North Carolina
Why three NC medical students think an anti-DEI bill would be a disaster for medicine • NC Newsline
Washington, Hyde, Gates, and Yancey are four of the North Carolina counties without a single pediatrician, OB-GYN, or psychiatrist. This is not uncommon — 20 of our state’s counties lack a pediatrician, 26 lack an OB-GYN, and 32 lack a psychiatrist.
These provider shortages disproportionately impact rural and low-income communities and would likely worsen under a new proposal introduced by eastern North Carolina Congressman Greg Murphy.
Misleadingly entitled the “Embracing Anti-Discrimination, Unbiased Curricula, and Advancing Truth in Education (EDUCATE) Act,” the bill would block U.S. medical schools from receiving federal funding if they support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)-related policies or programs.
At present, DEI offices support medical education pipeline programs that train low-income and rural students, who are more likely to return home to practice medicine.
Also on the chopping block: medical education programs for underrepresented students, patient advocacy initiatives and health equity certifications, needs-based scholarships, and LGBTQ+ affirming care training.
North Carolina is a diverse state with diverse needs. Beyond enhancing our medical education, DEI initiatives improve the quality of care for our patients. As medical students enrolled in three of our state’s medical schools, we believe the EDUCATE Act would harm our patient communities and should not win approval.
When our medical workforce is diverse, our patients thrive. Research shows that patient satisfaction and key clinical outcomes such as cholesterol screening rates and medication adherence improve when healthcare providers share the same racial or ethnic background as their patients.
Over the last decade, North Carolina has become significantly more racially and ethnically diverse, particularly with the growth of our Hispanic and Asian populations. Following the Supreme Court’s ban on affirmative action, DEI programs at medical schools are even more important to ensure that the state develops qualified medical students who are representative of our population.
In addition to improving medical education, DEI offices offer many programs that improve the health of communities. DEI outreach and pipeline programs connect students who are underrepresented minorities in medicine, of low socioeconomic status, and from rural areas to academic enrichment resources that support them in becoming qualified medical school applicants and future doctors. Such programs are critical to addressing primary care shortage areas, as physicians from underserved communities are more likely to work in these communities.
Health providers can also partner with DEI offices to educate their colleagues about the specific needs of individual communities and to advocate for increased patient access to high-quality care. DEI programs support collaboration between medical student groups, hospital leadership, and patient communities in organizing training sessions that enhance care for marginalized patient groups. Such sessions foster the growth of high-quality patient-physician partnerships and are associated with improved patient satisfaction. DEI offices also catalyze health professional involvement in initiatives that seek to improve the health of all patients and students, regardless of their demographic characteristics.
Critics of DEI initiatives claim that they could lead to harmful consequences for patients under the false assumption that DEI casts aside merit and “admits students based on their race, gender, or religion.” What these critics fail to acknowledge, however, is that all medical students undergo an extremely rigorous admission selection process and are required to meet the same academic and clinical standards to become licensed physicians.
Other critics argue that DEI places an undue burden on physicians to fix larger social issues. Yet, omitting education about the social factors affecting health would be a disservice to patients whose social needs may influence their most optimal treatment plans. We support a medical curriculum that is evidence-based, comprehensive, and factual.
From fostering the growth of qualified medical school applicants to advocating for the health needs of marginalized patient populations, DEI initiatives benefit the health workforce and patients alike. The Association of American Medical Colleges, American College of Physicians, and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently released statements in opposition to the EDUCATE Act. As concerned future physicians who recognize the need for DEI programs in North Carolina and nationwide, we urge members of the United States Congress to oppose the EDUCATE Act.
This essay reflects the individual views of the authors and does not represent the views of their medical institutions.
North Carolina
Ex-Laurel Ridge Treatment Center CEO faces 6 child sex charges in North Carolina, records indicate
DURHAM COUNTY, N.C. – The former CEO of a San Antonio mental health center was arrested Monday in North Carolina on child sex charges. Some of the alleged crimes date back more than two decades.
According to court documents obtained by KSAT on Tuesday, Jacob Cuellar, 46, is facing six counts based in Durham County, North Carolina:
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two charges of statutory sexual offense with a child by an adult
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two charges of indecent liberties with a child
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statutory rape of a child by an adult
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statutory sexual offense with a child 15 years old or younger
The Durham County indictment, which accounts for the six charges, states that the victims were two minors at the time of Cuellar’s alleged assaults, ranging between 2001 and 2008.
A Durham County grand jury formally indicted Cuellar on the charges on May 19, records show.
A judge set Cuellar’s bond at $250,000. Publicly available records with the Durham County Sheriff’s Office (NC) state Cuellar has since bonded out of jail and spent less than one day in custody.
According to a report in the Raleigh News & Observer, based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Cuellar was a sophomore at Duke University in nearby Durham in September 1998 when North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation agents raided his dorm room and seized his laptop and other personal items “as part of an inquiry into whether he used his personal computer to disseminate child pornography.”
It is unclear whether Cuellar faced any charges as a result of the 1998 seizure, according to the News & Observer’s reporting.
In June 2024, KSAT 12 News learned that Cuellar applied for a license as a medical doctor in North Carolina in 2008 but was denied. Information on the North Carolina Medical Board’s website indicated that the reason for the denial was due to a 1999 criminal conviction for preparing an obscene photo.
Although that criminal charge does not appear on his online record in North Carolina, it did appear in other internet databases.
Cuellar was the former chief executive officer at the Laurel Ridge Treatment Center, which is located on North Loop 1604 East near Redland Road.
Last year, KSAT learned Cuellar voluntarily resigned from the mental health center three weeks before he was arrested and accused of sexually assaulting a young girl over multiple years.
KSAT also learned last June that a girl, who was 11 years old at the time, told San Antonio police officers in 2022 that Cuellar had been sexually assaulting her on an ongoing basis.
According to Bexar County court records, Cuellar is facing one charge for continuous sexual abuse of a child under age 14, which is considered a first-degree felony.
Those records also indicate Cuellar is “awaiting trial” on the Bexar County charge.
After he bonded out from jail in North Carolina, the News & Observer reported Cuellar is now “allowed to return to Texas for his pending trial in San Antonio.”
A date for Cuellar’s Bexar County trial has yet to be determined.
More coverage of this story on KSAT:
Copyright 2025 by KSAT – All rights reserved.
As immigration-related demonstrations intensify across the country, organizers are planning their own protest in North Carolina’s capital city.
A protest and march are planned for Tuesday evening to take a stand against deportations.
Members with Democracy Out Loud plan to hold a silent protest in front of the Legislative Building as state lawmakers prepare to vote on Senate Bill 153.
Also known as the North Carolina Border Protection Act, it aims to crack down on undocumented immigrants in North Carolina.
“This is an anti-immigration bill so we are going to be out here with signs and trying to let the public known about this bill and why we oppose it,” shared Maddie Segal, a member of Democracy Out Loud.
Another member, Mark Swallow, argued such deportations would having a crippling effect on the state’s economy.
“They pick out food, they pack up our meats, they clean our homes, they build our homes, it’s a significant number,” Swallow said.
Senate Bill 153, a Republican-backed bill, aims to strengthen coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), charge sanctuary cities with crimes, and prevent undocumented immigrants from collecting state benefits.
Similar protests have taken place across the U.S., including in Los Angeles, where violent clashes erupted for four days straight.
In Raleigh, demonstrators stood in solidarity, but not all agree with their message.
Ira Mehlman with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) supports enforcing SB 153.
“We’ve seen countless examples over the past few years of horrific crimes that could have been avoided if we kept them out in the first place or if local law enforcement cooperated with federal law enforcement to get the person out of the country,” he said.
FAIR argues illegal immigration is a fiscal burden in North Carolina.
“This is money that can be used for other price tags in North Carolina,” Mehlman said, attributing costs to public education, health care, and policing.
As debate over the legislation heats up, attention now turns to lawmakers, whose decision could shape the future of immigration enforcement in North Carolina.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — As the latest travel ban from the Trump administration nears its effective date, ABC11 is hearing from residents with ties to the impacted countries about what it all means.
Haiti is one of the 12 countries whose citizens will be banned from traveling into the United States starting at 12:01 am on Monday, with certain limited exceptions. That ban does not have an end date, and both Haitian Americans in the Triangle and Haitian citizens with ties in North Carolina say they’re concerned about the long-term implications.
“If my parents were banned, there would be no Dominique. So it’s just, it’s a hard realization,” said Dominique Alphonse-Sainvil, a first-generation Haitian American whose parents immigrated to the US in the 1960s.
Alphonse-Sainvil was born and raised in the US, but her ties to her parents’ — and husband’s — home country run deep.
“Being first generation Haitian, you do understand the shoulders that you stand on,” she said.
The North Raleigh resident now helps to run the Carolina Haitian Women’s Society, a Triangle-based organization with chapters across the state. She said the fallout from Haiti’s inclusion in the White House’s most recent travel ban has been difficult to process.
“What’s the next step?” she asked. “Because that’s all both those that are here and those that have loved ones in Haiti are truly trying to grasp.”
It’s also creating new challenges for Haitians involved in philanthropic efforts, like Pastor Jean Alix Paul.
“They sent me some news and told me, ‘Hey, you will not be able to come’. And I was very shocked. So, I mean, I didn’t, you know, I never expected that to happen,” Paul said, recounting a recent, planned trip to the US he had to cancel.
ALSO SEE North Carolina families ‘extremely worried’ over Trump Administration’s new travel ban
Paul regularly visits Raleigh through his church’s affiliation with Raleigh’s Hope Community Church. The pastor also helps run Together 4 Haiti, a non-profit that aims to support Haiti’s kids through education. He says he’s unsure how their work will continue in light of the travel ban.
“We have more than 200 people working for our organization, so now we don’t know how long that will impact us, and if we will continue to be able to help our people. It will be very, very hard,” he said.
Paul added that amid gang violence and domestic instability in his home country, it’s been nearly impossible to get answers in Haiti.
“Where the US embassy is located, actually, there is a gang right there,” he said. “So, it’s not very easy to go through.”
According to the White House, the ban — which impacts 19 countries in total — is to “protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”
Alphonse-Sainvil said the people impacted are much more than that.
“I know we have plenty to contribute both from here and those that are there,” she said. “But you can’t help but not be just completely, as we call it, ‘desolate’”.
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