The UNC Department of Family Medicine honored former state Senator John T. Henley, Sr., with a new endowment named in his honor.

Senator Henley, a community pharmacist from Hope Mills, was instrumental in the late 1960's in urging for the training of primary care physicians across North Carolina. Henley's legislation led to the establishment of the UNC Department of Family Medicine in 1971. UNC Vice Dean of Education and Family Medicine Department Chair Warren P. Newton, MD, MPH, announced the endowment to Senator Henley at the Village Green Rehabilitation Center in Fayetteville. Senator Henley is the father of NCAFP Past President (1987-89) and current AAFP Executive Vice President Doug Henley, MD.

Senator Henley's legislative work was instrumental in the founding of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, as well as for the funding of the state's Area Health Education Centers Program. According to UNC's Brad Wilson, Henley would routinely see citizens filling prescriptions at his pharmacy for needs that he believed primary care physicians could have prevented. With this realization, he began to efforts to strengthen the state's primary care workforce.

UNC's endowment will work towards supporting leadership development training of Family Medicine residents and medical students.

For additional pictures of the event, see the NCAFP Photo Galleries at http://www.ncafp.com/academy/multimedia/inpictures/unc-launches-john-t-h....