‘A Nurse’s Heart’

(Photo courtesy of Novant Health)

For HEATHER KING, president and chief operating officer at Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center, caring for others is part of her DNA.

King’s mother attended nursing school, but she gave up working 12-hour shifts for jobs that allowed more time to raise King and her twin brother. When King was nine, her mother was severely injured in a car accident and spent three months in the hospital. “I had to lean in and care for her,” she says.

Her mother returned to nursing, but stepped away after becoming sick when King was a teenager. “So, college after graduation wasn’t an option for me,” she says. King went to work, married, and had her first child — a daughter. A son followed two years later. She was impressed by the labor and delivery nurses at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center. “I had the best experiences and thought, ‘That’s what I want to do,’” she says. “Forsyth connected the dots for me.”

King started an associate degree nursing program at Forsyth Technical Community College when her son was just six weeks old. She earned her CNA license and began working in the labor and delivery unit at Forsyth Medical Center. She wanted to keep growing, so she completed her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Winston-Salem State University and became a registered nurse.

Over the last 20 years, King has risen through the ranks with Novant Health. “I was blessed to have the right people who pushed me to go after leadership positions,” she says. She was also encouraged to earn her Master of Nursing degree, which she completed in 2016, while working as the chief nursing officer at Novant Health Clemmons Medical Center.

King raised her family while the Clemmons hospital was being built. “That was one of the most exciting things I’ve done in my career,” King says. “I learned a lot, but it was also great to do it in the community that I lived and served in. I have a heart for community hospitals. It’s not just how we care for you when you’re in the hospital, but how can we care for the community, so you don’t have to come to the hospital.”

When the role of president and chief operating officer at Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center became available, King’s mentor, Dr. John Mann, senior vice president of Novant Health Institutes, suggested she apply. In 2022, King landed the job and moved southeast.

As president and chief operating officer, she leads overall hospital operations while strategizing how to continue to serve the fastest-growing county in the state. “Infrastructure is a concern,” King says. “I’m looking at each service line item to see what we can offer in Brunswick County, so residents don’t have to go over the bridge.”

Recruitment is important to her as well. “I’m having conversations with county commissioners about things like affordable housing so we can keep teachers here to educate our future healthcare providers,” she says, adding that supporting Brunswick’s team members and leaders is also a priority. “The frontline team members who do the work and show up every day are the people who matter most in a healthcare system.”

King ends her days with patient rounds. “I still have a nurse’s heart,” she says. “And I am a product of my mother and always want to live out her legacy.”