Wednesday already! Enjoy your NCMS Morning Rounds.

Sept. 9, 2020

NCMS Members, Legislators Examine Law Enforcement, Justice Issues

The two physician members of the NC House of Representatives, and NCMS members Kristin Baker, MD, (R-Cabarrus) and Perrin Jones, MD, (R-Pitt) are serving on the House Select Committee on Community Relations, Law Enforcement and Justice. Dr. Baker is a co-chair. The committee held its first meeting last week. View the list of legislative members. View the list of non-legislative members.

The Committee is charged with getting an overview of the current state of North Carolina’s criminal justice system and heard from a variety of experts and reviewed statistics on policing and community relations. Read a summary of the meeting on our legislative blog.

Examining issues around criminal justice is part of our effort to gain a more wholistic understanding of all the factors that impact health as outlined in the North Carolina Institute of Medicine’s Healthy NC 2030 report and in keeping with the NCMS’ goal of improving health for all North Carolinians.

Get COVID-19 Answers from the State Experts

As they have since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, experts from the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) have held ‘office hours’ each Friday to answer your questions. Geared to health care professionals these sessions offer brief updates on the state’s response to the pandemic and address issues of concern to the health care community.

The next office hours will be held this Friday, Sept. 11 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. when State Health Director and Chief Medical Officer Betsey Tilson, MD, MPH and State Epidemiologist Zack Moore, MD, MPH will be on hand to give an update as flu season approaches and answer questions. Please send your questions in advance to [email protected].

Future ‘office hours’ are planned for Friday, Sept. 25 [tentative], Oct. 9 and Oct. 23, all from 12:30 – 1:30.

Access the meeting through your computer at this Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/705979628
Or dial in for audio only here: 1-646-558-8656 and enter meeting ID 705979628#

NCMS Member Honored With AMA Inspiration Award

Theresa M. Rohr-Kirchgraber, MD, FACP, FAMWA, a new NCMS member, has been nominated for the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Inspiration Award. The award, bestowed by the Women Physicians Section of the AMA, honors and acknowledges physicians who have offered their time, wisdom and support throughout the professional careers of fellow physicians, residents and students.

Dr. Rohr-Kirchgraber is a recent transplant to North Carolina from Indianapolis where she was a professor of clinical internal medicine and pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Learn more about her areas of special interest.

Congratulations, Dr. Rohr-Kirchgraber!

In the News

Operation Warp Speed Promised to Do the Impossible. How Far Has It Come? STAT, 9-8-20

Learning Opportunity

Pods, Mods and Vapes – Oh My! E-cigarette Summit: What Adult Allies of Youth Can Do – 2020 Update! This virtual training offered by NC Public Health Region 2 and MAHEC will be offered on Monday, Oct. 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Join other professionals who work in educational or health care settings to explore the latest on the epidemic of tobacco use (via e-cigarettes and other emerging tobacco products) among school-aged youth. Learn how to effectively engage with and impact the behavior of school-aged youth related to tobacco cessation with interactive learning sessions. Learn more and register here.

If you have policies you’d like your NCMS Board of Directors to consider, please complete the Board input form here. Thanks for reading!