This week, Chip Baggett, J.D., became the new executive vice president and CEO of the North Carolina Medical Society after a nationwide search. Baggett has been at the NCMS since 2007, most recently as senior vice president for advocacy and associate general counsel. Throughout his tenure at the Medical Society, he has effectively advocated on behalf of the medical profession at the N.C. General Assembly and is routinely lauded as one of the state’s top lobbyists. In his most recent role, he also oversaw the NCMS and NCMS Foundation’s fundraising and communications functions. The NCMS is a statewide professional society representing physicians and PAs. Its mission is to enhance the health of all North Carolinians.
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What inspires you?
The dedication of our NCMS members to the ultimate well-being of their patients. The radical changes our physicians and PAs have embraced in a short span of time to make sure their patients continued to have access to essential care during this pandemic has been unprecedented. They made these business leaps while simultaneously managing the deep personal turmoil we all faced in the wake of COVID-19. Absolutely amazing!
Who or what should we be paying attention to?
The upcoming flu season. COVID-19 has shown us the impact of fighting one disease without a vaccine. This cautionary tale should be an encouragement for everyone to get their flu shot.
What are you looking forward to most at the new gig?
Abundance. My friend, Mike Ward, wrote a book about this recently. He pointed out that organizations often look at the world with a scarcity mentality — as if there’s not enough. But our wildest dreams are possible when we can articulate what we are purposely built to accomplish. At the NCMS, we know our specific purpose, and that positions us to accomplish revolutionary change to bring our members together and enhance the health of everyone in N.C. That’s something I can be excited about doing every day.
What was your biggest challenge this week?
Not being in the office with my team is tough. We are fortunate to have been able to move everyone to remote work since March 16th. The NCMS staff have shown they too can adapt and thrive under change. Even so, I miss the camaraderie of being in the office together. We are a family, and family needs to be together.
Eastern or western barbecue?
Eastern. I grew up in Tarboro. Enough said.
