A team from ECU North Hospital was among the winners of the 2026 ECU Health Board Quality Leadership Award.

The winners were recognized at the ECU Health Board of Directors meeting held on Tuesday.

“These projects exemplify the talent and passion that team members have for addressing complex health care challenges in our rural region,” said Dr. Andy Tewari, chair, ECU Health Board of Directors. “The wide range of teams recognized today shows the scope of their commitment to innovation and serving our patients in eastern North Carolina.”

Projects demonstrating excellence reflected two or more of the following traits:

Sustained quality and safety improvement: Quantifiable improvement in an organizational priority that advances the goal of zero harm and demonstrates reliability over time.

Compassion in action for safety: Demonstrated teamwork and commitment to protecting patients and team members from harm through consistent application of safety behaviors, communication and a fair and just culture.

Innovation and continuous learning: Implementation of innovative, evidence-based solutions that enhance clinical quality, safety and operational reliability.

Reduce variations in quality outcomes: Meaningful work that identifies and reduces barriers and promotes quality and safety for all populations served.

Four teams earned awards this year, chosen from a competitive pool of nominations and thoughtfully reviewed by the selection committee. 

The team from ECU Health North submitted their project  called Two-Year Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infection Free Initiative: Driving Interdisciplinary Excellence Through Daily Nurse Quality Huddles and Rounding.

Efforts from the project led to zero hospital-acquired CLABSI cases. 

The project leaders were  Aparesh Balla, Maryland Hicks, and Chelsey Shearin.

The team members were Dr. Jude Ojie, hospitalist medical director, Dr. Rudo Gwanzura, chief of staff, Wanda Neathery, manager of patient care services, Jennifer Pilgreen, manager of patient care services, Karen Liles, RN, vascular access team, and Ann Strickland, RN, vascular access team.

A team from ECU Health Medical Center submitted  Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Review of Restricted Antimicrobial Use and Compliance. 

The project improved ECU Health Medical Center’s electronic health record and antimicrobial stewardship program workflows. It yielded $270,000 in cost savings and reduced unnecessary antimicrobial use, supported safer patient care and helped fight antimicrobial resistance. 

A team from ECU Health Physicians submitted Improving Hypertension Control in Ambulatory Care. The project used a data-driven approach to improve blood pressure test accuracy, repeat measurement and home monitoring documentation by standardizing how blood pressure tests are conducted. 

A team from ECU Health Ambulatory Quality Services submitted Improving Outcomes: A Patient-Centered Approach to Hypertension Management.

The project used a community-funded initiative in July 2025, to improve home monitoring for blood pressure with blood pressure cuffs, patient education and integrated patient-entered readings through MyChart. 

"These teams worked with purpose to build the tools, dataflow and support that empower our care teams to do their best work for patients in service to ECU Health's mission and enterprise goal of clinical excellence," said Dr. Niti Armistead, chief clinical officer and chief quality officer, ECU Health. "Their efforts remind us that quality improvement is one of the most powerful ways to bring meaning and joy into the work of caring for patients.”