During the recent 2026 AAOS National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference (NOLC) in Washington, DC, a contingent of North Carolina orthopaedic advocates traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with North Carolina’s members of US Senate, US House and their staff. This year’s event drew an impressive group of North Carolina participants, which included:
| Ned Amendola, MD, FAAOS Duke Health / Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery |
Christian A. Péan, MD, MS Duke Health / Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery |
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| Christopher M Belyea, MD, MBA Womack Army Medical Center |
Ross Rigdon Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic |
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| Paul Bruning Duke Health / Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery |
Lucas Romine, MD EmergeOrtho / Triangle |
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| Robert J Esther, MD, FAAOS UNC / Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery |
Alexander White, MD Atrium Health / Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program |
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| Michael Marushack, MD EmergeOrtho / Coastal |
W. Alan Skipper, CAE NC Orthopaedic Association |
Their time on Capitol Hill included visits to all 14 House offices and 2 Senate offices. The issues presented included:
Do you know your state and federal legislators? More importantly, do they know you?
The NCOA can help you connect with policy makers as a constituent and advocate!
Contact the NCOA (ncoa@ncmedsoc.org) to be added to our advocacy champions database.
Thank you for making a difference!