Many of the ECU Physicians faculty and staff have stepped up to do things outside their normal areas - patient screening, cleaning clinical areas, COVID testing, etc during the COVID 19 Pandemic. This exemplifies what great teamwork and dedication ECUP employees have!
ECU Physicians Team Exemplifies Service
In the heat of a summer afternoon, a team of ECU Physicians health-care providers comes together like a well-oiled machine, providing COVID-19 testing at a safe and efficient outdoor site.
The team takes its responsibility seriously; each member barely stops moving during testing hours. ECU Physicians leaders say the testing team has gone above and beyond in service to patients and the community.
“Jennifer and her team have been our premier resource for COVID-19 testing,” said ECU Physicians Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jason Foltz. “It just highlights the dedication that our staff has to continue our core purpose—to provide the highest quality, most comprehensive care to our patients. This pandemic has allowed that to come through. At the end of the day, all that matters is that we do the right thing.”
The team, led by Jennifer Blizzard, nurse administrator in the Department of Family Medicine, performs coronavirus testing as patients drive through the site. In place since the early weeks of the pandemic, the site provides testing to ECU Physicians patients. While it’s available to community members as well, a testing order is required through the practice’s community COVID line at 744-1111.
At the testing site, certified medical assistants move from car to car, managing to perform tests while also putting patients at ease—even as they anticipate test results.
“It has been really impressive to see,” said Martha Dartt, chief nurse executive for ECU Physicians. “We’re really proud.”
The testing site is a tangible result of collaboration; a variety of people and offices have contributed to making the service available to those who need testing. ECU Police, ECU Pathology, Facilities, Parking and Transportation, Financial Services, and ITCS as well as Vidant Health have all helped make it work—Facilities even dismantled the site as Hurricane Isaias approached, reassembling in record time after the storm passed.
Foltz said that those at the testing site are running the service even though they also have other duties, allowing other ECU Physicians providers and employees to go above and beyond as well for the sake of community health and safety.
“While the testing team has been a shining star, other heroes have stepped up,” he said. “It has highlighted the collaboration with all the people on campus who recognize the need.”
Even while running the testing site with the precision of a machine, Blizzard said the team operates so smoothly for one reason: the human element.
“This is the career we chose to serve and care for others,” Blizzard said. “Putting the patients first and making sure their needs are met is what matters the most. I could not be more proud of my team and the dedication they have had to not only for the ECU patients but the entire community.”
ECU Physicians, the medical practice of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, is a leader in patient care, research, and education. In partnership with affiliated teaching hospital Vidant Medical Center, we're dedicated to improving our region’s health with superior medical care in Greenville and throughout eastern North Carolina.
Because ECU Physicians is the largest and most comprehensive practice in the region, our patients benefit from a vast array of services.
Through primary care clinics like our state-of-the-art Family Medicine Center, we offer preventive and routine health care services to meet the needs of all your family members, from newborns to the elderly. And the broad range of highly skilled specialists at ECU Physicians means our patients also have access to the most advanced treatments available for a host of medical conditions.
The East Carolina Heart Institute at ECU is devoted exclusively to education, research, treatment, and prevention associated with heart and vascular diseases. We have a global reputation as a leader in advanced robotic and minimally invasive surgery procedures, many of which were pioneered by ECU surgeons.
Finally, ECU Physicians is ready to deliver the life-saving specialty care you need during a medical crisis through the national Level I Trauma Center we partner with Vidant to provide.
Compassionate care with you at the center. That's Smart Medicine.