ECU Health proposes new plan to reopen Martin General Hospital
The proposal by the Martin County Board of Commissioners outlines the state's hope for a Rural Emergency Hospital and to create an integrated, attentive, outpatient delivery model designed to meet the health care needs of Martin County.
While the plan is to re-establish essential services using existing parts of the facility, the contingencies below will require state support:
State financial support to transition the Rural Emergency Hospital to a newly-constructed Rural Care Center, given the age and condition of the existing facility.
State financial support to modernize and expand inpatient capacity at ECU Health Beaufort Hospital – a Hill-Burton Act facility built in 1958 – which is critical given the Rural Emergency Hospital model proposed for Martin County cannot have inpatient beds.
ECU Health said that they are committed to transforming health care in support of rural communities and hopes that they can meet the current and future health care needs for Martin County.
The proposal will be presented at the Martin County Board of Commissioners public hearing on June 5, 2025.
The full proposal can be found here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Six Nations features in new docuseries looking at birth through an Indigenous lens
A new docuseries about reclaiming Indigenous traditions around birth could serve as a useful tool for health-care workers and people who are expecting — whether they're Indigenous or not, says filmmaker Rebeka Tabobondung. 'We binge-watched it,' Katsitsionhawi Hill said of the eight-part 'Spirit of Birth' docuseries, out now on APTN's Lumi app. Although Hill and her partner, Joe Doolittle, were featured in the series, they were curious to see 'what other people are doing, too, and what we wanted to do differently for this baby,' she told The Spectator. The docuseries was inspired by Tabobondung's own experience giving birth nearly 20 years ago. As she spent time in Wasauksing First Nation (between Barrie and Sudbury) connecting with family, she told The Spectator that she got to wondering: What were the traditional ways of thinking around pregnancy and around birth? 'It was a powerful and transformative stage of life,' but Tabobondung didn't see Indigenous reflections or resources around it in the mainstream media, she said. The desire to ask elders and Indigenous midwives about their traditional knowledge — and document and share that — took her to six communities, to explore how they are 'restoring birth for themselves,' she said. That included Six Nations of the Grand River and the Tsi Nón:we Ionnakerátstha (Birthing Centre), 'probably the most established Indigenous-led midwifery practice in Canada,' Tabobondung said. They were 'trailblazers,' establishing the practice 25 years ago with the guidance of the community, after traditional knowledge was silenced by colonization, she said. In that time, the centre has welcomed more than 3,000 babies and trained over 20 midwives in a program balancing contemporary and traditional knowledge, according to the docuseries. The program operates under an exemption clause, meaning it is regulated by the community, not the College of Midwives of Ontario. It means they can practice midwifery on Six Nations. If a delivery gets transferred to the hospital, a doctor would take over the care, but the midwife could still provide support. It's something Brantford General Hospital is working to change from a credentialing perspective, so the Indigenous midwife could continue to oversee care, Brant Community Healthcare System CEO and president Bonnie Camm told The Spectator. In a production still, Joe Doolittle sits with his daughter at the Six Nations Birthing Centre. This has happened to Hill for two of her three deliveries. Because she knows there's a chance it could happen with her current pregnancy, she registered with Midwives of Brant, who are collaborating with an Indigenous midwife, so she has consistent care working in tandem if she does get transferred to the hospital. But she will still incorporate Indigenous traditions into her delivery — like for the first language her baby hears to be Mohawk, she said. They're thinking of having people wear ribbon skirts at the birth — and Hill may even deliver wearing one with the intention of reclaiming the space and connection to culture and the Earth. 'Our teachings are that wearing that ribbon skirt, you're fully grounded,' she said. Since watching the docuseries, Hill and Doolittle have also been thinking of doing 'a little birth ceremony,' she said. It could involve preparing tobacco ties — a significant gift for Indigenous people — at a midwife appointment, and 'putting our positive intentions into them' and tying them up and saving them. At the beginning of labour, they could use it to smudge the home, cleaning the space and air where she plans to give birth. 'I just thought that would be really beautiful and honourable for the space and the environment that we're going to be bringing baby in, showing baby that love spiritually,' she said. The series was released on Mother's Day, but Tabobondung said they're 'just starting to kind of get it out into the world.' Still, she has already heard of aspiring midwives hosting watch parties. 'I'm excited to have people learn about it and invite them in to learn about it, because these teachings, I think, are for everybody, not just the Indigenous community,' she said. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

Miami Herald
11-07-2025
- Miami Herald
The neediest people were let down again by the lawmakers they voted for. It's baffling.
Cathy Price's words stopped me cold. She's a 72-year-old woman who worked as a nurse at Martin General in a rural part of North Carolina. That area stands to be particularly hard hit by the 'big beautiful bill' Republicans passed and President Donald Trump signed into law on the 249th anniversary of this country's birth. Martin General was part of ECU Health, a not-for-profit system that serves about 1.4 million people in eastern North Carolina, including rural areas in Martin County. ECU planned to reopen Martin General, at least for emergency and some diagnostic services. It closed in 2023, then North Carolina finally agreed to expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), giving residents hope their local hospital would return. The nearest hospital is a 30- to 40-minute drive away. 'We're in a life-and-death crisis,' Price told The New York Times. 'People's lives are on the line because of the hospital not being here.' She knows the dire situation facing rural residents in Martin County, and elsewhere. Still, she told The Times she supports President Trump's supposed efforts to rid Medicaid of fraud and waste. What she and many other Trump supporters don't seem to understand is that in the eyes of Trump and most other Republicans in Washington, D.C. — including the ones rural North Carolina residents sent to the nation's capital to represent them — they are the fraud and waste. They are the lazy 'able-bodied' people, supposedly addicted to government assistance, who hate having to take care of themselves. They are the problem Republicans are trying to solve, the sacrifice the GOP just made to ensure the wealthiest Americans and corporations can receive yet another massive tax cut. The wealthiest Americans did not need even more money in their pockets, but Price's neighbors and friends in Martin County need the health care that will be taken away, or may never materialize, because of the 'big beautiful bill' billionaire Trump can't stop crowing about. The Medicaid coverage that, as recalled in The Times article, allowed 58-year-old Lori Kelley in Harrisburg to save a finger and detect two tumors? That might be going away. But at least private plane and yacht owners are gonna have yet another way to write off some of their tax obligations. For decades now, rural residents have been flocking to the Republican Party. It's mostly been white rural residents, but a small but not-insignificant number of Black and brown rural residents have joined them. Theories abound as to why. Political analysts will point to policies such as NAFTA, which has been blamed for the loss of manufacturing jobs in rural areas. I grew up in St. Stephen, S.C., and saw the Georgia Pacific paper plant that had sustained us close and leave a devastating void. At least four of my family members worked there. As a journalist, I documented the closing of a bevy of manufacturing plants, including International Paper and Georgetown Steel in Georgetown, and an electricity-producing plant in Conway. The shifts in manufacturing are complex and multilayered. They've caused real harm to real people. But there is no one cause, which is why I don't believe that can explain the voting shifts. And the two parties have been exceedingly clear about their priorities. When Democrats are given power, they fight to expand health care coverage, strengthen the safety net and argue for a living wage and higher taxes on the wealthy. The GOP does the opposite. (The same can be said of how the parties view disaster preparedness and assistance. The Trump administration is trying to dismantle FEMA even as natural disasters are causing even more harm and killing more people. Democrats want to better fund such agencies.) During Trump's first term, one of the Republicans' top goals was to fully uproot Obamacare, risking the lives of tens of thousands of Americans and the health of millions. The 'big beautiful bill' helped the GOP partially accomplish that goal – at the expense of Price and her rural North Carolina neighbors. It's one of the most baffling truisms of the modern political era. The neediest Americans repeatedly empower the people most likely to ignore their most-pressing needs.


Newsweek
03-07-2025
- Newsweek
Mom Sees Son Playing With New Toy, Then Has Emotional Realization
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A woman who noticed her youngest son had taken a liking to a particular toy was stunned when she finally realized why. Mom-of-two Rebecca Hill, from Pennsylvania, had gifted her 20-month-old son a Fisher-Price Little People toy set, for the simple reason he "loves trucks." However, the toy set would take on greater significance in the days that followed. "He played with the truck for a few days and I noticed he was paying more attention to the figurine," Hill told Newsweek. "He was just carrying around the little man." A still from the video showing the toy that Rebecca Hill's 20-month-old son become fixated on. A still from the video showing the toy that Rebecca Hill's 20-month-old son become fixated on. TikTok/beckyllih Taken by the pleasure her son seemed to be deriving from the toy, Hill decided to document the moment on camera. "I figured, let me get a quick picture before I take it [the figurine] while he naps. I then decided to take a cute video of him snuggling with it to show my husband," she said. That was the moment the significance of it became apparent. "It wasn't until I saw he was napping with it that it really hit me," Hill said. "I then realized how much the figurine actually resembled his dad and then it all made sense." When it comes to kids and toys, less can often be more. A 2018 study published in the journal infant Behavior and Development found that children who had fewer toys engaged in healthier play and benefited from deeper cognitive development. As part of the research, 36 toddlers aged between 18 and 30 months took part in free-play sessions. Each child was given either four toys or 16 to play with. The study revealed how those given fewer toys played for longer periods of time and in more varied ways. Hill's young son was certainly content with just the one toy. And when the mom explained her theory to husband Leo, he was surprised too. "My husband was shocked when he finally noticed the similarities and felt so proud that our son was doting over a little figurine that resembled him," Hill said. She decided to create a video for her TikTok account @beckyllih, showcasing just how alike her son's toy and dad really were. "I realized my husband had almost the exact clothes to match and I figured a video might be a fun idea to compare," she said. "It did not disappoint." The video has gone viral, with 2.5 million views and counting. While her son's focus remains firmly fixed on his new toy friend, he has also been enjoying the family's newfound fame on social media. "Our son doesn't really talk much yet but I can tell he loves the toy so much," Hill said. "We showed him the TikTok I made and he lights up while watching it, laughing and smiling."