On June 16, 1909, at the NCMS annual meeting in Asheville, delegates gave their blessing to the formation of what would become the North Carolina Public Health program. That event was recalled as the North Carolina Public Health Association held its 2009 Annual Educational Conference and Trade Show in Asheville, September 30-October 2, 2009. This year’s program honored the long-standing close association the state’s public health effort has enjoyed with the NCMS and its physician leaders. Some of the key early milestones include:
1879-30 years after he helped found the NCMS, Solomon Sampson Satchwell, MD, becomes the first President of the NC Board of Health.
1908-Past NCMS President Richard Henry Lewis, MD, elected President of the American Public Health Association
1909-Seeds planted for the formation of the NC Public Health Program
1910-Asheville City Health Department established, and L.B. McBrayer, MD served as its part-time health officer. The Buncombe County Medical Society donated furniture for the department, which had an operating budget of $8,000.
1911-NCMS and State Board of Health jointly recommend a uniform basis of compensation for health officers for adoption by County Societies.
1911-The first full-time public health department in NC opens in Guilford County.
1912-The first rural health department established in Robeson County
1918-Strong public health advocate and hookworm eradication pioneer J.L. Nicholson, MD, dies. He was the first physician in Onslow County.
1940s–Ham Stevens, MD, becomes Health Director for the Onslow-Pender County Health District and works at branch offices and clinics in Burgaw, Richlands, Holly Ridge, Camp Lejeune and Jacksonville.
The NCMS congratulates the NC Public Health Service and its leaders for their excellent record of service to the people of North Carolina during the past century. During its 2009 Annual Meeting, the NC Public Health Association elected Mike Reavis of Yadkinville as its new President.
