NCMS Foundation Director of Rural Health Initiatives Franklin Walker (left) with NCMS EVP/CEO Robert W. Seligson (right), holding the proclamation from the Governor.
The North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) Foundation’s Community Practitioner Program (CPP), which is designed to encourage doctors to practice in rural and underserved areas of the state, received special recognition from the North Carolina Office of Rural Health and Community Care last Friday. Chris Collins, Director of the Office of Rural Health and Community Care, presented the official proclamation from Governor Pat McCrory naming November 20, 2014 National Rural Health Day for the state.
“We thank the North Carolina Medical Society Foundation for your support and significant contribution to rural health care,” read the inscription on the bottom of the proclamation. “It has been a privilege to work with you.”
Collins presented the framed proclamation to the NCMS Foundation staff and Board members at the CPP’s Annual Meeting at the State Club on the North Carolina State University campus. This is the program’s 25th anniversary.
The CPP partners with local communities and health care organizations to assist in recruiting talented primary care physicians, physician assistants and family nurse practitioners by providing grants in return for service in underserved communities. By offering some relief for educational debts, the program’s grant support encourages health professionals to serve in areas of North Carolina that need them most.
Facts about the NCMS Foundation’s CPP:
Current and past Community Practitioner Program participants who attended the CPP Annual Meeting last week.
- Care to the underinsured and uninsured valued at over $2.5 million annually
- Care to the underinsured and uninsured valued at $350 million since 1989
- Supporting 38 Primary Care Providers this year
- Supporting over 400 Primary Care Providers since 1989
- $350,000 granted this year
- $15 million granted since 1989
- About 250,000 Primary Care patient visits annually
- About 45,000 Primary Care patient visits in the greater Triangle area
- Improved access to care in 131 communities and 85 counties
