“On behalf of the 2,300 members of the North Carolina Pediatric Society, I want to express our sincere gratitude to Governor Stein for the decision to temporarily lift the Medicaid rate cuts. This action is critical for pediatricians across our state. These cuts posed serious challenges, threatening the ability of many practices to keep their doors open and continue serving their patients. Most children are covered by Medicaid so the impact on those caring for children is substantial.

“We appreciate the Governor and all policymakers who are committed to keeping Medicaid strong for North Carolina families. Today’s step is an important safeguard for children’s health, and we look forward to working collaboratively on a long-term solution—one that ensures stable and adequate funding for the current and future fiscal years.

“Together, we can build a future where every child in North Carolina has access to the care they need to grow up healthy and thrive.”

We strongly urge the Department of Health and Human Services and Medicaid Managed Care Plans to take all possible steps to utilize already allocated resources as the General Assembly and Governor to work to resolve the current funding impasse.

The NCPeds Annual Meeting will be held Aug. 22-24, 2025 at the Asheville Renaissance Downtown.

“This year’s award winners truly embody the spirit of NCPeds and our dedication to improving the health of every child in the state. From helping communities live through the devastation of Hurricane Helene to improving access to mental health tools for children and seeing young physicians excel in their careers, our winners show what can be achieved through strong collaboration and partnerships,” said Theresa McCarthy Flynn, MD, MPH, FAAP.

The Excellence in Public Service to Children Award recognizes outstanding achievement to improve the health and wellbeing of children and adolescents. The 2025 award will be presented to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for their efforts in response to Hurricane Helene.

“We are grateful to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for all of their efforts in the ongoing response to the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene. Both departments have worked and continue to work tirelessly individually and as a team to help those in Western, N.C., and we are proud to recognize their work,” said Susan Mims, MD, MPH, FAAP, past president of NCPeds and pediatrician based in Asheville.

The Outstanding Academic Service Award recognizes outstanding efforts to improve the health and wellness of all children in our state. The 2025 award will be presented to Gary R. Maslow, MD, MPH, of Duke Health, for exemplifying how academics can work together and promote child health in the community.

“Dr. Maslow’s dedication to children’s mental health is truly remarkable. He has worked with the team of the N.C. Psychiatry Access Line to offer more ways for practices across the state to offer additional mental health services to their patients and expand coverage for all North Carolina children,” said Kenya McNeal-Trice, MD, FAAP, immediate past president of NCPeds and chair of the NCPeds Board Relations Committee.

The Rising Star Award is presented to a pediatrician within his/her first ten years of completion of post-graduate training, in residency or fellowship, who has demonstrated excellence in the community by contributions to clinical medicine, research, education or advocacy in pediatrics. This year’s recipients are Michelle Curtin, DO, FAAP, of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and Mya Sendak, MD, FAAP, of Duke Health.

“We have a group of strong, emerging leaders in North Carolina. Both Dr. Curtin and Dr. Sendak were nominated by multiple colleagues for their hard work and dedication to children’s health. We are proud to recognize their efforts and look forward to seeing what comes next in their careers,” said Akilah Grimes, MD, FAAP, NCPeds Secretary and Chair of the NCPeds Early Career Physician Committee.

The NCPeds Annual Meeting will be held Aug. 23-25, 2024.

“From groundbreaking genetics and newborn screening research to improving public health strategies involving firearms to addressing health equity issues to recognizing one of NCPeds longtime staff members, this year’s NCPeds award winners truly embody the spirit of our organization,” said Kenya McNeal-Trice, MD, FAAP, President of NCPeds. “Each of these recipients has made an enormous contribution to the children and adolescents in our state, and we are happy to honor them with these awards.”

In addition, three North Carolina pediatricians were recently recognized by the American Academy of Pediatrics with national Special Achievement Awards.

The awards will be presented during the NCPeds Annual Meeting which will be held Sept. 8-10.

“This year’s NC Pediatric Society award winners truly embody our organization’s mission. These award winners showcase the breadth and diversity of excellence in our state’s pediatric community whether it’s from rural community general pediatric practices, academic centers, surgical practices or our state government,” said Kenya McNeal-Trice, MD, FAAP, President of NCPeds. “We are proud to honor their contributions to improving the health and well-being of ALL of North Carolina’s infants, children and adolescents.”

“We are proud to recognize the outstanding leadership skills and keen equity lens each of these women exhibit daily.  They are inspirational leaders and physicians who demonstrate an unyielding commitment and dedication to improving the health of every infant, child, adolescent and young adult in our state,” said Kenya McNeal-Trice, MD, FAAP, NCPeds President.

Susan Rupp Mims, MD, MPH, FAAP was recognized for her leadership with the NC Pediatric Society. Dr. Mims became President of NCPeds during Hurricane Florence and left during COVID-19. Her leadership and vision, including promoting equity, were essential as the chapter navigated these challenges.

Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, MD, MPH, FAAP was nominated for her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the State Health Director and Chief Medical Officer for the NC Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Tilson led key elements of the state’s COVID-19 response with a keen focus on the impact on child health and equity. 

Rasheeda Monroe, MD, FAAP was nominated for her work in promoting COVID-19 vaccination distribution especially among minority communities. Dr. Monroe has demonstrated phenomenal commitment and accomplishment to promoting equity in COVID vaccination.

The awards were presented during the virtual awards event on Sept. 15, 2022.

The awards were presented during the NCPeds Annual Meeting in August 2022.

“Each of these individuals has made a tremendous impact on pediatrics in North Carolina in their local area and beyond. Dr. Flynn and Dr. Hill are true leaders for pediatrics, and we are proud to present these awards in honor of their tireless contributions to helping improve the health and well-being of the infants, children and adolescents of our state,” said Christoph Diasio, MD, FAAP, Immediate Past President of NCPeds.

Usually awarded to one individual, the 2022 Denny, Katz, Simon, Tingelstad Academic Service Award was awarded to the eight Residency Directors for North Carolina’s medical schools in honor of their tireless work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic these individuals went above and beyond to ensure that programs continued to operate, patients received vital care and physicians stayed up-to-date on the latest information. The Residency Directors did an amazing job helping residency programs stay strong as COVID struck, hospitals filled, and rules and guidance changed at a dizzying pace while ‘pivot’ became the word of the month, year and beyond. We are proud to recognize their ongoing dedication to ensuring the health and well-being of the children in North Carolina,” said Susan Mims, MD, MPH, FAAP, Past President of NCPeds.

“Though 2020 was a difficult year for everyone, there were countless individuals who truly stepped up to help their communities overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Dowler and Dr. Monroe have been focused on helping their communities stay healthy while keeping a keen eye on equity, and we are proud to recognize their efforts,” said Christoph Diasio, MD, FAAP, President of NCPeds.

Dr. Shannon Dowler, MD, FAFP, will receive the James D. Bernstein Excellence in Public Service to Children Award in recognition of her creative and equity-focused solutions for addressing COVID-19 and Medicaid reform.  Dr. Dowler is the Chief Medical Officer for N.C. Medicaid. The James D. Bernstein Excellence in Public Service to Children Award is given to a public servant in either the executive or legislative branch of government in recognition of outstanding achievement to improve the health and well-being of children and adolescents. 

“An award like this is once in a lifetime, and I am so honored to be recognized,” Dowler said. “But, I want to be certain that the credit really goes to the amazing group of public servants who distinguish themselves daily in our Health and Human Services team at the state.”

When COVID-19 first came to N.C., Dr. Dowler and her team responded with an array of strategies, including broadening telehealth for Medicaid beneficiaries and leading all payers to align and transparently share their telehealth offerings, providing supports to practices and focused efforts to assure historically marginalized populations had strong access to services including COVID tests and vaccines. Through this time an intentional primary care infrastructure investment strategy was implemented to support the stability of the state’s critical medical homes. As the State has transitioned to Managed Care for Medicaid, she sought to emphasize prevention, primary care and equity-promotion in the design and implementation of this monumental transition for the state. 

Dr. Rasheeda Monroe, MD, FAAP, will be honored with the David T. Tayloe Sr. Award for Outstanding Community Service, for her efforts to promote equity in COVID-19 vaccine distribution. The award is given to a pediatrician who has made exceptional contributions in her/his local community or statewide, and that may include efforts beyond the practice setting.  Dr. Monroe is the Medical Director of Primary Care Pediatrics at WakeMed Physician Practices and the Campus Director of the UNC School of Medicine for the Raleigh area. 

Through her efforts to reach underserved communities with COVID-19 vaccines, she recruited nearly 300 volunteers, coordinated multiple vaccination events, and, ultimately, administered 14,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccines.  

“When we started our vaccination outreach efforts, our goal was to reach as many people as we could and to spread the word about the importance of vaccination in communities of color who were hardest hit by COVID-19. Thank you to the N.C. Pediatric Society for recognizing the importance of this work,” Dr. Monroe said.

The North Carolina Pediatric Society (NCPeds) today released an open letter to North Carolina’s School Boards and Superintendents. The letter supports daily, in-person instruction for all K-12 grades as well as universal indoor masking in schools for teachers/staff, students and visitors.

The letter is signed by Dr. Christoph Diasio, MD, FAAP, president of NCPeds.

“As child health professionals, we know that in-person education is best for children’s health. Being with other children and adults is important for social and emotional development and on-going mental health,” Diasio said in the letter. “To best promote mental and physical health of our children, the N.C. Pediatric Society stands with the American Academy of Pediatrics to urge in-person schooling for children. The best way to achieve that at this time of the much more contagious Delta variant and low vaccination rates is to require masks in all grade levels.”

Citing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, NCPeds recognizes the need for students to have daily, in-person education while still protecting the most vulnerable populations. 

“Masking is especially important in North Carolina schools. The COVID vaccine is only authorized for children 12 and older so many children are not yet eligible for the vaccine. Of children aged 12 – 17, only 26% of NC teens are fully vaccinated,” Diasio said in the letter.

A copy of the letter is available on the NCPeds website.

NC Pediatric Society Statement on Students Returning to Schools

Pediatricians Urge North Carolinians to Continue Well Visits and Vaccination Schedules

AAP_Drowing_Prevention_Release.docx

Keeping your teenager immunized is a must do for back to school

Adolescent Immunization Awareness Month (July in NC) reminds us that back-to-school means more than backpacks

While we're still enjoying the spoils of summer, before we know it we'll start getting our adolescents ready to return to school. School supplies and backpacks, new tennis shoes and after school activities. It's an energized, hopeful time. And it's a perfect time to make sure our children are current on their vaccinations.

July is Adolescent Immunization Awareness Month here in North Carolina. The North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, the NC Pediatric Society and the North Carolina Division of Public Health are partnering for a month-long awareness campaign to help North Carolinians of all ages, but especially our young people, make sure they are protected from certain vaccine-preventable diseases.

"When not vaccinated, our teens are at significantly higher risk for diseases, and can spread those diseases into their school community," NC Academy of Family Physicians President Charles Rhodes, MD, FAAFP, said. "Preteen and teenagers face potentially life-threatening diseases including meningitis and cancers caused by HPV."

As children move into adolescence, the potential to contract certain diseases increases, making the importance of keeping immunizations current even greater. For our preteens ages 11 through 12, there are four recommended vaccines, some of which are required for school entry in North Carolina:

·         Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine (MCV4) protects against some of the bacteria that cause meningococcal disease.

·         Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine helps protect girls and boys from  HPV infection and      cancers caused by HPV.

·         Tdap vaccine protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough).

·         Influenza (flu) vaccine, remember everyone 11-12 years of age should get a flu vaccine every year, even healthy kids.  

Immunizations continue through the teen years. A booster dose of (MCV4) is needed at age 16 to maintain protection against bacteria that can cause meningococcal disease. Depending on risk factors, some teens may need serogroup B meningococcal vaccine as well.   The bottom line:  talk to your pediatrician or family physician about what may be appropriate for your teenager.

“It's easy to keep your adolescent immunized,” said Scott St. Clair, MD, FAAP, President of the NC Pediatric Society. “You can use any health care visit, including for sports or camp physicals, checkups and sick visits to have your pre-teen or teen vaccinated. We suggest keeping a conversation open with your health care professional to know the what and when of your adolescent immunizations.“

Join us in making sure our young stay healthy. Get more information and learn about the recommended immunization schedule at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/teens, and www.immunize.nc.gov.

Contacts:      Gregory K. Griggs, MPA, CAE                                                Colleen Huseboe

                       Executive Vice President/CEO                                              Engagement & External Affairs Manager

                       NC Academy of Family Physicians                                       NC Pediatric Society

                       919-833-2110 / ggriggs@ncafp.com                                  919-839-1156 / Colleen@ncpeds.org

Heather Shepherd (919)604-3050

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