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Avery County’s Dr. Charles Baker Inducted into Medical Honor Society Alpha Omega Alpha

In the High Country, few men are held in higher regard than Dr. Charles Baker. The kindhearted physician, who began practicing medicine in Avery County more than 30 years ago, was recently honored as a new inductee into the Medical Honor Society Alpha Omega Alpha at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

The Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) chapter was founded in 1902. The society’s mission is to be dedicated to the belief that in the profession of medicine, AOA members will improve care for all by:

  • Recognizing high educational achievement
  • Honoring gifted teaching
  • Encouraging the development of leaders in academia and the community
  • Supporting the ideals of humanism
  • Promoting service to others

“I am truly surprised and humbled that this could happen to a 69-year-old family doctor,” said Dr. Baker.

Dr. Baker is a proud graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. From there, he went on to complete his internship at The University of Vermont Medical Center with a specialty in pediatrics. He then completed his residency at The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine with a specialty in pediatrics. Dr. Baker is board certified in both family medicine and pediatrics.

In 2012, Dr. Baker along with the other healthcare providers in his office, decided to join Appalachian Regional Medical Associates (ARMA) to form the Baker Center for Primary Care, a member of Appalachian Regional Healthcare System. The Baker Center for Primary Care is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a Tier 3 Patient Medical Home (PCMH). The PCMH distinction acknowledges the Center’s high-quality of care devoted to emphasizing access, health information technology and partnerships between clinicians and patients.

Today, Dr. Baker continues to faithfully serve patients in Avery County.

To learn more about Dr. Charles Baker or the Baker Center of Primary Care visit https://apprhs.org/. For more information about Alpha Omega Alpha’s newest society members, visit http://news.unchealthcare.org/som-vital-signs/2016/march-24/medical-honor-society-alpha-omega-alpha-inducts-new-members.

From left to right: John French, Dr. Charles Baker and Matt Krantz at the AOA induction banquet in Chapel Hill. French and Krantz serve as co-presidents for the UNC AOA chapter and they both completed their third-year family medicine rotation with Dr. Baker at the Baker Center in 2015.