When Dr. Duane Roy III (“Skip”) joined the Alliance family in February of this year, he was looking for a way to help his community. “I knew that when I semi-retired, I wanted to give back. And faith is an extremely important part of my life, so I wanted to seek out a faith-based organization.”
Dr. Roy trained as a physical therapist in the 1960’s, and in 1969 he started his career at Wake Med. During his last years at Wake Med, Dr. Roy became acquainted with Alliance Medical Ministry. He was inspired by Alliance’s mission to treat the working poor of the Raleigh community, and has since volunteered every Thursday to provide physical therapy for patients here.
Dr. Roy believes that Alliance provides medical professionals with an excellent opportunity to give back to the community, and he feels that it is the responsibility of medical professionals such as him to help the low-income working population of Raleigh.
He went on to discuss what he admires most about Alliance. “It’s a supportive environment, and a really great team-everybody just plays so well together.”
Dr. Roy also admires the unique way that Alliance treats patients. “I really appreciate that faith-based aspect of what we do, it’s about treating the whole person and not just the partial condition. A lot of these people with back and neck problems, its just life that’s happening. I can help a little with (physical therapy), but we need the whole team to truly care for them.”
Dr. Roy encourages health professionals to join Alliance as a rewarding volunteer experience. “We (health professionals) choose these jobs, not typically for the money, but because we want to make a difference and help people. Alliance provides that opportunity.”
