COVID-19 vaccine at Novant Health

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Help us improve access to lifesaving healthcare in the fight against the coronavirus

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A thank you from Ann Caulkins for supporting our healthcare heroes

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Stories of remarkable care

At Novant Health Foundation, we're on a mission to engage and connect donors to Novant Health programs and initiatives that save lives and improve the health of the communities we serve. Read our stories below to learn more about how remarkable care is transforming Novant Health communities, and please don't hesitate to reach out and share your story.

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Meet ‘the mindful heart doctor’

January 13, 2021

Well before COVID-19 hit, a different kind of epidemic was impacting physicians across the country — a rampant and, at times, debilitating state of burnout.

‘Together, we can win this race’

December 28, 2020

When Judy Caswell was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in May 2016, she couldn’t believe it.

‘It changes your outlook’

December 28, 2020

Allan Cheatham believes in taking care of people and giving back to the community where he lives and owns a business.

‘Here, we’re family’

December 28, 2020

When Jennifer James applied to work as a certified nursing assistant back in February, she was determined to get the job.

Brave Beginnings provides lifesaving incubator to support premature babies at Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit

December 23, 2020

Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation was awarded a $43,563.13 grant from Brave Beginnings.

Everyone treats me like extended family

December 23, 2020

Claudia Zorn Schaefer has long been an ardent believer in supporting her community through advocacy.

Supporting a healthy community

December 22, 2020

This holiday season, Pinnacle Financial Partners wanted to help provide vital resources in the Thomasville community.

Her heart is in helping others

December 17, 2020

With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been an increased focus on improving health equity in our communities. For Sandy Charles, MD, however, that objective has been top of mind her whole life.

Celebrate your loved ones with a lifesaving gift in their honor

December 10, 2020

This holiday season we extend our warmest greetings and best wishes for a healthy New Year full of happiness and hope.

Children’s Trust brings hope to children, families

December 10, 2020

Being hospitalized, or even just visiting the doctor, can be a scary experience for a child.

‘We’re here to help’

December 10, 2020

Kip Clark once delivered a baby in the front seat of a Honda Accord. When you work in public safety, stories like that are par for the course.

Designing for comfort and hope

December 9, 2020

The final phase of construction on the Novant Health Wallace Cancer Institute at Novant Health Rowan Medical Center took shape in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Power of philanthropy

Novant Health Foundation's philanthropic efforts inspire giving that supports programs and initiatives having direct patient impact. Through the generous support of individuals, families, companies and grant-making institutions, we aid Novant Health in its mission to improve the health of our communities, one person at a time.

Connect with us to learn more, or donate now to help save lives, leave a legacy and make a difference.

$13,877,346
invested

supporting
649 locations,
including

15 medical centers
across the Novant Health footprint

News & events

For the latest Novant Health Foundation news, event invitations, campaign updates, fundraising highlights and more, delivered directly to your inbox, subscribe to our email newsletter.

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COVID-19 vaccine at Novant Health

January 15, 2021

We are here to help you learn more about the vaccine and make an informed decision when it is your turn to get vaccinated.

A farewell from Rick Parker, a lifelong advocate for health

December 14, 2020

As some of you may know, I am retiring at the end of this year after 39 years. My wife, Janet, and I have been blessed with four grandchildren, with another one on the way in April.

Q4 newsletter: A remarkable end to a remarkable year

December 11, 2020

As we approach the end of a year like no other, I find myself filled with gratitude for the incredible dedication of our team members at Novant Health.

Celebrate your loved ones with a lifesaving gift in their honor

December 10, 2020

This holiday season we extend our warmest greetings and best wishes for a healthy New Year full of happiness and hope.

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An evening with John Hart via Zoom

December 3, 2020

Join us for an evening with John Hart, New York Times bestselling author. Proceeds benefit the Novant Health Wallace Cancer Institute – Cancer Survivor Fund.

New harness for Neuroscience Center makes patient recovery faster and safer

November 30, 2020

The Neuroscience Center of Excellence is home for our rehabilitation team members, who work with patients recovering from strokes, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and amputations.

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Celebrating the transformation of Novant Health Cancer Institute and the generosity that made it possible

November 30, 2020

Your donations have helped us transform the Novant Health Cancer Institute, located at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center.

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Nurse navigators make a difference for our patients because of you

November 30, 2020

Nurse navigators support cancer patients and their caregivers through every stage of their journey, starting after a diagnosis. They answer questions, translate the doctor’s instructions and serve as their advocate before, during and after treatment.

Virtual Garden Party Raises $62,000 to Support New Mothers

November 30, 2020

The Women’s Council held the first virtual Garden Party, “Here Comes the Sun,” in June and raised $62,000 for Family Connects, a home visit program for new mothers in Forsyth and Davidson counties.

Your support helps nurses continue their education

November 30, 2020

The Cindy Jarrett-Pulliam Nursing Excellence fund provides financial assistance for Novant Health nurses in Winston-Salem.

Welcome new team members

November 30, 2020

We are delighted to welcome two new team members: Carolyn Fuller and Caroline Wolfe.

Help make the holidays merry and bright with a donation to Secret Santa

November 25, 2020

Help make the holidays merry and bright for the patients at Novant Health Hemby Children’s Hospital.

2019 annual report

Your gifts demonstrate a real, lasting dedication to the health and well-being of our patients, their families and our communities. Donors across Novant Health support breast screenings, oncology initiatives, updated equipment and technology, improved access to behavioral health and other programs, as well as new buildings and facility upgrades.

Read our annual reports online to see how contributions raised were put to use in 2019.

$3,338,173
grant funding received

$6,803,732
total gifts

$12,616,125
total new commitments

Campaign & partner highlights

Located across the southeast, each of our regional foundations focus on the critical needs in five areas: Infants & children, Cancer, Heart & vascular, Stroke & neurosciences and Research & education.

Our generous partners include private, corporate and family foundations, as well as companies and government agencies.

Campaign highlight

Give care. Give hope. Give now.

Our healthcare professionals are suiting up every day ready for battle, rising up as heroes to serve our communities in their time of greatest need. Your support will help us continue to provide lifesaving care.

Learn more

Partner highlight

Brunswick Sheriff’s Charitable Foundation

Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center Foundation received a grant from the Brunswick Sheriff’s Charitable Foundation to fund the “A Path Forward” program for behavioral health care and addiction treatment.

Learn more

Stay connected

Subscribe to our stories of remarkable care, delivered directly to your inbox, or connect on social media to stay up-to-date on how we're saving lives and improving the health of our communities, with your help.

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We’re excited to welcome Ashley Martin as our newest development manager at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center Foundation. As a veteran of the U.S. Navy, she is signing a flag for all veterans which hangs at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center. Ashley joins us with a wealth of development and grant writing experience. We look forward to sharing more about her in the future.

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Jennifer James pursued a career in healthcare because she wanted to take care of people. She traces that desire to a time years ago when she took care of her 104 year-old great-grandmother.

“It was a crash course in how to take care of people, and I thought, ‘I can do this. I have to do this. I want to take care of people in some way,’” Jennifer said.

Soon after she joined the team at Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center as a certified nursing assistant, she volunteered to take on night shifts caring for patients with coronavirus.

“There was no visitation allowed, so those patients didn’t really have anybody,” Jennifer said. “After my first overnight shift with them, I kept volunteering for that shift . A lot of people get claustrophobic in the personal protective equipment or some have kids, so I would switch my nights with them. I did that for a couple of weeks straight.”

But then Jennifer started to feel sick and tested positive for coronavirus. She had seen what the virus could do. She understood the potential risks. And at first, those thoughts consumed her. Then, as she realized what quarantine would mean for her ability to work and earn money, her anxiety shifted course.

She called the employee help line at Brunswick Medical Center, and a nurse sent her information about the Hope for Remarkable Team Aubergine Fund established by Novant Health foundations at the onset of the pandemic to support team members in need. She applied and was granted funds to help cover her rent while she was out of work.

“Asking for help is never easy, but I’m so grateful I did,” Jennifer said. “I no longer have to worry about becoming homeless or the stress of trying to work as many hours as possible to make up for lost time. I would like to thank the foundation, Novant Health and my medical surgical staff at Brunswick Medical Center from the bottom of my heart for always having my back and being so supportive. I’m never going to leave this organization, and I plan to work my hardest for Novant Health as they have worked so hard for me.”

To read more and make a gift to support team members like Jennifer, visit SupportNovantHealth.org/JenniferJames.

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From as early as she can remember, Ophelia Garmon-Brown, MD, has wanted to be a doctor.

Her inspiration stemmed from personal tragedy: She lost her father to encephalitis at the age of 2, and by the age of 4, she told her family she wanted to “save all the daddies” because no one should have to grow up without a father. The experience gave her clarity. She knew exactly what she was going to be when she grew up.

And that’s exactly what she became.

Dr. Garmon-Brown’s family nurtured that passion for helping others. When they moved from the inner city of Detroit to eastern North Carolina, the closest full-service hospital was 45 miles away in Greenville. For some in the community, getting to that hospital was a struggle, so Dr. Garmon-Brown’s aunt Mamie would drive those in need to Greenville, stay with them through their appointments and then drive them back home. Many of those folks would “pay” her with a chicken or produce from their gardens.

Dr. Garmon-Brown learned that helping others was never a chore. It was just the right thing to do.

Those early experiences set the tone for Dr. Garmon-Brown’s 40-year career in the medical field. Now, as the senior vice president and chief community health and wellness officer at Novant Health, she is focused on health equity, ensuring all members of our community have access to remarkable care that addresses the unique needs of every patient.

“We have to do things differently for different types of people,” Dr. Garmon-Brown said. “A lot of times our healthcare providers will say, ‘I treat everybody equally.’ But equal care may not be what people need because those who have not had access to care for a long time, may need things done differently to achieve health equity.”

Dr. Garmon-Brown has worked with Novant Health to set up a Healthy Equity Fund designed to best navigate the social determinants of health by providing holistic approaches to health and wellness and access to everything from financial assistance to transportation services to resources that enhance health education for patients and their families.

To learn more about Dr. Garmon-Brown, visit SupportNovantHealth.org/DrGarmonBrown.

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Allan Cheatham believes in taking care of people and giving back to his community. As the small business owner of Shallotte Cleaners and Southport Cleaners, he has always offered complimentary cleaning services for veteran uniforms and flags because he understands just how much dry cleaning and restoration can mean to someone.

One day, a World War II veteran came into his store and dropped off his old military uniform. As always, Allan went through the pockets to collect any forgotten items he’d then return with the freshly cleaned garments. On this occasion, however, he discovered something unusual.

Inside the pockets, he found handfuls of sand and debris. He immediately called the veteran. As Allan soon learned, this debris was not just a pile of dirt. It was black sand from the beaches of Iwo Jima. The sand had made its way into his pockets during battle.

In his four decades in the dry-cleaning industry, he has helped countless others in the community salvage and care for other important clothing. Recently, Novant Health team members had a chance to return the favor by providing remarkable care when Allan contracted coronavirus. “This was the first time I'd been in the hospital since I was 10 years old, and I can't say enough about Novant Health,” Allan said. “I just can’t say enough about the care and compassion they gave me.”

“If you have a scratchy throat or some congestion, go get tested,” Allan said. “Don't wait until two to three days later when you start running a fever. Our daughter never ran a fever and she had it. She had been sick four or five days before she lost her sense of taste and smell.”

In the meantime, Allan wants to do everything he can to help. To that end, he plans to donate plasma so his antibodies can help others recover.

You can join in the effort to save lives and care for your community. By giving to the Hope for Remarkable Team Aubergine Fund, your dollars can give a helping hand to Novant Health team members while they continue delivering remarkable care in our communities.

To read more of Allan’s story visit and make a gift, SupportNovantHealth.org/AllanCheatham.

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We are very grateful for each of our remarkable team members. In this season, we are reflecting on the gratitude and hope that has carried us through 2020.

Amanda Chilton, a critical care nurse at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, changed careers to become a nurse in 2012. Today, she is just as passionate about her work in the intensive care unit as when she started six years ago.

“Critical care is organized chaos, and that’s pretty much where my personality thrives,” she said.

The chaos grew by leaps and bounds with the onset of coronavirus. Patients flooded in, and staff rushed to adapt. Amanda’s day-to-day routine was transformed practically overnight.

“The next day, I felt like I was standing on my own feet but didn’t really know where to go,” Amanda said. “Things were so different.”

But the team worked together to find a better workflow.

“You just learn as you go and tap into your support system as much as you can to help each other get through the day,” she said.

To read more of Amanda’s story on finding purpose during the pandemic, visit SupportNovantHealth.org/AmandaChilton.

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A chance stop at an airport convenience store changed Dr. Russell Greenfield’s life. His flight was delayed, and to pass the time, he was surveying racks of magazines when one caught his eye. There was a white-haired man on the cover, caked in mud and holding a plant. The headline read, “Can this doctor change all of medicine?” When he read the article, he knew instantly it was going to change his life.

The article outlined a more inspiring vision of what healthcare could be. It wasn’t just about fixing problems; it was about the promotion of overall health and well-being, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

“That literally took my breath away,” Dr. Greenfield said. “In healthcare, we do a very good job with the physical aspects of healing, but there’s so much more to what health is all about. I realized we were missing out on an opportunity to help people meet their health goals and their true potential.”

Dr. Greenfield was accepted into the first class of the integrative medicine fellowship program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and has worked in integrative medicine ever since.

This year, Novant Health celebrated the opening of Novant Health Sherry Strong Integrative Medicine Oncology Clinic— a space dedicated entirely to integrative medicine. The clinic, inside the new Novant Health Agnes B. and Edward I. Weisiger Cancer Institute, was made possible through a generous donation from Sherry Pollex and the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation.

The Novant Health Integrative Medicine program takes a whole-person approach to addressing all factors that influence health and well-being, body, mind and spirit, as well as how each is affected during cancer treatment, recovery and survivorship. To read more, visit SupportNovantHealth.org/DrGreenfield.

Find your regional foundation

Novant Health’s network consists of more than 1,500 physicians and over 26,000 team members who provide care at over 470 locations, including 14 medical centers and hundreds of outpatient facilities and physician clinics. Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the health system cares for more than 4.4 million patients annually in North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia.

Campaign highlight

Give care. Give hope. Give now.

Our healthcare professionals are suiting up every day ready for battle, rising up as heroes to serve our communities in their time of greatest need. Your support on Giving Tuesday Now, May 5, 2020, will help us continue to provide lifesaving care.

Learn more

Campaign highlight

A Path Forward: Leading Brunswick communities toward better behavioral health

We are committed to providing the treatment, outreach programs and community education necessary to meet this dangerous crisis head-on.

Learn more

Power of philanthropy

$13,877,346
invested

supporting 649 locations,
including

15 medical centers across the Novant Health footprint

* 2018 data

Our foundations engage and connect donors to Novant Health programs and initiatives that save lives and improve the health of the communities we serve.

Located across the southeast, each of our regional foundations focus on the critical needs in five areas: Infants & children, Cancer, Heart & vascular, Stroke & neurosciences and Research & education.

Donate now

Find your foundation

Novant Health Brunswick
Medical Center Foundation
Novant Health Forsyth
Medical Center Foundation
Novant Health Presbyterian
Medical Center Foundation
Novant Health UVA Health System
Prince William Medical Center Foundation
Novant Health Rowan
Medical Center Foundation
Novant Health Thomasville
Medical Center Foundation

Visit foundation

COVID-19 vaccine at Novant Health

Help us improve access to lifesaving healthcare in the fight against the coronavirus

A thank you from Ann Caulkins for supporting our healthcare heroes

Stories of remarkable care

Power of philanthropy

$13,877,346 invested

supporting 649 locations, including

15 medical centers across the Novant Health footprint

News & events

2019 annual report

$3,338,173 grant funding received

$6,803,732 total gifts

$12,616,125 total new commitments

Campaign & partner highlights

Campaign highlight

Partner highlight

Stay connected

Find your regional foundation

Campaign highlight

Give care. Give hope. Give now.

Campaign highlight

A Path Forward: Leading Brunswick communities toward better behavioral health

Power of philanthropy

$13,877,346 invested

supporting 649 locations, including

15 medical centers across the Novant Health footprint

Our foundations engage and connect donors to Novant Health programs and initiatives that save lives and improve the health of the communities we serve.

Find your foundation

$13,877,346
invested

supporting
649 locations,
including

15 medical centers
across the Novant Health footprint

$3,338,173
grant funding received

$6,803,732
total gifts

$12,616,125
total new commitments

$13,877,346
invested

supporting 649 locations,
including