Dr. Chris Parsons Named Pardee UNC Health Care 2020 Physician of the Year
Board-certified infectious disease specialist, Chris Parsons, M.D., medical director for Pardee Center for Infectious Diseases, has been named the recipient of the 2020 Physician of the Year award, sponsored by First Citizens Bank. Typically presented by the Pardee Hospital Foundation at their annual Gala event, this year’s award was presented jointly by both Pardee UNC Health Care and the Foundation.
The Pardee Physician of the Year Award is based on a peer, co-worker and community nomination process, and is given to a Pardee physician whose career has been defined by medical excellence, dedication to compassionate patient care and a commitment to improving the lives of people throughout the community.
Dr. Parsons has transformed the care that patients receive at Pardee and done so as a single practitioner in a highly-specialized field,” said Pardee’s Chief Medical Officer, David Ellis, M.D. In spite of the immense amount of work that Parsons has devoted to Pardee’s COVID-response, Dr. Ellis nominated him for this award prior to COVID-19 arriving in the region. “He is science-based and one of the smartest individuals I have ever been around.”
Dr. Parsons is board-certified in infectious disease and internal medicine, and specializes in treating general infectious diseases, bone and joint infections, oncologic infections, hepatitis C and HIV. He earned his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He then completed an internship and residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, followed by a fellowship in infectious disease and international health at the University of Virginia. Over a 14-year career in academic medicine focused on patient care, clinical education and research in infectious diseases, Dr. Parsons achieved the rank of Professor of Medicine while securing more than $10 million in external funding for clinical trials and original research from the National Institutes of Health and other sources. He has also been named to the highly regarded Best Doctors in America® List three times.
First Citizens Bank has been the presenting sponsor of the award each year for the past 7 years. "Dr. Parsons epitomizes all that the Physician of the Year award represents: medical excellence, compassionate patient care, and a commitment to improving the lives of people in our community," said Greg Burnette, Area Executive/Area Vice-President, First Citizens Bank. "We are honored to be able to once again sponsor this award and recognize health care excellence within our community.”
