For more than a century, the NC Medical Society Alliance has responded to the evolving health needs of our communities and state.

 

At our start in the 1920s, tuberculosis and polio were some of the critical health issues we addressed. We began a decades-long campaign to support mental health in the 1950s, a focus ahead of its time and still critical today. And by the 1990s, AIDS, eating disorders, and substance abuse – diseases and issues not even identified in the 1920s – became the focus for programming.

 

As we enter our second century, the Alliance is transitioning yet again to execute our mission in an environment very different from that faced by our founding mothers. In January 2025, we voted to focus on offering grants to nonprofits directly advancing the health of North Carolinians. 

 

This decision honors the hard work of thousands of Alliance members over the decades. We are privileged to be able to utilize their fundraising success to facilitate these nonprofits’ operations with major grants.

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A few examples of community support and programs in recent years include:

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In 2022 the NCMS Alliance supported the North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable Clinics with a donation of $50,000 which will purchase point of care HbA1C machines used in the diagnosis and screening of diabetes and prediabetes as well as to monitor blood sugar levels. These funds will also purchase supplies needed to run these tests. Routine blood tests remain the basis of the diagnosis and management of diabetes. Fifteen clinics in the most rural counties of NC were identified as a starting point. This donation will help to improve diabetic health among the uninsured. (Click here to see the clinics supported.)

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Due to COVID, our 2020 Annual Meeting became a Zoom event for attendees to learn about North Carolina’s Healthy North Carolina 2030, A Path Toward Health initiative. As part of this initiative, experts from across the state gathered at the NC Institute of Medicine to discuss actions to be taken to improve the health of North Carolinians. Brieanne Lyda-McDonald, MSPH, who led the project spoke to us about the indicators selected and how we move forward as a community to help meet our state’s health goals by 2030.

 

From 2017 through 2019, the NCMS Alliance solicited donations, volunteer support and team participation for the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Walks NC.

 

As part of our 2019 hurricane relief efforts, the NCMS Alliance allocated $1,000 for the NC Medical Society Disaster Relief Fund to provide grants to rebuild or repair practices damaged by Hurricane Florence. Our call to action in the Fall Tandem encouraged fundraising by Alliance members and allies to help provide financial support to areas impacted by the storm. 

 

In 2018, the NCMS Alliance donated $10,000 to the Poe Center for Health Education to support ten Drugs Uncovered programs in highly impacted areas in North Carolina. Our funding assisted in preventing opioid use through education which is one essential component in combating an ongoing trend of drug overdose deaths. Drugs Uncovered is an interactive program that raises awareness about prescription drug use, provides strategies to reduce harm, and encourages family and community conversations about the related issue. The program targets parents of students and professionals within community and government organizations that work with children and youth in North Carolina.

 

In 2017 the NCMS Alliance donated $20,500 and partnered with the Poe Center for Health Education to raise awareness of prescription opioid misuse, provide strategies to reduce harm, and encourage family and community conversations about the related issues. Partnering with the NCMS Alliance allowed the Poe Center to deliver two regional conference events in September 2017 with Sam Quinones, author of Dreamland and renowned journalist who chronicled the opioid epidemic in America; and enhance the Poe Center’s science-based curriculum.

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From 1999 through 2007, the NCMS Alliance focused its efforts on programs dedicated to improving the overall health and development of our youth. These programs included statewide symposiums with nationally recognized experts on the forefront of child and adolescent development issues. Presenting topics from “Bullying: Stop the Bully Without Becoming One” to “Learning Differences: Ensuring Success for Every Mind,” the annual symposium strived to bring together teachers, counselors, policy makers, social workers, law enforcement personnel, parents, and others committed to securing a bright future for our children.