Family doctor draws on his experience to highlight relationship-centered care, especially in rural and underserved communities.
An essay written by Jesus Ruiz, MD, a board-certified family medicine physician with UNC Health, and assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the UNC School of Medicine has been published in the July/August 2026 issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
Entitled “Continuity at the Incision: Why Cesarean Delivery Belongs in Family Medicine,” the essay explores how cesarean delivery can be a natural extension of continuity, trust, and comprehensive care in family medicine, particularly in rural and underserved communities. Drawing on rural clinical experience and current evidence, Ruiz highlights how long-term relationships between patients and family physicians can carry into the operating room, helping preserve access to safe, patient-centered maternity care close to home.
Ruiz is originally from a small town in Mexico and grew up in North Carolina. He attended UNC-Chapel Hill for his undergraduate studies and completed medical school at the UNC School of Medicine.
He currently works at the Chatham Maternity Care Center and Chatham Hospital. His clinic is based out of Siler City Community Health Center, one of the sites for the UNC Family Medicine Residency Rural Health Track.
To read the full essay visit www.annfammed.org/content/24/4/373.
Media contact: Nancy Bostrom, Manager, Research & National News, UNC Health | UNC School of Medicine