “I also think back to all of the children I have known both personally and indirectly from the time I was a kid myself until now, and how this is such a great way of honoring their spirits.”
Alumni and friends answered the call to support East Carolina University during Pirate Nation Gives on March 20. Some even say it was the GOAT — the greatest of all time.
The eighth annual day of giving event surpassed expectations and raised more than $8.6 million in support of university priorities, including student scholarships, health care initiatives, athletics, and faculty and program support. In the first minute of the day, 64 donors made gifts, setting off donations from on campus and across the country as more than 2,800 Pirates gave during the 24-hour fundraiser.
“Thank you, Pirate Nation, for being part of an outstanding day of giving at ECU. We asked for you to make an impact on the university and you rose to the challenge,” Chancellor Philip Rogers said. “Your gifts and enthusiastic support of ECU allow the university to boldly pursue our mission. Because of you, ECU students will have more access to a top-tier education and more opportunities to participate in innovative initiatives and experiential learning programs. ECU will continue to transform and uplift the region we call home.”
Champions answered the call by establishing numerous challenges for donors, which, when fulfilled, unlocked additional gifts supporting scholarships and programs across all disciplines. Across the board, Pirate Nation showed its support for scholarships, student athletes, health care and initiatives throughout the university.
Notable gifts this year include:
- Chris Campbell, an industrial technology student, who honored his late mother by creating the Pamela A. Garriques Excellence in Logistics Scholarship Fund in the College of Engineering and Technology.
- Richard Cobb ’68, who established the Richard Cobb Sr. Freshmen Recruitment Scholarship Endowment in academic affairs and made a $25,000 gift to support the endowment.
- Max Joyner Sr., who made a $15,000 gift to support the Marching Pirates.
- David E. McCracken, who gave $15,000, and the Veteran Smiles Foundation, which made a $10,000 gift to support the ECU Veteran Patient Care Fund in the School of Dental Medicine. The combined gifts support the expansion of the Veteran Smiles program statewide.
- Oak Foundation’s $50,000 donation to the University Priority Fund for Greatest Needs, which helps the university to respond to immediate and pressing financial needs across ECU.
- Voyages of Discovery received broad support from donors, unlocking a $40,000 match for the community lecture series.
ECU donors could specify where and how they wanted their funds to be used, designating support to scholarships, research, innovative programs and more. Throughout the university new signs highlighted the influence of philanthropic efforts, allowing students, faculty and staff to see that many of the institution’s buildings, services, facilities and programs are made possible by donors.
Campus Spirit
Students, faculty and staff also participated in Pirate Nation Gives through a variety of on-campus initiatives aimed at building participation. A PeeDee squishmallow stuffed toy search and philanthropy honor cords for graduating Pirates added competitive spirit and boosted student involvement. Students accounted for 16% of the day’s donors. Hundreds visited tables at the campus student centers to share social media posts, snap up philanthropy cords, thank donors and support the cause.
Sophmore Christina Dowd was excited to capture a PeeDee squishmallow and earn $500 in bonus money for ECU’s STEPP program. Dowd said she was tracking the clues and found the PeeDee stuffed toy in a Main Campus Student Center meeting room.
STEPP Director Adam Denny said it is fantastic having students in the program participating in Pirate Nation Gives.
“It shows their interest in giving back to the program and, equally important, to the institution,” Denny said. “STEPP is one of the few academic support programs nationwide that provides access to resources to individuals with learning disabilities at no additional cost beyond tuition, which means every gift matters. For current students and the sustainability of our program, we are incredibly grateful for any support to our mission.”
Women’s basketball, club sports, disability support services, the School of Communication, the Office of Global Affairs, Integrated Coastal Studies Programs and the School of Theatre and Dance all earned bonus money from the PeeDee squishmallow search.
Fundraising Creativity
Across all of ECU’s colleges, schools and campuses, Pirate Nation Gives advocates found creative ways to boost interest in their funds.
The Thomas D. Arthur Graduate School of Business wooed potential donors by bringing baby goats to campus. Students, faculty and staff who visited the Arthur School got to pet the pygmy goats.
Why goats? Dr. Linda Quick, assistant dean of the Arthur School, said it was because the Arthur School strives to be the GOAT when it comes to graduate education in eastern North Carolina.
“We asked all who stopped by to support the Arthur School by participating in Pirate Nation Gives. Doing so will ensure that we are well on our way to becoming the GOAT,” Quick said.
Funds raised by the Arthur School during Pirate Nation Gives will support student travel, scholarships, innovative programming for students, connections with industry leaders and additional opportunities for military affiliated students, among other initiatives.
Bonus leaders
Throughout Wednesday, leaderboards on the Pirate Nation Gives (PNG) website tracked support for areas of campus and encouraged giving with a competitive spirit. Numerous social media challenges gave participants the opportunity to win bonus money for their favorite ECU area or fund.
Serious competition began at midnight as donors vied to make the event’s first website gift. It was down to the millisecond to determine that two students, Nicole Barefoot and Anna Stone, tied in the timing of their gifts supporting the Club Sports Priority Fund – in honor of dance. They captured first place and $3,000 for the fund. Alumnus Eric Rivenbark captured second place and selected the ECU Alumni Association Priority Fund to earn $1,000 in bonus money.
Several club sports participants held watch parties to try and be the first to donate and win those bonus prizes. The effort to focus on the Club Sports Priority Fund grew from conversations within Campus Recreation & Wellness.“We started talking about PNG the first day I was hired in my current position. We were strategic on creating a united front and empowering our students and club sports to reconnect with alumni and build new relationships with donors, family and friends,” said Justin Waters, senior assistant director of sport programs. “Helping the students understand the ‘why’ helped the ‘how.’”
Waters said they had an “all for one, one for all” approach and had all 26 club sports come together to help raise scholarship dollars for the priority fund. The fund helps students offset costs they may accrue while playing a club sport at ECU. These dollars tear down barriers in order to help students keep chasing their passions, Waters said.
“Because of this day and all the philanthropy, we are able to provide financial relief for students during a time in our society where attending and staying enrolled in college is more costly than ever,” Waters said. “I also believe that it’s important that our students recognize that we are trying to be the best stewards of their interest and advocating for them during this day is a great way to build trust.”Night owls and watch parties paid off on the final gift competition of the day. The Recreation Sciences Alumni Society Fund captured first place and $3,000 thanks to a watchful eye on the clock from faculty member Edwin Gomez. Club Sports in honor of women’s volleyball was the runner-up fund with a gift from parent Emily Davis and will receive $1,000.For more information about the many ways to give to ECU, visit ECU University Advancement.
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.”
Like many health professionals who treated patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, Drs. Paul Bolin and Paul Shackleford started to draw conclusions about who was most at risk of dying from infections: people with eastern North Carolina’s typical comorbidities like hypertension, diabetes and obesity.
Shackleford, a primary care provider and research professor at the Brody School of Medicine, said large swaths of the population served by the heath care structure in eastern North Carolina can be identified through electronic medical records. But that is just part of the equation, leaving a sizable percentage of citizens outside of public health surveillance.
“We started having people novel to our system who were coming into the hospitals, which gave us the idea that maybe we should start looking for people to figure out a mitigation strategy,” Shackleford said.
At the height of the pandemic, Shackleford and a team of health care professionals — Bolin, a fellow Brody professor and chairman of the department of internal medicine, and Dr. Linda Bolin, an associate professor of nursing science in the College of Nursing with expertise in hypertension, and Dr. Ashley Burch, an assistant professor and behavioral health scientist in the College of Allied Health Sciences — were getting requests from businesses across the region to help find ways to keep workplaces functioning and employees safe on the job.
“I don’t have any industrial hygiene or occupational health credentials, but when somebody calls, we have to help” Shackleford said. “One business owner called from his hospital bed recovering from COVID. His business was identified as critical infrastructure, so they were up and running, or trying to run, and struggling because they had employees who were out of work.”
Shackleford said they “didn’t do anything magical” besides reiterating the established guidelines. But having direct contact with workers who likely weren’t getting routine medical care and under public health surveillance spurred Shackleford and the Bolins to consider how they could be proactive in finding citizens with chronic illnesses. The COVID-19 pandemic would eventually subside, but the unhealthiness of rural Southern lifestyles was here to stay. How could they be part of stemming the tide of disease caused by diet and lifestyle choices?
The team inaugurated the SERVIRE (Stopping Early Reversible Vital organ damage In Rural Eastern North Carolina) project and decided that incorporating students into outreach efforts would fulfill ECU’s motto, and overarching mission, of service.
To date the SERVIRE project has worked with more than 35 businesses across eastern North Carolina, having engaged nearly 1,400 workers at job sites ranging from a water faucet manufacturer in New Bern to a metal fabrication shop in Ahoskie and a commercial fishing fleet on Hatteras Island.
Researchers initially envisioned more interaction with farm workers, but enough of the potential study participants were undocumented, and reticent to participate, that study directors refocused their efforts to more traditional manufacturing businesses. While they were able to reduce operating cost and complexity, and deal with the privacy issues, the question of why 20-25% of workers flatly refused to be part of the study shifted the focus of the team’s research.
“We have folks that know how to run focus groups sit down and actually ask them, ‘What’s the problem?’” Shackleford said. “Early on in COVID we pivoted to delivering vaccines to individuals who would not go to mass vaccination sites, and it was a similar cohort. Yet they were welcoming of the one-offs that we were able to offer. We didn’t do a lot of vaccines, but we still got in the door.”
Hesitancy would be a continuing challenge, Shackleford knew, but it was better in his mind to achieve what could be achieved to keep small towns in the region from folding.
The Bolins and Shackleford recognize that providing health care to rural communities relies on vibrant and resilient businesses that support the functioning of small, rural communities. Without well-paying jobs, hospitals and community clinics run the risk of losing resources or shuttering altogether.
“If we can keep industry running, we can keep this community fed,” Shackleford said.
Reaching Underserved Communities
For Dr. Linda Bolin, who has advocated for heart health for many years, educating patients on health-promoting lifestyle changes wherever she can is important.
“Some companies, like Moen, want us back all the time, and it gives us an opportunity to talk to them and ask, ‘Well, what changes have you made?’” Bolin said. “It heightens their awareness to know we are going to come back. Sometimes you have to hear things more than once, like with students, you have to repeat it several times for the idea to click.”
Bolin said diet and movement are a huge part of the problem for eastern North Carolina. People who seem relatively healthy because their young bodies can mask systemic health issues might actually be ticking time bombs, health-wise.
“During the Vietnam War we had 18-year-olds dying, and when autopsies were done, they were already suffering from atherosclerosis. Establishing healthy habits and making behavioral changes early in life, before age 20 is crucial,” Bolin said. She stressed that the workforce is often seemingly young and robust but shows signs of unhealthiness from eating fast food and being too exhausted from a 12-hour shift in a manufacturing facility to want to exercise.
“These conditions can take a toll on the body, especially for those with a family history of cardiovascular disease, leading to the onset of pre-hypertension,” Bolin said. “We see a significant number of people with hypertension who are already taking maximum medication doses, leading to a classification of resistant hypertension.”
Bolin likened this situation to developing tolerance to antibiotics after prolonged use — if individuals with resistant hypertension develop severe infections such as sepsis, standard antibiotic treatments may become less effective.
Meloney Quay, a Moen employee from New Bern, said she values the SEVIRE outreach because it’s hard to get in to see a primary care doctor and she usually only seeks medical care in emergencies. She would like to see a clinic at her job site twice a year to keep tabs on her basic health information.
Sapphire LaCoss, who also works on the Moen manufacturing line, said she first participated in the SERVIRE research project because it helped lower the cost of her health insurance. Because both her mother and grandmother are diabetic, she feels a responsibility to keep on top of testing.
“I have four kids. I play football, soccer, basketball and volleyball. I help cheerleading. I like to stay healthy,” LaCoss said. “[The Moen leadership] realizes that we work from 5:30 until almost 4 every day and we don’t have time to go to the doctor, right? I think it’s important that they think that their employees are taken care of and they’ll help us because it keeps us healthy and keeps the business going.”
Brooke Rose runs Rural Carolina Ambulance Service with her husband in Ahoskie and is contracted to do the testing for the research project. She said she gets a lot of satisfaction from helping to identify workers’ health concerns.
“We’ve caught very high blood pressure or that they are diabetic and didn’t know they had it. Then they can get the help that they need,” Rose said. “We’ve seen them later and their levels were down, their blood pressure is better and they’re very appreciative. They’re grateful.”
Teaching Students
SERVIRE is formally a research project, working to establish best practices for how to identify workers who have fallen through the cracks of the health care system. But the project leaders have turned it into a teaching opportunity — students and contracted medical workers assess workers for basic health metrics that can identify precursors for serious medical complications: height and weight, body index, neck circumference and basic blood sugar readings.
The research is important for the immediate health of the individuals who are tested, and the study directors hope their work will impact regional health in the long-term, but the outreach efforts also give ECU students hands-on experience working with the high-risk populations they will serve after graduation.
Linda Bolin and Burch offer an Honors College seminar for pre-nursing and health majors that focuses on chronic diseases in eastern North Carolina and provides students with the opportunity to participate in the SERVIRE project.
Their seminar, titled “Ghosting Premature Death: Promoting Prevention in Eastern North Carolina,” emphasizes the importance of early engagement with health-related majors by exposing potential students to population health issues and social determinants of health.
“Having these students, along with pre-medical and pre-nursing students, volunteer as integral members of the team is essential because it recognizes the significance of investing in future doctors, nurses and other health care workers, instilling in them a sense of service to their community,” Linda Bolin said.
Several students who were enrolled in the Honors College seminar as pre-nursing majors are now first semester students in the College of Nursing.
Kaylee Ontiveros, an Honors College nursing student from Ayden, said it was eye-opening for her to see just how far from primary care options many of the workers were, and how having hands-on experience with patients can tie together book learning and classroom lectures.
“A lot of people struggle to get medication or get to the hospital compared to places like our city, where can get to doctors right down the road,” Ontiveros said. “We saw a patient who had an abnormality in her neck that she didn’t know about. We said, ‘OK, you need to check this out,’ so it was really putting everything from classroom into perspective.”
Gracyn Faulk, a fellow Honors College nursing student from Goldsboro, participated in research visits to a call center in Greenville and a soup kitchen. She agrees that having an opportunity to interact with real patients was a benefit to her education.
“It’s not what I expected. I’m not really sure what I expected. But it was good to see some of the social determinants of health that we talk about in class, to see them in real life. Some of the people had stories that you wouldn’t hear otherwise,” Faulk said.
Gracie Ipock, a first semester Honors College nursing student from Morehead City, was with Faulk. She said being in the community and learning about people was a huge benefit. Ipock had previously worked as a certified nursing assistant, but this was a new way to interact with patients.
“I think it will help me to be better at clinicals like now because I’m able to talk to these people and not be so scared,” Ipock said. “The more confident you are with working with them, the more they’re going to feel relaxed. Someone could look perfectly fine and not know that they have a lot of issues going on with their health.”