UNC Family Medicine received “close to $1 million in gifts and pledges in the last year, up 92 percent from the previous year”, adds Brad Wilson, director of development for the department.  He says the numbers represent a vote of confidence from alumni, grateful patients and friends.

Private giving is more critical now than ever.

“We couldn’t do what we do without private support”, Newton went on to say.  “The support of our dedicated partners is vital.  It is easy to measure results in terms of dollars.  But what is truly important is how donations make a real difference in the lives of patients, residents, fellows, medical students, and employees.”

Examples of how our private donors are making a difference:

• The Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC Foundation is providing partial funding to establish the UNC Family Medicine’s Underserved Residency Track created last year to address the critical shortage of primary-care physicians in rural and medically disadvantaged areas of NC.  In partnership with Prospect Hill Community Health Center in Caswell County, UNC Family Medicine will specially train two resident physicians per year to provide care to people in underserved communities.
• Senior Living Communities, a large multi-state company that builds and manages assisted living facilities, pledged $40,000 to support innovation and research in older adult care, an area of critical need especially as the Baby Boomer generation begins to retire.
• Individual donors to UNC Family Medicine have provided significant resources to fund seed research, clinical innovations, tobacco use prevention and treatment, diabetes care and improvements in education to attract and better prepare the primary care providers of tomorrow.
• The Duke Endowment provided funding for the I3 Collaborative, a multi-state project led by UNC Family Medicine that pinpoints and then disseminates the best methods to improve health outcomes in primary care residency practices in NC, SC and VA.    The collaborative will focus on three aims:  1. improving the quality of care; 2. improving the patient experience, and 3. reducing the per capita cost of care.

Together we can make a difference.

As the #2 Department of Family Medicine in the nation, UNC Family Medicine is recognized as a national leader in transforming the health care system to work for everyone.  Private support has become vital to achieving the mission of UNC Family Medicine, which is to promote the health of the people of North Carolina and the nation through leadership and innovation in clinical practice, medical education, research and community service. For more information, contact Brad, Wilson, director of development, at 919-843-5112.