Here are the finalists in the 2015 Health Care Heroes Innovation category.

Honors an individual or team behind a new scientific discovery, procedure, treatment or device that can save lives or improve the quality of life for a large number of people.

Robert DiGiuseppee and Brandi Page

TITLES: DiGiuseppee: Neonatologist; Page: Neonatal nurse manger

ORGANIZATION: DiGiuseppee: Coastal Carolina Neonatology; Page: New Hanover Regional Medical Center

WHAT THE NOMINATOR SAID: “One of the saddest trends in patient care is the alarming number of newborn infants born addicted to opioids.

These babies show the same symptoms as adults who are in withdrawal, and the condition is life-threatening.

Dr. Robert DiGiuseppe, MD, and Brandi Page, RN, reviewed the trend and sought to find a more efficient way to treat these babies and work with parents to sustain success once the babies went home.

The outcomes were dramtic. The average length of hospital stay dropped from 25 days in February 2014 to 14 days in December, a 44% drop that has continued since.

This reduction in length of stay saved the health care system almost $430,000.”

-Scott Whisnant, NHRMC, community relations

Carol Green

TITLE: Certified music practitioner

ORGANIZATION: Harpist on Call

WHAT THE NOMINATOR SAID: “Carole received her therapeutic harp training from the Music for Healing and Transition Program, a nationally accredited program founded in 1995 and sanctioned under the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians.

She is trained to play for five patient conditions: Acute, Non-Acute, Pain and Anxiety, Cognitive Impairment and Actively Dying.

Her weekly visits to The Davis Community are supplemented by her willingness to be ‘on call’ for dire health issues.

Lower Cape Fear Hospice & LifeCare Center hired her to play at their three regional centers.

With the success of her work, Carole helped create a local Harp Circle to introduce more people to the harp as a healing instrument.

Carole volunteers to play at medical and social services conferences and other community events to introduce the concepts of therapeutic music to a broader audience. Carole volunteers to play at medical and social services conferences and is a true innovator and a pioneer in the field.”

-Julie Rehder, The Davis Community marketing and public relations administrator

Matt Janik

TITLE: Preventative cardiologist, Founder and CEO of Your Heart Report

ORGANIZATION: Your Heart Report

WHAT THE NOMINATOR SAID: “Dr. Janik is committed to saving lives by preventing heart attacks through fully integrated Cardiac Calcium Scoring.

This is the process where a person over 50 years of age may get a CT scan of their heart to gauge the blockage of their arteries while also bringing together all factors in heart attack risk.

Your Heart Report is a company he founded to provide complete clear reporting and best practices consulting throughout the country. His mission is to help medical practices offer and promote proper Cardiac Calcium Scoring in their communities.

This test should be as ubiquitous as a mammogram. Unfortunately, today, not enough people know about it. Dr. Janik, through Your Heart Report will bring Cardia Calcium Scoring best practices to more communities throughout the United States.”

-Vanessa Marttinen, American Marketeur president