5 things you should know about Wilmington’s first Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic

The family clinic is located 1423 Greenfield St., across from the Houston Moore neighborhood – a strategic placement that Novant Health identified as an underserved neighborhood with need for health care. The 7,800-square-foot space includes 12 patient rooms. The clinic will provide wide-ranging services including health screenings, preventative care, behavioral health support and much more.

“We’re not just going to be taking care of your physical health. We’re looking at the whole person,” said Nicholas Green, clinic administrator.

Here are five things you should know about Wilmington’s first Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic.

1. Michael Jordan, a former Wilmington resident, donated the funds for the clinic.

Philanthropist and basketball legend Michael Jordan is admired and loved the world over, but his roots run deep in Wilmington. He moved to the coastal town from New York with his family when he was 5 years old and later attended E.A. Laney High School, part of New Hanover County Schools.

Today, Jordan is devoted to supporting families in the state where he grew up. In 2021, he donated a $10 million gift through the Novant Health Foundation to open two medical clinics in Wilmington in partnership with Novant Health. The specific goal: to bring comprehensive primary care to the area’s most vulnerable communities.

Danielle Niebauer and Sonya Graham, the clinic’s patient experience representatives and the first friendly faces visitors see when they enter the clinic, are happy to be part of the Wilmington community. They encourage community members to come to the clinic to establish one of the cornerstones of good health: a relationship with a primary care provider.

“Health care with a primary care doctor is a big part of life – not just when you’re sick,” Graham said. “It helps us to live longer.” And for those nervous to take the first step, there’s no reason to worry. When it comes to your health, “the scariest part is not knowing,” she said.

Niebauer added: “Our staff is great. We care about our patients, young and old.”

2. People of all ages, and from any neighborhood, can come to the clinic.

The Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinics truly are that: family clinics. Lois Iiams, the clinic’s family nurse practitioner, emphasized that this can be an individual’s primary care clinic from age 6 through 106. And beginning this summer, the clinic will expand its services to include early childhood vaccines and care.

Iiams helps patients with a wide-reaching variety of health visits, ranging from physicals and wellness exams to chronic illness management. “We’re here to provide care and help people get the medicines and resources they need,” she said. “All of us here have the same goal – for you to be supported. This is a safe place.”

Dr. Emilia Parrott, the clinic’s family medicine doctor, said the “family” aspect improves access for community members. Before, a mom of an elementary-school child and a teen may have previously had to make appointments at different clinics for herself and her children; here she can receive comprehensive care for the whole family in one place.

“I think that matters,” Parrott said. “There’s one central home for people to reach us, which provides consistency and stability. That’s huge.”

3. There are two other Michael Jordan clinics in North Carolina, and a second one is coming to Wilmington.

While this is the first Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic in Wilmington, there are two in Charlotte that opened in 2019, with locations in the North End and on Freedom Drive. Novant Health is building a second Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic in Wilmington, this one located just yards away from the Creekwood South community on Princess Place Drive. Current plans call for it to open in early 2025.

During their first two years of operation, the two Charlotte clinics saw more than 4,500 patients. One location transitioned to operating as a respiratory care clinic during COVID-19 to help serve its surrounding community, which was disproportionately affected by the pandemic. That’s the goal of all the Michael Jordan Family Clinics: to integrate with and serve the neighborhoods where they are located.

“We’re not just placed here,” Parrott said. “We’re part of the community.”

4. You don’t have to have medical insurance to go.

If you have medical insurance, the door to the clinic is open. If you don’t, it’s still open. Even if you’ve never had a primary care provider before.

Alexis Mckoy, the clinic’s certified nursing assistant, said the clinic team wants everyone to know they are welcome, regardless of how long it’s been since they’ve last received medical care. Sometimes just taking the initiative is the hard part. Once you’re through the door, the clinic team will take care of the rest.

“You are not by yourself,” she said. “Your situation is our situation. You took that first step, and that’s all that matters. You have care now. You are not alone.”

Daryl Little, a patient at the Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic - North End location in Charlotte, found his way to the clinic when he was unhoused and uninsured, living in a men’s shelter. At the clinic, he received care for high blood pressure and diabetes, along with support for his recovery from a substance use disorder.

“I would recommend to any of my friends, any of my family, if they need any type of help, the Michael Jordan clinic is the place to go,” he shared in this 2023 Healthy Headlines story.

5. The clinic has a supportive, welcoming environment where your care team will help you access health resources.

Things like vaccines and medications are important to wellness and longevity. But if basic fundamentals aren’t there, like stable access to food, it can be hard to attain good health. This is why the Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic team approaches each patient with a whole-person point of view.

Ieshia Newkirk, the clinic’s medical assistant, helps assess each patient’s health. If she identifies that the patient is food insecure, meaning they don’t have access to nutritionally adequate food, she takes action. More than 1.2 million people in the state of North Carolina are food insecure, according to a blog published by N.C. State Institute for Emerging Issues.

Newkirk supplies the patient with a food box to provide immediate help and also can refer them to a social worker who provides ongoing resources and support.

Newkirk said she values the opportunity to serve the community she lives in, and that she and all her fellow clinic team members put patient care first.

“We are here to help you,” she said.