Honors an executive whose job performance is considered exemplary by people within their organizations, peers and community members.
DAVID HOLMES
TITLE: Vice president of business development
ORGANIZATION: Liberty Health
WHAT A NOMINATOR SAID: “David has spent more than 20 years building a career defined by servant leadership, patient advocacy and an unwavering commitment to strengthening the healthcare communities he serves. I can think of no one more deserving of this recognition.
David’s leadership is distinguished not by title, but by the way he shows up for the people around him.
He is a leader who genuinely listens to frontline staff, to referral partners, to patients and families and to colleagues at every level of the organization. Rather than imposing solutions, David draws out perspectives from all sides of an issue and guides his teams toward decisions that are stronger because everyone had a voice in shaping them. This collaborative style has earned him deep trust across Liberty Health and throughout the broader home-based care and skilled nursing communities.
That trust extends well beyond our organization. David is a sought-after voice at national industry events, where he speaks candidly about the challenges and opportunities facing home health, hospice and skilled nursing providers.”
– Adam Rice, director of operations finance, Liberty Health
KELSEY MILLS
TITLE: Laboratory business operations manager
ORGANIZATION: Wilmington Health
WHAT A NOMINATOR SAID: “Kelsey is the kind of person who truly embodies what it means to be a Health Care Hero. She is a ray of sunshine everywhere she goes. No matter how challenging the day may be, she always finds the positive, and that positivity radiates to everyone around her. You can feel the difference when Kelsey walks into a room. She has a way of lifting people up, whether it is a coworker having a difficult day, a patient who needs a little extra kindness or someone in our community. Her impact goes far beyond the work she does. It is also in the way she makes people feel.
When our new pathology lab was getting off the ground without a leader in place, Kelsey volunteered to help and took on whatever was needed to keep things moving. When our pediatric team was transitioning to a new location, she stepped in to help them through the move without ever being asked. These are just a few examples of who Kelsey is every day. If someone needs help, she is there. She makes whatever situation she steps into a little better simply by being part of it.”
– Shiloh Gauss, radiology manager, Wilmington Health
LAURIE WHALIN
TITLE: President
ORGANIZATION: Novant Health Coastal Region
WHAT A NOMINATOR SAID: Laurie Whalin leads a $3 billion enterprise and “a workforce of over 9,000 team members, including 600+ employed physicians and advanced practice providers, with over 2,000 on the medical staff.
Laurie provides key local leadership, steering the vision to expand access to care to meet growing community needs in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. There is little in the medical center and region that she has not played a role in leading and growing, including medical and radiation oncology, pediatrics, surgery, radiology, laboratory and so much more.
Major projects in just the last year alone include the opening of the Novant Health Scotts Hill Medical Center in July and the planned new heart and vascular patient tower at the 17th Street campus, a major outpatient services expansion for heart and vascular care, a new acute physical rehabilitation hospital that will nearly double capacity, a new midtown medical office building, improvements to reconfigure two floors at NHRMC to boost access to care and a planned freestanding emergency department in Hampstead.”
– Ruth Glaser, president, Novant Health Pender Medical Center
Read more about all of the 2026 Health Care Heroes finalists
here.
