Medboard Matters Podcast
As we approach the one-year mark since Hurricane Helene, we reflect on the experiences shared by healthcare professionals who faced its impact firsthand. In this episode, we interview Dr. Julia Draper, a dedicated family medicine physician in the Asheville area. Dr. Draper vividly recounts her harrowing encounter with the storm while beginning her 7-day work rotation at Mission Hospital. Her firsthand narrative offers a profound insight into the challenges and resilience displayed during such trying times.
Posted September 22, 2025 |
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Resources and Information
Hurricane preparedness for medical practices
North Carolina Medical Society
Disaster Preparedness For You and Your Medical Practice
Is Your Practice Ready to Face a Hurricane?
Curi
Disaster Planning for Medical Practices
Hurricane Helene: Guidance & Resources for Practices
General Best Practices
Action steps for medical practices facing hurricanes and storm flooding
Hurricanes and Tropical Storms Disaster Tip Sheet
Podcast Transcript
Download Transcript (196KB pdf file)
Hosts and Guests
Jean Fisher Brinkley
Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Jean Fisher Brinkley is NCMB’s Communications Director, a role that involves developing and overseeing production of communications materials and strategies needed to enhance public and professional awareness and understanding of the Board and its mission. She joined NCMB in 2008, after an 11-year career in newspaper journalism, most of it dedicated to reporting on medicine, health policy and the business aspects of health care.
Brinkley earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Mills College in Oakland, CA, and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in Raleigh with her husband and two daughters.
You can reach Jean at podcast@ncmedboard.org
Julia Draper, MD, MPH
Family Physician, MAHEC Family Health Center at Enka/Candler
Dr. Julia Draper is a board certified family medicine physician in Asheville at MAHEC's Family Health Center at Enka/Candler and is affiliated with Mission Hospital-Asheville. She provide care for entire families from birth to end of life, both in the clinic and at the hospital. She enjoys delivering babies and providing prenatal and reproductive health care. She has a particular interest in the treatment of substance use disorders and lifestyle/preventive medicine.
Her research background emphasizes social and structural drivers of health, as well as adverse childhood experiences, and their physiological impacts. She believes in compassionate, whole person-centered care for individuals and families in their context.