I love my job. I’m so glad I can help people heal and recover while providing a pleasant experience for both patients and their family members.’
From ringing up customers in a New Hampshire convenience store to working as a full-time care associate (CA) at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina, Brittany Avino has brought the same golden touch to work.
Service with a smile.
She is, after all, a woman whose passion for the job, any job, extends to paperwork. Pushing paper, she says, “gives me the feeling of getting things accomplished and seeing progress.”
First and foremost, though, Brittany is devoted to her patients. She displays that deep commitment and eagerness each time she arrives in a patient’s room around dawn to check their vital signs.
“I’ll say ‘Good morning, I’m sorry to wake you up. I’ll get this real quick, and you can go back to sleep,’” she said.
Get the best health care for you and your family.
Compassionate and essential
No wonder they call them care associates.
Brittany, 27, is one of several CAs assigned to the neurosurgery floor at New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s Neurosciences Institute. The 36 beds here are for patients recovering after surgery. Some, for example, have had emergency brain surgery. Others are hoping surgery will ease their serious back and spine pain. All, said nurse manager Josh Price, are comforted by the smallest acts of kindness that loom large in a hospital setting: Checking their vitals with a smile. Getting patients a drink of water or extra blanket. Assisting them with brushing their teeth. Helping them walk down the hall. Sharing a moment of warm conversation. Extending that same warmth to family members.
Price, who oversees CAs on the neurosurgical unit, said the care associate position was created to serve patients while giving certified nursing assistants more time to concentrate on their tasks.
With an ongoing labor shortage leaving many hospitals short-staffed, care associates help free up nurses to focus on the clinical part of their jobs. At New Hanover Regional Medical Center, for example, 35 to 40 care associates serve patients’ needs.
“By focusing on nonclinical support, care associates help create a positive, safe and comfortable environment. It makes a world of difference on the healing journey,” Price said.
Making a difference
Brittany’s journey to Novant Health began in Claremont, New Hampshire, where she grew up. As a teenager, she worked in a convenience store. Her cheerful “Good morning” warmed up the New England winters for the regulars stopping by for their coffee and donut. From a young age, even in a job where smiles can be hard to muster, Brittany’s work ethic was taking root.
“It doesn’t matter what I’m doing,” she said. “I take pride in it.”
Brittany moved to the Wilmington area in 2016 for the same reason many do: “I hate the cold.” After a stint in commercial cleaning – yes, she enjoys cleaning – she joined the Novant Health team in 2021.
She started in the kitchen during those bruising days of COVID-19, donning goggles and a mask to deliver meals to patients. “I’d like to think they could see me smile. It was nice to think I was making a difference,” she said.
She moved from there to a job putting meal trays together, then to Au Bon Pain, the hospital-based café that serves sandwiches, soups and salads to team members and visitors. She then joined environmental services as a coordinator, where her housekeeping skills proved valuable.
But over time, she realized that she needed more and the idea of helping patients was a powerful draw.
“My pride is my reputation and I love to help people,” she said. “I really wanted to help patients. I love the idea of getting people healthy and getting them discharged.” And for more serious cases, she appreciates the opportunity to make their time at the hospital as pleasant as possible.
“It feels good, like I have a purpose,” Brittany said. “I know I’ve accomplished something.”
In December 2023, she started as a care associate on the neurosurgery floor.
Price, her supervisor, said Brittany is doing great work. “She’s, first of all, friendly,” he said. “She listens. She smiles a lot.”
But don’t just take his word for it.
Arthur “Ziggy” King is a safety attendant at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. He knows someone who landed on Brittany’s unit. It wasn’t just the care that Brittany gave this person, King said. It was how she gave that care, always with a genuine warmth that lifted spirits.
“When nobody is looking, Brittany is 100% heart and soul,” he said. “She’s a beautiful caregiver. It makes my day, the smile that Brittany puts on your heart. We have some extraordinary people at this hospital.”
Never be so busy…
Life for Brittany is good.
She and her husband, James, recently welcomed a baby boy, Bryson. As a working mom, she says to no one’s surprise, “Sleep is the hardest thing.”
But her work schedule – 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday to Friday – allows her the best of both worlds. At home, she cares for Bryson. At the hospital, she helps care for patients. In so doing, she brings to life the words of one of history’s greatest “care associates.”
As Mother Teresa said, “Never be so busy as not to think of others.”
