B y Je n n y Ca lli son
SARAH ARTHUR
C om m unity E n g ag em en t Manage r, N HR MC
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arah Arthur is the eyes and ears of New Hanover Regional Medical Center in underserved neighborhoods within NHRMC’s service area. Arthur, named last December the health care system’s manager of community engagement, sees her
LISA BROWN
Former Public Health Preparedness Coordinator, New Hanover County
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lthough she is a lawyer by training, Lisa Brown’s desire to be of service to her community has led her into the field of health and human services. After a few years in Missouri’s Department of Health and Human
AMI D’AMBROSIO
Youth Violence Intervention Specialist, New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office
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n early interest in developing resilience in children spurred Ami D’Ambrosio’s career path – helping young people overcome adversity. “My specific interest in my current role started with my internship at Wilmington Police Department with
TAMIE KEEL
Facility Manager Wilmington International Airport
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amie Keel, ILM’s facility manager, does well in emergencies. She started her career as a 911 dispatcher, sending help to people in crisis. When a dispatcher position opened up at Wilmington International Air-
MARY RUDYK
Chief of Staff and Geriatrician NHRMC
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ary Rudyk’s advocacy for older adults has proved valuable to the nursing home community since the arrival of COVID-19. Rudyk, chief of staff and a geriatrician with New Hanover Regional Medical Center, has worked with WILMAMAG.com
overarching responsibility as that of “building tools and collaborative partnerships in the community that address the basic needs of those we serve, while also treating them with respect and dignity.” A licensed clinical social worker, Arthur has been especially focused on issues of homelessness, mental illness, and addiction for much of her eleven-year career. In her new Services, Brown was hired to oversee public health emergency preparedness in Brunswick and New Hanover counties in April 2018. Before leaving the job in September to pause for some family time, Brown addressed public health needs related to Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Dorian, and the COVID-19 pandemic in New Hanover County. She also coordinated a free flu vaccitheir juvenile diversion program,” D’Ambrosio says. “I learned about many of the programs developed in our community to assist youth on a very micro level, one of them being ELEMENTS.” The program helps at-risk youth in grades four through eight set goals and work to achieve them. D’Ambrosio’s active caseload includes at least ten youngsters; she works also with an-
position, she’s perhaps proudest of developing a program of transitional housing for the hospital’s long-stay uninsured patients, but she has also trained and deployed health educators and now supervises a new network of community health workers who will advocate for patients and will enhance communication between social service agencies and health care providers. nation event last year that required the participation of multiple local and state agencies and proved a model for setting up drive-through COVID-19 testing this past spring. Key to the success of Brown’s preparedness efforts has been the inter-agency collaboration she initiated, her nominator notes, saying Brown “brought new focus to public health matters across all-hazards planning.” other five who are transitioning from intensive case management. “I enjoy learning about their lives and what has shaped them into who they are and who they are growing to be,” she says. “I hope I am teaching as much as I am learning because the children I work with show many so many new perspectives and understandings that I wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to be exposed to.”
port in 2015, she landed the job. She moved up the ladder rapidly, and in her current and most recent operations roles at ILM, is still handling emergencies. The past two years have brought major complexities caused by three hurricanes, a $60 million expansion project, and – most recently – the intensive sanitizing requirements of a pandemic. She also prepares maintenance
budgets and runs her fourteen-employee unit in accordance with a maze of local, state, and FAA and TSA requirements. “As one of the most highly regulated industries, the airport is an ever-changing place,” she says. Keel is determined to become more knowledgeable and to earn further certification from the American Association of Airport Executives.
nursing facilities during the pandemic to develop practices that protect staff members and patients. “I have to commend all of the nursing homes and assisted living facilities that I work with for being ahead of the curve and being so proactive in their response to keeping the most vulnerable people safe,” she says. “They were the first to stop visitation, and it was a difficult but
necessary stance to take in the beginning of this. Our coordinated efforts in the hospital and in the community have been an example of what can happen when a group of determined people get together and coordinate their efforts.” Rudyk also served on the Partnership Advisory Group that evaluated options in the proposed sale of NHRMC to an outside entity.
OCTOBER 2020
WILMA
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