Carolina Acute Care & Wellness Center, P.A.

06/16/2026

Renovations nearing Completion - Soon to Open Health Sciences Division.
How do you like this portion of the lobby?

Sneak Peek at renovations...Carolina Executive Park.

Health Sciences Division of Carolina Acute Care & Wellness Center.

Opening this Summer!

05/31/2026

Richard Feynman was famously nicknamed the Great Explainer. While working on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, he amused himself by cracking the top-secret safes of his colleagues to show how lax their security was. But his real genius lay in his refusal to accept jargon as a substitute for knowledge. He believed that if you could not explain a concept in simple terms to a child, you did not actually understand it.

If you want to Learn something, teach it!

This philosophy led to the development of what we now call the Feynman Technique. It is a four-step mental model designed to help you learn anything by teaching it to someone else, or even an imaginary audience. By forcing yourself to strip away complex terminology, you expose the holes in your own understanding. True mastery is found in simplicity, not in the use of big words.

05/31/2026

05/31/2026

GLP-1 medications can help people lose a significant amount of weight—often far more than diet and exercise alone. However, many people stop taking these medications within the first year, and when they do, much of the lost weight often returns. Studies suggest that patients may regain about two-thirds of the weight they lost within a year of stopping treatment.

This happens because the medication helps control appetite and hunger. When it is discontinued, the body's natural signals that promote weight gain often return. Long-term success usually requires ongoing healthy eating, physical activity, behavior changes, and continued support from a healthcare team.

Bottom line: GLP-1 medications can be very effective, but maintaining weight loss after stopping them typically requires a long-term plan and ongoing lifestyle support.

05/31/2026

🔴 :

05/31/2026

Looking at this photo, I'm reminded just how fortunate I've been.

Standing here are men who helped shape not only my career, but our community. Kelvin Sampson and I were among those trained by Dr. Van Helms, learning alongside mentors like Dr. Joe Deese and in the shadow of giants such as Dr. Joe Roberts and Dr. Kenneth Locklear. Joining them is one of the finest dentists our area has ever known, Dr. Jeff Collins, and my Black Belt brother, Arnold West—a man whose character and integrity are every bit as impressive as his accomplishments.

Dr. Curt Locklear somehow missed being in this photo, but he belongs among this group of legends as well and was busy nearby. I was humbled to stand near them.

As I look around this picture, I honestly don't know how God allowed me to be so fortunate as to stand among men of this caliber. They were exceptional clinicians, leaders, teachers, and, more importantly, exceptional human beings.

I’m reminded of others who have gone before us in the local medical community: Dr. Ferris Locklear, Dr. Benford Hardin, Dr. Rowell Burleson, Dr. D.E. Ward, Dr. Hirem Patel, Dr. John Penrose, Dr. Thad Wester, Dr. Robert Lownes, Dr. Robert Young, Arnold Kinley, and Lou Puckett. I know I've probably missed a few more. But you understand the depth of talent. We shared memories about all of them.

I think Dr. Joe Deese would have loved this moment. More than anything, he valued friendship, loyalty, and the people who shared the journey with him. We were honored to call him our friend.

Special thanks to Tammy Jump for insisting on taking the photo. She recognized what was standing in front of her—a lifetime of service, wisdom, friendship, and memories.

Joe wouldn't have had it any other way.

Phillip Stephens, DHSc, PA-C

05/31/2026

Today was a sad day as we said goodbye to a mentor, friend, and one of the finest physicians I have ever known, Dr. Joe Deese.

The occasion was softened somewhat by spending time with another mentor, Dr. Van Helms.

As a young biologist working for the Department of Health and serving as a volunteer medic, I found myself recruited by Dr. Helms into a world of medicine that simply does not exist on the same level today.

Emergency Medicine was still a young specialty, and Dr. Helms was assembling and training his own team to standards that were legendary. He gave me an opportunity, a job, and a path that ultimately led to a career in medicine, an academic doctorate, and years of serving on faculty myself.

Dr. Deese taught us compassion. In fact, everyone who worked with Dr. Deese learned compassion. He cared deeply for his patients, his colleagues, and his community. His example influenced generations of clinicians.

But Dr. Deese and I often talked about how fortunate we were to have worked with Dr. Helms. We both knew we had witnessed something special.

Over the years, I have worked with brilliant physicians, professors, researchers, and academic leaders. Clinicians like another one of my mentors, Dr. John Penrose, was a former Harvard professor of medicine and among the smartest people I have ever known. Yet when people spoke of Dr. Helms, there was always a different level of respect.

Eventually, I realized why.

Being a great clinician requires intelligence. Compassion makes you even better. But what made Dr. Helms exceptional was something rarer—clinical judgment. The ability to walk into a room, see what others missed, know what mattered, and make the right decision when it counted. Knowledge can be taught. Skills can be learned. Judgment is forged over a lifetime and possessed by only a select few.

Dr. Joe Deese was one of the most compassionate physicians I have ever known. Dr. Van Helms remains, in my mind, one of the greatest clinicians I have ever witnessed. To have learned from both was an extraordinary privilege.

I am grateful every day to have been part of their team. You're always humbled when you are around your mentors and giants of medicine.

Phillip Stephens, DHSc, PA-C

05/26/2026

View Dr. Joseph Earl Deese's complete obituary, share memories, and explore 1 tribute posts from the community.