Our History

 A New Name For an Old Organization

The Norfolk Medical Society has been is existence since the early  1900s. As an out growth from the Old Dominion Medical Society it too was organized to “provide leadership in arriving at the solutions to medical and social problems of the community in which it had influence”, i.e. the African-American community. For many years the Norfolk Medical Society addressed the needs of the African-American community and to that end as the needs of it’s community has changed so the society has changed. Following an approximate 2 years hiatus, the Norfolk Medical Society has now become The Greater Norfolk Medical Society of South Hampton Roads.

The name was changed in order to reflect the change in the community that it serves. The new members felt that since the Tidewater area has grown immensely that it was now necessary to clearly delineate the territory by the name. The new society has also decided to shift focus on bridging the gap of health disparity through education of the physicians that care for the African-American patient as well the patient themselves.

The Greater Norfolk Medical Society of South Hampton Roads has become a non-profit organization. Through various means it is expected that the society can improve the health of the community it serves through participation in health screens, health fairs and other health promotion and disease prevention activities. It is also expected that the society will be able to provide scholarships for local deserving students.

GNMS of SHR remains a component society of ODMS.

ODMS, Old Dominion Medical Society, is the state component society of the NMA.