Two UNC Health physicians appearing on a Chamber segment framed their move to Eden as a deliberate choice to work in rural primary care and discussed access, local services and early observations about disease patterns.

Dr. Spencer described clinical priorities and a primary-care sports-medicine fellowship that emphasized conservative, nonoperative management and integrating specialty input with primary-care continuity. "The biggest thing is being able to listen," Spencer said, explaining that rural clinicians often manage a wider range of conditions because specialists are less accessible.

Dr. Sanford described a career path through clinical training and chaplaincy that led to rural medicine and cited data he said underpins investment in primary care. "Adding a family doctor to a community increases the average life expectancy for the community by 56 days," Sanford said, and added that patients with a primary-care doctor are "about 40% less likely to go to the ER" and "about 53 percent less likely to end up admitted," outcomes he said are associated with lower community healthcare costs.

Sanford also relayed an observation he attributed to a patient: "Rockingham County apparently has the highest concentration of multiple sclerosis patients, in the country," he said on air and suggested that the county health department, possibly in coordination with national agencies, might consider further investigation. The statement was presented as a report and a question for public-health inquiry rather than a confirmed finding; the physicians did not present peer-reviewed or official epidemiologic data during the segment.

Both doctors outlined clinic offerings and coordination with specialists. They said routine vaccinations (flu, pneumonia, tetanus and childhood immunizations) are stocked and that they will refer patients to specialists as needed, sometimes coordinating care by phone or shared electronic records. They framed the local clinic as reducing travel burdens for patients and as a node in a wider clinical network.

The program provided public-facing information about the clinicians and the services they offer but did not include formal public-health analyses or independent epidemiologic corroboration of the MS concentration claim. That claim remains an unverified observation raised on-air and would require review by the county health department or epidemiologists for confirmation.