Cameron Nix Implements Patient Advisory Council for Novant Health Infectious Disease Specialists

Cameron Nix was pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Public Health with a concentration in Community Health Education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington when she served as a Region IV PHTC Pathways to Practice Scholar in the spring of 2022. She chose to intern with SEEDS of Healing, Inc., a non-profit organization in Wilmington, NC, whose mission is to “deconstruct myths that perpetuate fear and stigma and generate sustained support for Black and African American women with diagnoses of HIV.” Her placement also included work with the Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC) Infectious Disease Specialists, who serve people living with HIV while striving to “create an equitable and centralized access to HIV care.”   

During her field placement, Cameron was responsible for several projects including assisting in the coordination of the 5th annual #ThinkRedILM HIV/AIDS 5K Walk/Run for Seeds of Healing, Inc. (SOH), as well as developing webinars for the organization’s social media platform – SOH Time – which was developed for Black women with a positive diagnosis of HIV. However, her primary project was to plan and implement the first Patient Advisory Council (PAC) for the NHRMC Infectious Disease Specialists with the goal of creating an “open means of feedback and communication between patients and clinical staff and support the goal of patient-centered care.” The PAC would also allow patients an opportunity to provide feedback during the merger of NHRMC with Novant Health.  

According to Cameron, the PAC project was a success in that it afforded patients the availability of a platform through which they could communicate and provide feedback directly with the Infectious Disease Specialists at Novant Health. At the end of her internship, Cameron stated:  

“I gained essential transferrable skills during my internships such as communicating with patients and clinic staff and increasing opportunities for patients to be in control of their care. The experience I gained working with underserved communities, primarily PLWH [people living with HIV/AIDS] and those who are uninsured and underinsured, is invaluable in understanding the barriers to quality care marginalized communities may face.”