WINSTON-SALEM — Catholic health providers in the Triad region now have access to an organization that will enable them to discuss issues related both to their profession and their faith. A new branch of the Catholic Medical Association officially launched in Winston-Salem in late October.
According to its website, the organization’s goals are to help Catholic medical professionals uphold Catholic principles in science and the practice of medicine, and to inspire physicians to “imitate Jesus Christ” in their work and lives.
Dr. Ursula Whalen, a physician specializing in general internal medicine and primary care at Atrium Health Wake Forest University, is the organization’s president. Dr. Faith Daggs, an OB/GYN, is the vice president, and Dr. Patrick Whalen, cardiology, is the treasurer.
Dr. Whalen said she first encountered the CMA while she and her husband, also a physician, were residents at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
“We were part of the organization there and loved it,” Whalen said. “For us, the best thing about it was fellowship with other Catholic providers facing some of the challenges that we all face in living out our vocation and faith at the same time.”
Whalen said initial plans for the new CMA branch are to hold meetings five times a year, offering members a chance to hear speakers on a wide variety of issues facing Catholic health professionals, particularly bioethics, advocacy and the right of conscience.
The new chapter’s first event was a “White Mass,” a liturgy dedicated to health care professionals, offered Nov. 12 by Father Christopher Gober at St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem. Father Gober, who is pastor of St. Leo Parish and vocations director for the Diocese of Charlotte, has been appointed chaplain for the chapter.
Father Gober said Dr. Whalen, a parishioner at St. Leo the Great, approached him about starting a CMA chapter in Winston-Salem, and he was supportive because of the large number of health care professionals and medical students who attend the parish and live in the area.
“We’re looking to create a support network for them through the CMA that gives them the ability to have some fellowship together, to have access to resources, and to learn how to be guided by the Church’s teachings on medical ethics,” Father Gober said. “My role as chaplain for the group will be to offer pastoral care and to work to strengthen and build up the Catholic health care community.”
The organization will provide an important outlet for information and spiritual support for Catholics working in health care in the Triad, according to Jessica Grabowski, director of the diocese’s Respect Life program.
In the Charlotte area, similar support has come from the Catholic Health Professionals of Charlotte, a group that hosts speakers and events focused on supporting and informing Catholics in the medical field.
“It has been wonderful to witness the banding together of Catholics across the diocese working in healthcare over the past decade,” Grabowski said. “We continue to see increased events, socials and continuing education opportunities for all specialties, and our office is honored to help foster that growth and support our fellow Catholics on the front lines of medicine. I applaud these individuals for bringing their faith into their workplaces as it aids in building a culture of life.”
Those interested in learning more about the Catholic Medical Association can contact Dr. Whalen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— Christina Lee Knauss