Here, compassion means award-winning care.


ECU Health Medical Center is a special kind of place. It’s a place where dedication and drive have made us highly regarded – as a flagship teaching hospital featuring a Level I Trauma Center and Comprehensive Stroke Center with the region’s only Neuroscience Intensive Care unit.

It’s the kind of place where a higher level of care has achieved Magnet recognition — three times. It’s a place where ongoing nurse education is prioritized, earning accreditation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. And, ECU Health Medical Center is a place where patients, and their families, can find a true partner in their care.

Nominate an extraordinary nurse for The DAISY Award today!

Magnet Recognition

At ECU Health Medical Center, we provide excellent care not only because our Magnet designation demands it. But because we are committed to providing excellence in nursing for all the citizens of eastern North Carolina.

Benefits to our Patients:

  • Greater access to quality care
  • Improved satisfaction with nurse communication
  • Availability of help and services received
  • A safer environment — decreased mortality rates, pressure ulcers and falls.

Benefits to our Nurses:

  • Focus on building visionary nurse leaders at all levels
  • Commitment to research and quality-driven, evidence-based practice
  • A collaborative and engaged culture for nurses and the teams they support

For more information about the Magnet Recognition Program, click here.

Shared Decision Making

Nurses are at the forefront of care here. Which is why we believe in giving nurses the ability to lead and have a greater say how we operate. That’s why we have a number of nursing councils that all nurses are able to apply to join every year for two-year terms. These councils empower nurses to share in decision making where it pertains to their clinical practice and professional development.

  • Coordinating Council – Directs the shared decision making structure and processes by serving as the central point for the coordination of council activities and communication for the purpose of achieving outcomes in evidence-based practice, research, safe and quality patient care, technology, and nursing excellence.
  • Nursing Environment Council – Guides the implementation of holistic, collaborative and intentional strategies that promote a professional practice environment and culture where all nurses are valued, empowered and thrive.
  • Nurse Executive Council (NEC) – Leadership team comprised of managers, professional development specialist, clinical nurse specialists, administrators and director.
  • Nursing Practice Council – Oversees the development, implementation, and evaluation of nursing practice standards and guidelines through nurse-driven research and quality improvement and supports a practice environment that fosters scholarly inquiry to achieve high reliability and use of best evidence to optimize patient care outcomes.
  • Professional Development Council – Promotes professional growth through mentorship, advocacy and education to advance nursing practice and enhance patient care delivery.
  • Unit Based Councils – Governing body within each unit to make decisions related to unit specific practice and challenges.

Professional Development

ECU Health Nursing Professional Development is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the North Carolina Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

ECU Health aims to inspire professional development through human connections, innovation and experiential learning utilizing evidence-based practice with the goal of advancing the mission of ECU Health. Nurses at ECU health participate in Nursing Continuing Professional Development (NCPD) activities to enhance professional role competence and growth. Contact hours provided through NCPD activities at ECU Health can be used to meet the continuing competence requirements for license renewal.