FEATUREDARTICLE
Transition in Chaos BY CHIP BAGGETT ‘16 EVP/CEO North Carolina Medical Society
North Carolina will reach a landmark in its history this March with more than 875,000 COVID-19 cases confirmed, 11,000 deaths attributed, and 1 million doses of vaccine administered. For me, it will also mark the passage of my first six months as only the fourth EVP/CEO of the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS), the oldest professional society in NC, founded in 1849, serving physicians and physician assistants. Our previous leader held the reigns for over two and a half decades. While the transition was not unexpected, the timing was not what anyone could have anticipated. You will remember that September 2020 was a peak of instability. COVID cases were flattening at a very high daily rate after a summer peak. Students were returning to virtual school after a few months of hope that in-person learning would be possible in the fall. We were amid a massive awakening to systemic injustice. The nation was at odds with itself over the impending Presidential election just 60 days away. These were trying times to say the least, but for NCMS members it also meant the eighth straight month of record low patient appointments. Revenues were 30-50% below budget. Expenses were up due to new COVID requirements. There were massive shortages of essential personal protective equipment (PPE). Some small, private practices had even closed their doors by this point never to reopen. The ones that remained open plunged headlong into utilizing new technology for virtual visits in an attempt to maintain relationships with their patients and prevent further impacts of chronic disease than were already anticipated. These were trying times indeed. I am thankful to have been with the NCMS for more than thirteen years before having this new opportunity as its leader. The familiarity gave me an ability to hit the ground running at a time when new leadership could have needed to take a step back. I moved to Raleigh in 2007 to take over the NCMS’ state legislative duties after running the Buncombe County Medical Society, working in pharmaceuticals, and even teaching art in a previous life. Five years later, the NCMS supported me as I took on the challenge of working a fulltime job while attending the NCCU School of Law Evening Program. Another four years passed, and I would emerge from the feat a little battered but not beaten. The challenge had been overwhelming at times but there was always a light at the end 12
| NCCU SCHOOL OF LAW • OF COUNSEL MAGAZINE
of the tunnel. I knew when that ride was going to conclude, one way or another. That is not the case for this pandemic. We each play a role in how fast it ends or how long it stays, but the virus has a life of its own. Wearing a mask has become the norm. We all wash our hands nearly as often as our mother once told us to. And physical distancing has taken on dynamic new meanings, keeping families and friends separated for so long that we now expect a wave of mental health concerns to follow in the virus’ wake. And yet, the virus marches on. It mutates and adapts to our every move. New strains emerge more virulent and possibly more deadly. Who would have known just a year ago that we would be talking about a variant of the common cold with such concern? But there is new hope. Now three vaccines provide relief from serious illness and death from this pathological malady. These vaccines will likely become a part of our routine yearly medical visits in years to come. But for now, they are revolutionary and, I for one, am relieved that we are about to reach a level of supply that matches demand. COVID has not hidden or eliminated the existing difficulties for our health care system. We continue to face persistent access-to-care issues, and skyrocketing health insurance coverage costs. The insidious health disparities that have plagued our care model since the dawn of our nation have been newly illuminated. These are challenges that NCMS has attempted to address for decades. But this virus has given us a renewed focus and forced us to throw off old thinking and resolve to be solutions-oriented. My team at NCMS has worked virtually for the last year, but they have risen to the challenge to advocate and represent our members at every level of government and within the health care system to address the pandemic and maintain our member’s ability to care for our friends, family and neighbors. I knew this team well as we had been in the trenches together for more than a decade. My board was and remains committed to keeping this talented group of people together, even as many professional associations are cutting back on staff. And during this unprecedented time, my team did not hesitate to capitalize on this crisis to rethink how we are internally structured, challenge our systems to find efficiencies and reimagine a vision for what NCMS can deliver for North Carolina in the next decade. This has been one of the most humbling aspects of my new
