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IN APPRECIATION
Saturday, May 30 – Sunday, May 31, 2020 • 1C
IN APPRECIATION of our hometown heroes and essential workers A SPECIAL SECTION TO THE WASHINGTON DAILY NEWS
The heroes among us By VAIL STEWART RUMLEY Washington Daily News
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s the new year rang in, the idea of a pandemic was a farfetched prospect, a vague awareness of something happening in faraway places. As January stretched into February, the COVID-19 virus began to expand across nations, spreading closer to home every day. In March, the idea of a pandemic solidified and became the new reality, as schools and businesses were shuttered across the country, and people were asked to stay home, distance themselves from others — all in an effort to protect the health care system and prevent needless deaths. The routine of life was uprooted, replaced by working from home, crash courses in technology, reassembling those old routines into new ones that would fulfill the same purposes, though with a very different look. At the same time, COVID-19 and the measures taken to prevent its spread have revealed the hundreds of heroic figures that operate behind the scenes every day protecting, promoting and nurturing the community. The heroes among us are on the front line, health care workers and first responders. They have taken on the monumental task of teaching our children from afar. They have labored in kitchens to feed the community, organized church services that look nothing like traditional worship, kept their clients moving, adapted to new technology to keep the hospital safe for employees and patients alike. Each in their own way has contributed behind the scenes to the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of this community in these unprecedented times. Some of them are family, friends or neighbors. All of them are the silent heroes among us. There are so many, and, in appreciation, we’d like to introduce you to some of them.
2C• Saturday, May 30 – Sunday, May 31, 2020
IN APPRECIATION
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‘Not all heroes wear capes’ By VAIL STEWART RUMLEY Washington Daily News
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VIDANT BEAUFORT HOSPITAL
A VITAL ROLE: Qunisha Brown, a member of the Environmental Services Team at Vidant Beaufort Hospital, stands ready to operate the Solaris UV Lybot robot, new technology that uses pulsed UV light to kill germs and microorganisms in the air.
he Environmental Services team at Vidant Beaufort Hospital consists of 26 full-time, dedicated and hardworking team members, of 361 across the Vidant Health system. During this unprecedented time, their work has been vital to delivering high-quality care in the safest possible manner for patients and team members — cleanliness is one of the most important factors. Creating a safe and clean environment has meant finding innovative solutions, and this team has brought in the latest technology and most advanced cleaning techniques during the COVID-19 pandemic: cleaning high-touch surfaces with the most effective chemicals, assisted by a Solaris UV Lybot robot, which uses pulsed UV light to kill germs and disinfect all the micro-organisms that still could be in the air. The EVS team works alongside frontline caregivers such as doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists to make sure the hospital provides a safe and clean environment to care for patients. For the past seven years, Qunisha Brown has been working behind the scenes, doing exactly that. The Washington native, along with other members of the hospital’s EVS team, has been instrumental in keeping the hospital safe for staff and patients alike. “My job is to make sure everything is done and make sure the patients are taken care of and it’s a safe environment for them,” Brown said. The team is cleaning throughout the day and night, keeping ahead of the virus that has caused a worldwide pandemic. They’re also dispersing a bit of comfort to those in the hospital who can’t receive visitors because of COVID-19 visiting restrictions. “I have enjoyed my interactions with patients, especially since they cannot have visitors. Our EVS team has stepped in to make sure our patients do not feel alone,” Brown said. Vidant Beaufort staff has always employed measures to prevent infectious diseases from gaining a foothold in the facility, and their new approach is one in which every employee plays a part. “One of the things that has really stood out to me during this time has been how other team members have stepped in and helped our EVS team. They are supporting us by cleaning and disinfecting the entire hospital — hallways, handrails, door knobs — all high-touch areas throughout the hospital, 24 hours a day. It has been a true team effort,” she said. Brown said everyone at the hospital is going above and beyond the call of duty to fight the virus. “As they say: all heroes don’t wear capes,” Brown laughed. According to Pam Shadle, Vidant Beaufort Hospital’s director of marketing, community outreach and development, the EVS team consists of many heroes working behind the scenes. “We’ve got a lot of (heroes) in this building,” Shadle said. “Qunisha is one of them.”
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A BIG THANK YOU to EVERYONE who has worked so hard during this pandemic to keep our city and county going strong. We are looking forward to having all our local businesses and restaurants open. we wishes go out Our hearts, prayers and well to those who have been adversely aaected during this time. A BIG BIG THANK YOU TO OUR STAFF AND AGENTS for their dedication to Coldwell Banker Coastal Rivers Realty! Each Coldwell Banker office is independently owned and operated.
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IN APPRECIATION
Saturday, May 30 – Sunday, May 31, 2020 • 3C
Emergency services W provides support behind the scenes
By MATT DEBNAM Washington Daily News
MATT DEBNAM | DAILY NEWS
BEHIND THE SCENES: Though her job doesn’t put her in the public eye often, Beaufort County Emergency Services Specialist Melissa Beacham has played a key role in obtaining personal protective equipment for health care workers in Beaufort County.
hen disaster strikes in Beaufort County, be it a hurricane, major fire or search and rescue operation, the staff of Beaufort County Emergency Services stands ready to help coordinate the necessary response. In all of those cases, the local emergency management staff is well-versed in the every step of the process, from immediate response to long-term recovery. But responding to a pandemic is a horse of a different color. With COVID-19, Beaufort County Health Department is taking the lead on response, with Emergency Services playing a support role during the crisis. Working behind the scenes, Melissa Beacham is one of the key players in providing that support. She’s the emergency services specialist for Beaufort County, and has played a critical role in securing personal protective equipment local health care workers need on the front line. “We tried to get the resources ourselves and were unable to in a lot of circumstances,” Beacham said. “So we put those requests into the state, and initially they didn’t have the resources to provide us. But now, they have come through, and we’re getting just about everything we’re asking for — masks and gloves and the things the folks on the front end are needing.” Once those critical materials have been secured, Beacham then works with the county’s logistics manager to make sure
they get where they need to go. It’s all part of a complex supply chain that’s crucial to sustaining the local fight against COVID-19, and Beacham credits the Beaufort County Health Department for leading the way. “The health department has been fantastic,” Beacham said. “They have really taken the lead role on this and making sure we’re doing the things we need to do to keep our folks safe here in Beaufort County.” With her experience in emergency management predating her current role, which she took on in October, Beacham was already familiar with a variety of disasters, but never imagined she would be part of responding to a pandemic. “I’ve worked with emergency services in the past in the situation unit role, so I’m very familiar with hurricanes and how we respond to hurricanes here in Beaufort County,” Beacham said. “But the pandemic has been a beast in and of itself. We’ve got a great command group. They all know what they need to be doing and are taking the job very seriously.” As of the end of May, Beaufort County Emergency Services had staffed the emergency operations center for COVID-19 for more than two months, one of the longest sustained emergency operations center stints in recent memory. “It’s taken some getting used to, just being (at the county administration building) instead of our normal office,” Beacham said. “But everybody we’re working with has worked together so well, it’s really been a seamless process.”
Gyms going above and beyond to assist members By MITCHELL THOMAS Washington Daily News
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h i l e p hy s i c a l health is of utmost importance, it has become challenging to stay in shape with the closing of gyms due to COVID-19. There is a light at the end of the tunnel toward a reopening of gyms, but two trainers at Fitness Unlimited have gone “above and beyond” for members over the last couple of months, whether it is through a livestream or posting workouts for people to follow when they find an opportunity. Manny Vidal and Amanda Ussery have been hard at work, finding ways to communicate with members and continuing to push and inspire their inspire them to stay active from behind a computer screen. “(The most challenging part of the last two months) has been trying to keep people moving. This has kind of messed with people’s routines that like coming to the gym. People like coming to the gym because it is part of their routine. It’s kind of frustrating for them to do at-home workouts or only see people once a week outside. It’s messed with their diets, as well; it’s just been a big inconvenience,” Vidal said. Ussery helps many elderly clients through their workouts,
MITCHELL THOMAS | DAILY NEWS
STAYING STRONG: Manny Vidal (left) and Amanda Ussery (right), both fitness instructors at Fitness Unlimited, have remained vigilant in helping their clients remain active and motivated. keeping them motivated to keep moving has been a challenge. “Keeping everybody motivated and on track has been hard. People want to come to the gym to be motivated and be pushed. It’s hard to push someone to their max when they’re not in
the gym with us and looking through a computer screen,” Ussery said. Not too many folks joined in on the live workouts, according to Vidal, but others still use their posts on social media to follow the workout.
“I think this will actually help us out in the long run when people realize how beneficial it is for people to come to the gym. Right now, they just miss the heck out of that camaraderie and being together,” Vidal said.
Ussery has been doing a lot of one-on-one workouts with clients through Zoom, FaceTime and other video outlets. “My one-on-one people do miss the interaction. … Believe it or not, it still holds them accountable. I have six or seven that will do the workouts with me since we’ve shut down. The rest are on our True Coach app, where I’ll post a video that does the workout. My clients have been pretty consistent with it, even if they’re not doing it the day I post it, they’ll message me and let me know they’ll do it the next day.” Vidal said that he wouldn’t take for granted the ability to come in the building to see familiar faces again. “I just miss being around everybody and the members that we have, talking junk with each other, I miss that everyday camaraderie,” Vidal said. Ussery echoed Vidal’s comments on seeing their members again. “You don’t realize how much you enjoy being around your clients until you can’t do it every day,” Ussery said. “As much as they tell me that I’ve changed their lives, they’ve changed mine just as much, if not more.”
4C• Saturday, May 30 – Sunday, May 31, 2020
IN APPRECIATION
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Adapting to the “new ways” of worship By MITCHELL THOMAS Washington Daily News
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MITCHELL THOMAS | DAILY NEWS
LEADING THE CHURCH: Haw Branch Church of Christ pastor Jason Kirkman stands outside his church doors earlier this week. Kirkman was among the first to give his church drive-in opportunities, and it has worked well enough to continue through the end of June.
hurch leaders and churchgoers alike have spent a lot of time trying to figure out the safest ways to congregate while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pastors around the country have had to adapt quickly to the changing times. At first, there was no church at all for a couple of weeks. Online services ramped up and have continued at many churches throughout the stay-at-home orders. Then, drive-thru services became a trend. Pastors such as Jason Kirkman at Haw Branch Church of Christ have had their hands full with prepping services and continuing to find ways for the congregation to worship and mingle at a distance. On April 12, Haw Branch tried out its first drive-in church service, which turned out to be a success. Churchgoers remained inside of their cars, while a trailer filled with band equipment became the pulpit. “We decided this past week that we were going to continue our drive-in services through June 21. Hopefully by the 28th of June, we’ll be back in the building,” Kirkman said. “When you hear ‘reopening,’ people think you can just open the doors and let everybody and their mother in. There’s plenty of stuff that we have to do with our nursery, our children’s church, the way people (are) entering and exiting the building. We need to work out some things, but people can bring chairs to
sit outside their vehicles in the parking lot.” Kirkman explained the church has actually thrived through this time, despite all of the guidelines they’ve had to follow. “This has been a crazy time, but as far as our church, it’s been a great time for us. The drive-in services have gone so well, and the attendance has been so great,” Kirkman said. “We will also open the doors for a restroom, whereas that was previously closed.” Communication has been key throughout this process, and Kirkman said this has helped him and his staff to communicate better. “We’ve been using a ton of different forms of communication whether it be emails, text messages, social media, all that kind of stuff. It has helped us communicate in a better way as opposed to in the past,” Kirkman said. With so many other outlets being shut down, Kirkman’s goal was to give people some sense of normalcy. “So many people have sadly lost their jobs, people can’t go to the gym, no sports to watch, nothing. We at Haw Branch thought it best to give folks at least some sort of normalcy. As far as that morning routine on a Sunday morning — that was a good thing,” Kirkman explained. “This has kind of made us realize how good we all had it. How easy it was to go see friends, worship on Sunday mornings, being around others — this has made us realize how social we are as people. … I will never take for granted the ability to worship on the first day of the week ever again, either.”
Respiratory therapists key to COVID-19 care teams By VAIL STEWART RUMLEY Washington Daily News
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he respiratory therapy team at Vidant Beaufort Hospital is 11 team-members strong, with 147 respiratory therapists throughout all of Vidant Health. The respiratory therapy team plays a vital role in caring for patients who are hospitalized, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respiratory illness is a symptom for COVID-19 patients, and those hospitalized can be in severe respiratory distress. A respiratory therapist dedicated to caring for COVID-19 patients is a key member of the patient care team. They are the professionals that have been clinically trained and educated in the processes of mechanical ventilation. They are at the patient’s bedside providing constant monitoring and assessment of the patient, including assessing blood gases, assisting with intubation and providing ventilator management. Respiratory therapists have been referred to as “the warriors in the fight against COVID-19” by the American Association for Respiratory Care. Karen Holland is one of them. For the past 25 years, Holland has treated asthmatics and patients with chronic lung disease; she’s administered breathing treatments and bronchial hygiene therapy for patients in respiratory distress. COVID-19 has been both a surprise and a challenge. “I’ve been in respiratory for 25 years, and I’ve never seen a pandemic like this
where we have had to take such precautions,” Holland said. Some of those precautions include small adjustments such as having to wear masks for entire 12-hour shifts, and greater ones, such as being vigilant about protecting oneself until a respiratory patient is identified as positive or negative for the virus and only employing certain therapies to prevent patients’ aerosolization of particles. COVID-19 can be tricky, as not all cases are alike. “COVID patients tend to show signs of hypoxia on the monitor and increased respiratory rates when you look at them,” Holland said. “But a lot of them will show silent hypoxia — by appearance, they look like they’re OK.” When a respiratory therapist is assigned to a COVID-19 patient, they must be vigilant. “You really have to watch them closely. They can take a turn quickly,” she said. Holland said during the pandemic, she’s gained a new appreciation for her career. “It’s neat to be a part of it, because it gives you respect for your job and what you can do and how you can help. … To see them come through on the other side, when you actually get to see them leave and go home when you’re just doing your job,” Holland said. “But classifying myself as a hero — I don’t see that, no. But I am thankful that during this time, it’s kind of brought to light respiratory therapists, because a lot of people don’t know what we do.”
MATT DEBNAM | DAILY NEWS
MADE WITH LOVE: Eastern Elementary School School Nutrition Coordinator Kandice Moore estimates that the child nutrition staff at Beaufort County Schools has served close to 500,000 meals since the pandemic hit. For her, it’s a labor of service and love.
School nutrition staff ensure no child goes hungry By MATT DEBNAM Washington Daily News
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VIDANT BEAUFORT HOSPITAL
HEIGHTENED VIGILANCE: Respiratory therapists such as Karen Holland are on the front lines of caring for COVID-19 patients. For the past 25 years, Holland has been caring for respiratory patients; the last eight years of her career have been at Vidant Beaufort Hospital.
ood, water, shelter and rest — these are the very basic needs humans must meet to survive. Yet for many children in Beaufort County, the first need on that list is not a given. At schools across the county, the lunchroom is a lifeline, and the child nutrition staff who work there are the first line of defense against hunger. In normal times, they do their part every day, serving up nutritious meals for kids, even making sure there’s something to take home over the weekend. When schools were closed in March to prevent the spread of COVID-19, they didn’t miss a beat. The Monday after schools closed to students, Beaufort County Schools cafeterias like Kandice Moore’s were up and running. She’s the school nutrition coordinator at Eastern Elementary School, and since the pandemic hit, she and her staff have served up tens of thousands of drive-thru meals to kids in Washington; meals they might not get otherwise. “To think about it, my kids have food at home,” Moore said. “It’s hard to visualize somebody else not having food when you don’t see it. But when you see it every day, in all of our schools, from the Pre-K level to high school, it’s very
important to make sure that these kids have something to eat. Without school meals, a lot of them don’t eat until they come to school.” On average, the team working at EES serves meals for about 700 kids each day. On one Friday alone, they served more than 5,000 meals, including that day’s lunch and packaged meals sent home over the weekend. At a rough estimate, Moore predicts the school system as a whole has served close to 500,000 meals since the pandemic began. To meet that tremendous need, her staff at EES has grown substantially. Bringing in other cafeteria workers from schools where kitchens aren’t operating, there are about 13 to 16 staff members working from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day to feed children. While Moore directs the action, it’s by no means a one-woman show, and everyone is united in their desire to feed the world. “Because we are already serving the kids, I feel like we all have that servant’s heart,” Moore said. “That’s how I look at it. God put me here for a reason, and that’s to be a servant in whatever capacity I can. I think I can speak for everybody and say the same thing for them. They’re here because they love to provide that for the kids and know that they’re taken care of. They’re our kids, and it’s very important that we’re still able to put a smile on their faces.”
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Saturday, May 30 – Sunday, May 31, 2020 • 5C
RN the key to COVID tracing By VAIL STEWART RUMLEY Washington Daily News
Tracking a pandemic and providing information to keep the public informed is the role of health departments across the nation. Beaufort County Public Health is no exception: its mission is to promote, protect and enhance the quality of life of the county’s population by providing accessible quality public health services and education designed to improve community wellness. The staff of the health department monitors, investigates and implements control measures to help prevent diseases — the front lines when a pandemic is concerned. No one knows this more than Meredith Mobley, a Bath native and former labor and delivery RN at Vidant Beaufort Hospital, now Beaufort County Health Department’s communicable disease and TB coordinator. For the past two years, Mobley has been monitoring communicable diseases in the county such as salmonella, campylobacter and Rocky Mountain spotted fever;
administering TB tests and treatments. “Diseases get reported to me through other health care providers that have done the tests, and I investigate through the medical providers, then call patients and help them figure out how they got it and help them figure out how to prevent getting it in the future,” Mobley said. Since the onset of the pandemic, her job has lasered in on COVID-19. “In the beginning it was a lot of phone calls, a lot of learning, for myself, educating myself, what to even tell people when they called. It was a lot of answering questions,” Mobley said. That evolved to testing those suspected of having the virus, checking in with patients by phone while awaiting results, relaying a positive or negative result. With a positive test, the real tracing work begins. “If positive, I figure out their start date of symptoms to figure out how long they’re going to be on quarantine and figure
VAIL STEWART RUMLEY | DAILY NEWS
ON THE JOB: Beaufort County Public Health’s communicable disease and TB coordinator Meredith Mobley is tracing cases of COVID-19 in Beaufort County, determining onset of the virus and tracking down contacts of known positive cases to make sure those people are self-isolating or in quarantine. out who their contacts are, then I call each contact — the contacts are on quarantine; the positives are on isolation,” Mobley said, adding that she has an array of spreadsheets tracking all the cases. “I have a daily contact list, a positive patients list, I have positive pa-
tients with their contacts list. … Organization is definitely key in trying to manage this and trying to keep up with everything.” Mobley said she’s found the work of tracing and helping to stop the spread of the virus in Beaufort County rewarding.
“I’ve really enjoyed it, because it’s kind of like you’re a detective, a type of investigator,” she said. “People are talking about being a hero, but I personally don’t view myself as a hero necessarily because I’m just doing my job and doing my best to help prevent the spread of it.”
Teachers persist in helping students grow By MATT DEBNAM Washington Daily News
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very day, thousands of special people wake up, drive to work and face one of the most important tasks society can ask of them: educating the next generation. When schools across the state were suddenly and abruptly closed in response to COVID-19, teachers in Beaufort County didn’t give up on that noble goal. Rather, they were asked to quickly revamp their plans to fit a model of online learning. In the cases where students didn’t have internet service, they were charged with maintaining connections with students in a world that had suddenly become disconnected. Despite these challenges, they remain dedicated to helping children continue to grow. From home and from an empty classroom, Chocowinity Primary School teacher Penny Miller has managed to maintain that connection with her kindergarten class. In her 24 years in the classroom, she’s never seen a semester quite like the spring of 2020. “On March 13, our last day here as a school, we said our typical goodbye, ‘See you on Monday,’” Miller said. “Little did we know, that would not happen. We would not see them on Monday.” Following an executive order closing down North Carolina’s public schools, CPS faculty started formulating a plan
to stay connected with students and their parents. Using all the tools at their disposal — frequent phone calls, letters, technology and old-fashioned pencil and paper packets — they faced the challenging task of helping kids move forward in their learning, without face-to-face contact. “They’re used to a very structured schedule, they’re used to their friends, and they’re very social. All of the sudden, that’s stopped.” Miller said of her kindergarteners. “They have missed their friends, so we Zoom. That gives them an opportunity to see and interact with their classmates.” While her kindergarteners might not quite fathom how important this moment is in history, Miller has put together a special memento to help them remember the semester that wasn’t. Her hope is that one day, they will share that memento with their own children and grandchildren, recounting their own place in this unique time. “We didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. There was no awards day. There was no class picture. There was no fun day like we usually do at the end of the year,” Miller said. “I put together for mine, pictures of them their very first day of kindergarten. The quote says, ‘Goodbyes hurt the most when the story is not finished and the book has been closed forever.’ Our story wasn’t finished, but we had to close it because of the virus.”
MATT DEBNAM | DAILY NEWS
IN THE CLASSROOM: Penny Miller is one of hundreds of local teachers who have stepped up to help students continue learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. From saying ‘See you next week’ on March 13 to saying the semester’s final goodbyes next week, she and her fellow educators have made the most of an abridged school year.
Athletic directors continue to face challenges amidst pandemic By MITCHELL THOMAS Washington Daily News
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MITCHELL THOMAS | DAILY NEWS
STANDING TALL: Northside High School’s athletic director and head basketball coach Jared Adams has been forced to make difficult decisions in the past couple of months. Adams awaits word from the NCHSAA on whether or not athletes can resume workouts.
ew people have been forced to make as many difficult decisions than athletic directors these past couple of months. While some of the decisions weren’t in their hands, awaiting instruction from those at the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, as well as state and federal officials, they’ve had to cancel a vast majority of plans for their students. Jared Adams, Northside High School’s athletic director, accepted the role of AD last July, in addition to coaching the Panthers in football and heading up the varsity basketball program. Adams explained that “the unknowns” have been the most challenging part of dealing with the COVID-19 virus that’s kept athletes off their playing fields this spring, now lingering into the summer months. “You never know what to expect. You don’t know how to relay information to help athletes and parents on what to expect. I just take what information I get on a week-by-week basis, and I’ll send an email out to the school to let them know, then I send it out to the athletes to keep them as informed as possible,” Adams said. “One of the toughest things was not having a spring sports season. It wasn’t a decision on us, it was a deci-
sion based on the state and the numbers — I respect the decision — but having to watch seniors that play only one sport, especially a spring sport, it was devastating knowing they won’t get that season back.” Northside made the decision to hold a virtual sports banquet for student-athletes, and it went rather well, according to Adams. “Having a virtual sports banquet, you won’t be able to recognize every athlete, but it was a way for them to see coaches get together and talk about the team and those that received awards,” said Adams. “It wasn’t an ideal way to have a banquet, but it was a way our coaches could thank their players for all their efforts.” If there’s one thing that Adams said he will never take for granted again, it’s the ability to coach. “I’ve coached for a long while. I’ve been coaching two sports and helping with another at the school. Being AD, a lot of times your days run into each other. You don’t really have time to sit back and look,” Adams said. “When you have sports taken from you — that’s my life. It’s what I talk about, it’s what I do, man. Now, I mean, it gets boring. After a week, you’ve recharged your battery, but now, it’s recharged for what? The unknown.” Adams said the school was making a tribute video to student-athletes at Northside High School that would release this week.
6C• Saturday, May 30 – Sunday, May 31, 2020
IN APPRECIATION
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