The new UNC Horizons Program’s prenatal clinic is dedicated to the three physicians, some of the first OB-GYNs in Eastern North Carolina.
Dr. James Edwin ‘Ed’ Clement, Dr. Robert G. ‘Bob’ Deyton and Dr. Edgar S. ‘Dick’ Douglas, all of Greenville, traveled to Chapel Hill Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 31) to be honored by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill at the dedication of the new UNC Horizons prenatal clinic.
UNC Horizons Program is an innovative program for pregnant and parenting women who struggle with substance abuse. UNC Horizons provides personalized prenatal care, residential treatment, outpatient programs, a 5-star licensed childcare facility, social services and more. The three honored physicians were instrumental in helping UNC Horizons build a state-of-the-art space where all services would take place under one roof and clients would heal in a comforting and affirming space.
This building will be fully completed and open to clients in April 2017. The new prenatal clinic is dedicated to the three honorees.
They were honored with remarks on their service to the field of women’s health by Dr. John T. Thorp, McAllister Distinguished Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UNC School of Medicine and medical director of the UNC Horizons Program; Kimberley O. Schneider, MPH, CMPE, Vice Chair for Administration at the UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Dr. William L. Roper, dean of the UNC School of Medicine and CEO of UNC Health Care; and Dr. Hale Stephenson, a UNC graduate and physician in the Greenville OB-GYN practice established by the three honorees more than 50 years ago.
Dr. Thorp began the program nearly 20 years ago when he noticed the disease of addiction was often so strong that an expecting mother would continue to abuse substances during her pregnancy. Knowing these women wanted the best for their unborn children, Dr. Thorp began to not only provide prenatal care for the patients, but also procure the treatment they needed to heal and have healthy families.
Dr. Thorp, who met the honorees as a young medical student at Brody School of Medicine in Greenville before coming to UNC-Chapel Hill for his residency in obstetrics and gynecology, said he attributes his philosophy of care to the example of these doctors.
“The passion to serve those less fortunate instilled in me at the Brody School of Medicine can in large part be credited to the formative roles played by Drs. Douglas, Deyton and Clement in my education. By honoring their careers of service to the citizens of Eastern NC, we join their families in memorializing those efforts not only to me but countless other learners,” said Dr. Thorp. “Moving forward in our new outpatient center, women and children living under the dire circumstances produced by the diseases of addiction and alcoholism will have the opportunity to start down the path of recovery and healing. We trust that learners from across the state will join us and have similar formative experiences.”
Dr. Clement completed medical school at Duke University and completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Grady Hospital in Atlanta. He moved to Greenville in 1961 as the first residency-trained OB-GYN east of I-95. Dr. Deyton, Dr. Clement’s childhood friend who attended the same medical school and residency, followed his friend to Greenville in 1962, where they opened Greenville OB-GYN. Dr. Douglas completed medical school at the Medical College of Virginia and his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at UNC-Chapel Hill. He was recruited to the Greenville practice in 1968.