Two from NHRMC were honored March 8 at the 33rd Annual YWCA Women of Achievement Awards Ceremony. The Women of Achievement Awards recognizes outstanding contributions and achievements of women and young leaders in New Hanover, Brunswick, Columbus and Pender counties.
The winners and their categories were:
- Health & Wellness - Dr. Heather Davis, NHRMC Coastal Family Medicine and Chief of Medical Staff/Chief Medical Officer with Pender Memorial Hospital
- Public Service - Sonali Batish, Practice Manager at Coastal Family Medicine, Coastal Ob/Gyn and Midwifery, and Coastal Reproductive Endocrinology
About Dr. Heather Davis
Dr. Heather Davis serves as Chief Medical Officer and Chief of Medical Staff at Pender Memorial Hospital, in addition to serving as a physician and clinical instructor with New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s Coastal Family Medicine. She is a representative on the Quality Safety and Strategy Committees of the Board of Trustees at both Pender Memorial and NHRMC. Dr. Davis’ passion for providing quality health care to meet the needs of the community is evidenced by her work with the New Hanover and Pender County Health Departments, which led to medical residents working at clinics run on migrant farms in Pender County. Her volunteer efforts also include participating with the NHRMC Community Coalition on Opioids, volunteering at medication disposal events, working with the NC Medical Societies Annual Health Hotline, and more. In 2017, she received the T. Reginald Harris Award, presented by the Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence to one physician in the state with outstanding achievements in health care quality and service to the medical community. Through her leadership and mentoring in the community, Dr. Davis has become known as a trusted resource and advocate for area women.
About Sonali Batish
Sonali Batish has a Master’s in Public Health from Emory University and is the Practice Manager at Coastal Family Medicine, Coastal OBGYN and Midwifery, and Coastal Reproductive Endocrinology. She previously worked with Girls Inc. in Brunswick County to provide life skills and sex education to middle school-aged girls. She served as the Associate Director of Health Careers and Workforce Diversity at the Southeast Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC) where she worked with underserved minority students interested in pursuing health careers. She led the Program Support Program at SEAHEC, which helped practices reach out to patients needing preventative care for chronic disease. At her practice, she increased same day access for sick patients through a new walk-in clinic, resulting in a decrease of sick patients turning to the Emergency Department for care. She created a “financial triage” that uses volunteers to assist patients with navigating the healthcare system in order to get the right access to care and resources. She works closely with the Cape Fear Cultural Association of India and served on the board of the Fully Belly project, spending an entire family vacation bringing hand washing stations and water pumps to elementary and middle schools in Tanzania.
Other NHRMC nominees were:
- Olivia Herndon – Public Service category
- Kelly Marquis Merritt – Arts category
- Pat Dagnon – Volunteer category
We are very proud of all of our nominees for their work at NHRMC and their contributions to our community.