Davidson, NC. – The North Carolina Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (NCASF) announced the selection of its 2025-26 class of Schweitzer Fellows. Thirty-three graduate students will spend the next year learning to effectively address the social factors that impact health as they develop lifelong leadership skills. This year’s class is the largest ever and represents Fellows from medicine, dentistry, and speech-language pathology. Go here to see the Fellows and the work they are doing.
“Schweitzer Fellows are not given a project or told to address a specific health need,” said Barbara Heffner, Executive Director of the NC Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. “They follow their passion and the needs of the community to develop innovative approaches which fill gaps in our health care system.”
Schweitzer Fellows develop and implement service projects that address the root causes of health disparities in under-resourced communities, while also fulfilling their academic responsibilities. Each project is implemented in collaboration with a community-based organization. The NC Schweitzer Fellowship’s new class of Fellows will lead several free clinics providing comprehensive cardiology care, oral health clinical care, connections to a dental home, vision services and eyewear, street medicine, and dental clearance for cancer patients so they can begin their medical treatment. In addition, they will provide a multitude of services including mental health support for patients affected by Hurricane Helene, mobilizing hospitalized older adults, diabetes education for farmworkers, patient navigator and peer support for people with head and neck cancer and a second one for stroke patients, a nutrition initiative for pregnant women with gestational diabetes, joint health education for rheumatology patients, and a fall prevention program and oral health education for seniors. They will be launching their projects in communities throughout the state.
Schweitzer Fellowships have an intensive leadership component with Fellows working closely with community and academic mentors during their fellowship year. They often serve as role models for their peers inspiring others to improve the health of those who experience barriers to care.
The NC Schweitzer Fellowship is funded through the generosity of BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina Foundation, Duke University School of Medicine, ECU Brody School of Medicine, ECU Health, ECU School of Dental Medicine, North Carolina AHEC, North Carolina Central University School of Graduate Studies, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, North Carolina Oral Health Collaborative, Wake Forest University Health Sciences and individual donors.
NCASF is preparing the next generation of professionals who have a passion for community service and innovation in addressing health disparities. The Fellowship began in 1994 as a local chapter of the national nonprofit, the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, and has trained more than 663 leaders in healthcare. Nationally, more than 4,500 U.S Schweitzer Fellows served under-resourced communities and are continuing to shape health care policy and provide direct care. ASF has 9 other program locations in the U.S. who select 200+ Fellows each year: Alabama, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit; Houston, New Orleans, New Hampshire/Vermont, San Francisco Bay Area, and Tulsa.
###