As the nation honors the memory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Vidant Health team members took a moment to reflect on what it means to care for others through the impactful work they do each day to improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina.

Advanced Heart Failure & Mechanical Circulatory Support Social Worker Terrani Moore has assisted patients at Vidant Health for nearly 10 years. “I enjoy people—that is one of the biggest things that drove me to this profession and being able to care for people,” Moore said. “I love having the opportunity to make meaningful changes in their lives and not only for me to make the changes but to empower them to make changes.”

Vanessa Polk, a chaplain with Pastoral Care at ECU Health Medical Center, shares this sentiment. “Each day I have an opportunity to be with individuals at their most vulnerable moments –from the birth a child to a poor prognosis to a family crisis to coping with the impact of the pandemic to the end-of-life of a love one,” Polk said. “What I find most meaningful about what I do is that it allows me to offer others sacred attentiveness that communicates to them that I care and they are safe with me.”

Jannette Nelson, an Experience greeter at Vidant Health Maynard Children’s Hospital, understands the importance of making sure patients, who she refers to as “her angels,” are comfortable during each visit. “My motto is love what you do, treat others as they wish to be treated and always remember your name goes further than you do, and it’s up to you the way you want it to go,” Nelson said. “You have to have compassion and that’s why I say treat others as you wish to be treated. If that were my child—what would I do? If it were me, what would I want someone else to do?”

Rev. Dr. King once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” It’s a question that resonates among those who have chosen health care as a profession—especially as COVID-19 continues to affect the industry in countless ways.

“I am very blessed to work with a team that all of us have a heart for people for our patients and the community around us,” said Moore. “We are able to help patients but if we see others in need outside our building, we offer a helping hand, a listening ear.”

Gratitude for one another—and the inspiration that comes along with watching fellow team members support others—also provides deep meaning for Chaplain Polk.

“During the early stages of the pandemic when we were trying to figure out innovative means to provide spiritual care for patients who had restricted physical access to their loved ones, [my colleague] Father Gaston never wavered,” Polk said.

“Whenever I became overwhelmed by the impact COVID-19 was having on our patients and team members, Father Gaston’s expressions of faith and words of wisdom strengthened me and drew me back onto the path of my purpose. Without dismissing the reality of human experiences, Gaston has a special way of helping others to find peace and fortitude within the distress of their uncertainties.”

On this day of honor and remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the legacy he leaves behind, we find meaning in the important work Chaplain Polk, Janette Nelson, Terrani Moore and other Vidant Health team members do in support of eastern North Carolina.

Thank you for what you do today and every day in service to eastern North Carolina.