ECU Health, the James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital at ECU Health Medical Center, and EastCare announced on Mar. 9 the addition of a new pediatric helicopter designed to provide rapid and safe critical care for communities in eastern North Carolina.
The introduction of this dedicated pediatric medical transport helicopter is significant because it addresses the need for timely hospital-to-hospital transfers, especially in rural areas where ground transportation can take several hours. The initiative reflects ECU Health’s commitment to improving access to specialized care for children across its service region.
Elaine Cudnik, executive director of Children’s Advanced Clinical Practice, said, “We inherited a tiny team of two full-time team members and one part-time team member, and they were working hard to support the neonatal population.” Jessica Yelverton, assistant director of Children’s Advanced Practice, added, “Elaine and I had a vision for children’s transport. We worked on getting the right team members, and then we looked to expand from smaller children and neonates to full pediatric care for pediatric patients.”
The expansion included growing their staff from five full-time employees to 17 and increasing patient transports from 300 in 2021 to nearly 1,200 in 2025. Yelverton said that as demand grew across their large rural service area, it became clear that having their own helicopter was necessary: “We’re unique to our region because we serve such an expansive area. If we go to the communities farther out, that could take up to six hours roundtrip by ground. We were borrowing helicopters from EastCare and it quickly became clear we needed a helicopter of our own.”
Angela Hollis, a flight nurse with the Children’s Transport Team, said, “Now we won’t need to borrow helicopters from EastCare as often… It means we can help patients who need quick, critical care and fewer patients will have to wait for transport. That quick turnaround will be amazing.” Cudnik emphasized the importance of collaboration within their “tight knit” team: “This is important, especially for rural health care,” she said. “Part of our Mission, Vision and Values is to be a model for rural health care in eastern North Carolina… it shows the commitment ECU Health and Maynard Children’s Hospital have to our communities.”
ECU Health aims to serve as a model for rural health and wellness in eastern North Carolina according to its official website. The system includes an academic medical center with two campuses, eight community hospitals, numerous outpatient clinics as well as home health services according to its official website. With 1,708 licensed beds serving over 1.4 million people across 29 counties—and more than 1,100 providers at over 185 clinics—ECU Health operates an extensive network according to its official website.
As a nonprofit integrated health system consisting of hospitals and physician practices according to its official website, ECU Health continues efforts aimed at enhancing health through patient-focused medical care and community services according to its official website.
