Growing up in Marion, North Carolina, people knew my father as Dr. Atkinson and me as CJ. And today, for the most part, even though we are both adults, that’s still true. I hear someone say “Dr. Atkinson” and I’m looking around for my dad. I’m much more at home being addressed as CJ, that’s just as true for my patients as it is my friends.
As a kid, I always noticed how people felt comfortable coming up to my father with problems and he always graciously responded – whether it was at church on Sunday, at one of my baseball games or at the gas station. What I learned from this is the importance of connecting to people, regardless of circumstance.
Here in Western North Carolina, our shared interests, our common ground, create a strong bond and a supportive environment, making our community a better place to live. That’s why, for me, medicine is not only about healing but caring deeply about the people around me.
It's that commitment that keeps me coming back home. For family, for the communities that helped raise me and for this region’s natural beauty – and when called to serve.
When Hurricane Helene ravaged Western North Carolina, bringing with it a trail of unspeakable devastation, county officials reached out to some folks here at Novant Health and said, “We need help.”
So my next call was to my bosses, Carl Armato, Novant Health CEO and president, and John Mann, MD, president of Novant Health specialty institutes, and their responses were the same: Go do the right thing – and stay as long as you need to.
For the next 30 days, I was on the ground in the hardest hit areas. Overseeing the medical shelter that first night, without power, became a blurry cycle of rescuing and responding. I became very close to the dedicated state troopers who took me everywhere – including in their helicopter to airlift an expectant mother facing a breech birth. I worked with the Novant Health teams as they spread out across the region with mobile clinics to bring healthcare to local communities, and worked with the Red Cross to set up a shelter for those who needed temporary housing.
Witnessing such an astounding level of coordination and collaboration, I knew this: When people come together to do the right thing, there is nothing better in life. Most importantly, we got involved when people needed us the most – by going where needed, being proactive and showing consistency in the face of challenges and opportunities.
Serving our communities and meeting people where they are, with healthcare that addresses the most critical moments of their lives, is a cornerstone of Novant Health. It’s at the heart of what we call Our Cause as we care for communities across the Carolinas.
I’m excited about contributing to this legacy of personal connection in healthcare in this region. Novant Health prioritizes care through the best physicians, innovation and leading-edge technologies, and doing what’s needed to remove barriers so that everyone has access to the care they need. Doing life-changing work this way is a style and commitment I have admired since my youth.
And just as my father did, I strive to be a trusted figure in my community, always ready to lend a helping hand. This is not just a job for me. It's a lifelong commitment to the people of Western North Carolina, a place I am proud to call home.
