April 13, 2026
On April 7, NCAFP Exec. VP Greg Griggs met with NCAFP member Dr. Hershey Bell, Dean of the new Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine (MUCFV), which will accept its first class of medical students this summer. MUCFV Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development Elza Mylona, MS, PhD, MBA joined Dr. Bell at the meeting. Together, the group discussed how NCAFP and the new medical school can collaborate, including having NCAFP leaders attend the school’s ribbon cutting in June and first White Coat Ceremony in September. Look for more information as MUCFV opens later this summer.
On April 10, NCAFP President Dr. Benjamin Simmons, Griggs, NCAFP Senior VP and General Counsel Shawn Parker, and The Raleigh Group’s Vice President Sue Ann Swift met with Dr. David L. Tolentino, Dean of the Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine (CUSOM). Dr. Tolentino previously served as Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs over the last decade and was named dean in March. The group discussed how the school and NCAFP can continue our ongoing collaboration and the importance of increasing the Family Medicine workforce in NC. “Campbell medical students are entering Family Medicine residencies at a higher rate than any of our other medical schools,” Griggs said. “We want every one of those students to stay in NC for residency and ultimately practice here.”
As it turns out, this April 10 meeting was the second NCAFP event with CUSOM this week: on April 9, NCAFP Workforce Initiatives Manager Perry Price met with the school’s Family Medicine Interest Group to share NCAFP resources for medical students. We are lucky to collaborate with MUCFV, Campbell, and all the other NC medical schools to prepare the next generation of family physicians.
The North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, Inc. (NCAFP) is a nonprofit professional association headquartered in Raleigh which represents over 4,300 family physicians, family medicine residents, and medical students across the state. It is the largest medical specialty association in North Carolina and is a constituent chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians, based in Leadwood, KS.
