Category: News

A new three‑year evaluation led by the UNC Chatham Hospital Maternity Care Center (MCC) team shows that reopening a rural Level I maternity unit can provide safe, high‑quality birth outcomes, significantly reduce travel burdens for families, and offer a strong family physician and midwife‑led model for rural maternity care. Patient...

The UNC Department of Family Medicine has launched UNC Health’s first private practice-based Primary Care Behavioral Health Collaborative, embedding critical mental health services directly into a primary care practice to improve access, reduce stigma, and intervene earlier for patients across the lifespan. The initiative, based at UNC Health Family Medicine...

Nadja Vielot, PhD, an epidemiologist in the UNC Department of Family Medicine, is lead author of a newly published study in Annals of Internal Medicine that provides real-world evidence for the effectiveness of the recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) in older adults. The research team conducted a target trial emulation using...

The UNC Department of Family Medicine has been awarded a Primary Care Training Enhancement grant for Residency Training in Street Medicine (PCTE-RTSM) from the U.S. Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA). This initiative aims to increase the number of primary care physicians equipped to care for individuals experiencing homelessness in...

Catherine L. Coe, MD, FAAFP, Assistant Dean for Clinical Curriculum in the UNC School of Medicine and Associate Professor of Family Medicine, has been named Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. She will begin her new role...

A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill clinical trial found that graphic health warnings on little cigars and cigarillos significantly increase users’ intentions to quit and promote behaviors linked to tobacco cessation. These findings could provide the cigar-specific evidence the FDA previously lacked in efforts to require cigar warnings....

Dr. Ryan Paulus has been awarded a $75,000 American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) Residency Learning Network Grant to establish a national POCUS Research Collaborative focused on advancing point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in family medicine. The collaborative aims to evaluate how POCUS can improve diagnostic accuracy, enhance clinical decision-making, and support...

The UNC Department of Family Medicine is excited to share the growth of a new and meaningful space at the Aycock Family Medicine Building: the HOPE Garden, located on the lawn just up the hill from the building’s second-floor entrance. This project was made possible through funding from the UNC...

Linda Myerholtz, PhD, was honored with the Susan McDaniel Distinguished Career Award at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Annual Conference by the Collaborative of Family and Behavioral Health on May 6th, 2025. About the Award Established in 2015, the Susan McDaniel Distinguished Career Award recognizes the contributions...

The Rural Residency Planning and Development Program (RuralGME) has been recognized with the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Innovative Program Award. This honor highlights the program’s significant contributions to rural healthcare education and its impact on communities across the nation. Program Achievements and Impact Since its inception, RuralGME...

Caroline Roberts, MD, was awarded the 2025 Office of the Provost Engaged Scholarship Award for Engaged Teaching at the 2025 UNC Public Service Awards Ceremony held in April. Dr. Roberts was honored for her dedicated service to rural health care access through her role as Director for Rural Education with...

From Matt Ewend, MD, Chief Clinical Officer of UNC Health and President of UNC Physicians: Following an extended and highly competitive search, I am pleased to announce that Dr. Amir Barzin has accepted the position of COO, UNC Health Physicians (UNCHP), effective April 28. The role fills the vacancy left by...

A qualitative study published in BMC Public Health, conducted by lead author Chineme Enyioha, MD, MPH, and colleagues, aimed to design effective communication strategies to support health warning labels (HWLs) on little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs), a tobacco product increasingly popular among young adults, particularly within Black communities. With nearly 9...

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Department of Family Medicine, including Professor Leah Ranney, PhD, MA, Assistant Professor Sarah D. Kowitt, PhD, MPH, and authors Sonia A. Clark, MHA, and Kristen L. Jarman, MSPH, have published a pivotal study in a special issue of the American...