Partly cloudy. High 71F. Winds light and variable..
Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 48F. Winds light and variable.
Greenville native Charlotte Ward, who works in housekeeping at ECU Health, on Thursday was named Eastern Carolina Vocational Center’s Employee Success Story of the Year.
ECVC Employee Success Story of the Year Charlotte Ward, was honored Thursday at the organization’s 57th anniversary banquet. Ward, who works in housekeeping at ECU Health, said her next goal is to buy a house. “The sky’s the limit,” she said. “If you feel like you can do it, do it.”
Greenville native Charlotte Ward, who works in housekeeping at ECU Health, on Thursday was named Eastern Carolina Vocational Center’s Employee Success Story of the Year.
ECVC Employee Success Story of the Year Charlotte Ward, was honored Thursday at the organization’s 57th anniversary banquet. Ward, who works in housekeeping at ECU Health, said her next goal is to buy a house. “The sky’s the limit,” she said. “If you feel like you can do it, do it.”
For years, Charlotte Ward has admired the changing colors of the light tower at ECU Health’s Maynard Children’s Hospital.
A longtime employee of Eastern Carolina Vocational Center, she has warm memories of the hospital where both her daughter and her son came into the world some two decades ago. A few years ago, when Ward was hospitalized due to an illness, she recalls being impressed by the kindness of the hospital staff, from nurses and doctors to the people cleaning her room.
So when it came time for her to make a job change, Ward set her sights on that tower. A year later, this hospital housekeeping staff member has found herself in the spotlight as ECVC’s Employee Success Story of the Year.
Ward was honored Thursday during the annual banquet for ECVC, a not-for-profit corporation that has provided job training and employment services to people with disabilities in eastern North Carolina for more than half a century. The 57th anniversary banquet, a celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, is the first since 2019, although the organization continued to recognize an Employee Success Story winner during the coronavirus pandemic.
Ward is the second of the hospital’s front-line workers to receive the honor in the last three years. Food and nutrition hostess Tiffany Peartree was named ESSOY in 2020.
Like Peartree, Ward prides herself in building relationships with the patients she serves. The Greenville native takes care of rooms on ECU Health’s 1 West, where antepartum patients spend time before and after the births of their children.
“I love cleaning,” Ward said in an interview. “I love the people. I love having conversations with people when I go in their rooms.”
While Ward keeps her hands busy mopping floors or changing beds, she also keeps her ears open for mothers who want to talk.
“She’s wonderful,” Laura Pinckney, a registered nurse, said in a video interview. “Her patients love her. The staff love her. She does an exceptional job.”
Ward listens as patients share concerns about the health of their babies, understanding their longing to go home. Some are tearful as they show her pictures of their infants who are being cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit.
“I say, ‘Your baby’s going to be better. Just give it a couple of more days and you’ll see. While you’re here go down there every day to see your baby,’” Ward advises the mothers she encounters.
Ward, who has a reading disability, is quite perceptive in interpreting people’s emotional needs.
“Sometimes they’ll be depressed when they see their babies like that,” she said. “Some days they don’t want to talk, but most of my patients they love to talk. We talk about everything.”
Conversations may range from soul food to soap operas, with the goal of getting patients to smile.
“When I go in the room, I try to make them laugh,” Ward said, “and keep them on their toes.”
Prior to being hired at ECU Health, Ward spent about two decades at ECVC, beginning in the recycling center before moving to housekeeping. Darone Dancy, ECVC’s vice president of workforce operations, said Ward was one of the first employees to complete the organization’s custodian registered apprenticeship program.
When Ward asked to make the move to ECU Health, friend Felicia Bullock had no reservations about recommending her for the job.
“She’s a quick learner,” said Bullock, who also works in environmental services at the hospital. “She just goes above and beyond. She tries to do what makes people happy.”
Ward, who spends time after work helping to care for an elderly neighbor, has been known to show up at the hospital on her days off to check on mothers on the floor where she is stationed. Some have kept in touch with her after they were discharged from the hospital.
“She really just makes sure that everybody’s taken care of,” said Kayla Smith, community support specialist for ECVC. “She honestly treats them all as if they’re friends and family. As soon as you start talking to her you can’t help but smile and feel happy because she’s always so bubbly and happy. I think that’s what really makes her stand out.”
Contact Kim Grizzard at kgrizzard@reflector.com or call 329-9578.
www.Reflector.com 1150 Sugg Pkwy Greenville, NC 27834 Main Phone: 252-329-9500 Customer Care Phone: 252-329-9505
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.