The recent graduates of the McLeod Fellows Class at McLeod Seacoast include (first row, from left to right) Jo Harvey, Roxanne Brewer, Claire Yoder, Gretchen Floyd and Angela King; (second row, left to right) Austin Cox, Dewey Brunson, Fred Coyne, Mendel Bell and Will Wall. Not pictured: Faye Chowning and Joe Hunter Hyman.

The third McLeod Foundation Fellows class at McLeod Seacoast has graduated after receiving a comprehensive, behind-the-scenes look at medicine and the complex issues driving healthcare today while demonstrating the continuing need for philanthropy. The graduates were conferred as McLeod Fellows by Jeri McCumbee, a McLeod Fellows Graduate and McLeod Loris Seacoast Foundation Board Member, and Monica Vehige, Administrator of McLeod Seacoast, at a ceremony on Wednesday, June 6, at the Surf Golf and Beach Club.

Graduates of the 2017-18 McLeod Fellows Class included Mendel Bell, Roxanne Brewer, Dewey Brunson, Faye Chowning, Austin Cox, Fred Coyne, Gretchen Floyd, Jo Harvey, Joe Hunter Hyman, Angela King, Will Wall and Claire Yoder.

The McLeod Fellows program is designed to give an inside look into the healthcare industry. This innovative, new program was introduced to McLeod Seacoast in January 2016, and is composed of community leaders, elected officials and volunteers.

During six monthly sessions, McLeod Fellows members receive an intimate glimpse of the many facets of healthcare. The curriculum explores the mission of McLeod Health, healthcare finances, quality and safety, and McLeod Health service lines. Participants obtain a working knowledge of the healthcare needs in the region and how McLeod Health is meeting those needs.

McLeod Fellows gain insight into medical and technological advances through access to areas of McLeod Seacoast not commonly available to the public. In addition, they have the opportunity to network with members of the medical community from a wide variety of specialties and hear presentations from a number of experts in healthcare.