Winners and finalists in the Greater Wilmington Business Journal’s Health Care Heroes awards were recognized at an event Saturday at UNCW's Burney Center.

The 2025 Health Care Heroes category winners were:

• Community Achievement: Nicholas Green, Clinic Administrator, Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinics at the Coast
• Health Care Executive: Brad Nelson, Director of Ancillary Services, Wilmington Health
• Innovation in Health Care: AJ Trelease, Founder & CEO, CareHome Health
• Nurse Practitioner / Physician Assistant: Tami Martin, PA-C, Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute
• Nurse: Jan Pahl, Manager of Hemodialysis and VAT, Novant Health NHRMC
• Physician: Lora Pacaldo, Clinical Physician Executive/Psychiatrist, Novant Health
• Volunteers: Sylvia Stoudenmire & Bonnie Burriss, Volunteers, Novant Health NHRMC
• Unsung Hero: Michael Joyner, Building Operations Courier, Wilmington Health

University of North Carolina Wilmington students Skylar Spencer and Will Wylie and Cape Fear Community College students Sophia Garcia and Aleah Powell received Health Care Heroes education scholarships Saturday night.

And capping off the event, cardiologist Linda Calhoun, with Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute, was honored as the recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Business Journal has been putting on the Health Care Heroes awards program since 2013 to honor the people and organizations making an impact on the quality of health care in the region. They are nominated by patients, peers, co-workers and families.

Click here to find a list of the finalists and learn more about the 2025 Health Care Heroes finalists.