Biddle Point (Urban) Track > Family Medicine

Our Urban Track at Biddle Point offers a novel family medicine training experience where residents work in an urban area of Charlotte. Biddle Point Family Medicine was built in 1997 with education of residents at its core. The clinic was built in Biddleville to serve the community in which it stands, which is the oldest surviving predominantly African American neighborhood. It provides residents the opportunity to serve an urban population and for years was the only clinic from a large health care system in one of the 5 identified zip codes of need in Charlotte, NC.

We accept 3 residents per year into the Urban Track, where they will train in a community clinic to deliver a team-based model of care. We have 340B pharmacy onsite that provides discounted medications. Our clinical pharmacist works alongside physicians to manage diabetes, HTN, and anticoagulation. Our teammates include social workers, community health workers, care managers are all onsite and available to patients at no additional cost.

Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) Mercy Hospital, where we admit adult population and CMC Main Hospital/Levine Children’s Hospital, where we admit our pediatric population – are only 3 miles away. Our faculty at Biddle Point have dedicated their lives to this population and have served in inpatient, outpatient, and obstetric roles in their careers, offering this experience to all residents.

Program Structure

Cohort Size: Three residents per year
Year 1:

Primary care continuity clinic at Atrium Health Biddle Point
Carolinas Medical Center (Charlotte) - most rotations
Mercy Hospital (Charlotte) - adult inpatient experience

Year 2-3:

Primary care continuity clinic at Atrium Health Biddle Point
Inpatient

Mercy Hospital (adult inpatient experience)
Carolinas Medical Center (obstetrics/pediatrics experience)

Atrium Health Biddle Point Family Medicine Faculty

Heather Burney, MD
Elim Chao, MD
Talaya Clark, MD
Christina Garcia, DO
Nneka Hendrix, MD

Cynthia Hill, MD
Douglas Meardon, MD
Neel Patel, MD
Alexis Robinson, PharmD
Janitra Shah, MD

	Heather Burney, MD Dr Heather Burney was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Duke University in North Carolina and her MD at THE Ohio State University. She has been with Atrium Health since residency where she was a resident in the Urban Track here at Carolinas Medical Center - Biddle Point. Her leadership started as Co- Chief Resident and has expanded as she held positions as the Site Based Medical Director for many years here at Biddle Point from 2010-2018. She continues her service to our community as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Her continued passions include Global medicine, medical missions, and ensuring the safety of our patients and the public with immunizations.
	Elim Chao, MD Dr Elim TingTing Chao originates from the Great State of Texas, Houston to be exact. She moved half country to North Carolina and attended the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill for undergraduate degree in Biology (just like everyone else). She completed her Master Degree in Biomedical Science at Wake Forest Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Medical degree at Wake Forest School of Medicine. North Carolina held onto her for Residency here at Atrium Health CMC Family Medicine where she was our 4th year chief. She currently practices at Biddle Point Family Medicine where her special interests include Public Health, Gender affirming care, and access to care and she recently completed her HIV Specialist Certification! She continues her service to our community as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Outside of work she shops at the Farmers Market and fills her belly with Bubble Tea with her husband. She has a dog/gremlin named Pepper who terrorizes neighborhood delivery drivers loudly from the window.
	Talaya Clark, MD Dr. Talaya Clark is from Philadelphia, PA originally. She completed studies at Carnegie Mellon Univ in Chemical Engineering and her MD at Medical College of PA/Hahnemann Univ (MCP-HU) now Drexel School of Medicine; undergraduate. She became a Carolina physician when she came to residency here at Carolinas Medical Center Family Medicine in the Urban track here at Biddle Point. She continues on as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Her engineering degree has served her well in medicine as one of the top achievers in Quality Metrics for her patients in the system! She has a special interest and has completed additional certification in Lifestyle Medicine. She currently serves as the faculty advisor for the Lifestyle Medicine interest group in our residency. She has also spent time serving patients with persistent mental health diagnosis in primary care. Outside of work she is an award-winning body builder and has competed in many statewide competitions highlighting her interest in nutrition and exercise.
	Christina Garcia, DO, MPH Christina Garcia, DO, MPHreceived her undergraduate degree in Sociology from THE Ohio State University and her Doctor of Osteopathy degree from Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. While at Ohio University she also earned an African Community Health Certificate and was a Primary Care Associate where she spent an additional year as junior faculty teaching, tutoring and mentoring first- and second-year medical students and working on scholarly projects. She completed her residency training at Christ Hospital/ University of Cincinnati Family Medicine program. After residency, Dr. Garcia moved to Chapel Hill, NC to pursue a Master in Public Health and a Global Health Certificate at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill while providing care at a Federally Qualified Health Center. She served in the National Health Service Corp for 2 additional years at the same FQHC prior to moving to Charlotte. Currently, she serves as the Biddle Point Track Residency Site Director and Associate Program Director. Her career interests include Global and Community Health, Perinatal Care, Quality and Population Management. Outside of work, Dr. Garcia enjoys spending time with family and friends, burning large bonfires, traveling, cooking, and beekeeping!
	Nneka Hendrix, MD Nneka A. Hendrix, M.D was raised in Omaha, Nebraska where she graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Biology from Creighton University. She earned her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 1997 followed by completion of a residency in Family Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center while serving as Co-Chief Resident in her final year. Dr. Hendrix is a Board-certified family physician, practicing a broad spectrum of primary care for the last 25 years at Atrium Health Biddle Point Family Medicine in addition to training residents in her role as Adjunct Assistant Professor with Wake Forest Department of Family Medicine. Her special interests include early childhood development, relational health and literacy, which has led to a long partnership with the national non-profit organization, Reach Out and Read, for which she recently completed a 2 year term as their NC State Medical Director and continues to serve as the medical champion for this program within her practice. She has a budding passion for culinary medicine and will be soon working on certification to deepen her understanding of food as medicine to better educate her patients and her community. Nneka has been married to Alan Hendrix for over 20 years and enjoys spending quality time with him and their two children, which looks different now that one is a freshman at NCAT (Aggie Pride!). She is active in service at The Park Church as co-facilitator of the Married Couples in Christ class on Sunday mornings. In her spare time, she loves cooking, gardening, attending events highlighting food and culture, travel and spending time with family.
	Cynthia Hill, MD Dr Cynthia Hill hails from Petersburg, Virginia. She attended undergraduate at University of Virginia and subsequently attended Medical School at Virginia Commonwealth University/MCV. She completed Residency at Virginia Commonwealth University / Hanover Family Medicine. North Carolina gained an excellent physician when she moved and worked many years in private practice at University Family Physicians. Moving into academics at Biddle Point Family Medicine she is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. She previously took care of patients both inpatient and outpatient within the residency but focuses now on outpatient Family Care. She has a special interest in health literacy, nutrition, and exercise and keeps our residents educated about coding, documentation and physician contracts! When she is not at the Biddle she is Jetsetting across the world, recent trips have included Cuba, Beyonce in Paris, parading in Turks and Caicos Carnival.
	Douglas Meardon, MD Dr Doug Meardon is from Cary, North Carolina. He completed his BS at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his Medical Degree at George Washington University. He completed residency here at Biddle Point Family Medicine in the Urban Track at Carolinas Medical Center. He worked for a few years Kintegra and we were able to bring him back to the Atrium family in 2020. He serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and HIV program director combining family medicine with HIV care and student mentorship. He is also the Fourth-Year Medical Student elective director for Family Medicine and shapes young medical minds. His dedication to the community spans into his work as a Board Member at RAIN Inc., Charlotte oldest and largest HIV prevention, care and advocacy organization and a member of Charlotte Transhealth. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his family going on adventures, hiking in the NC mountains, and travelling.
	Neel Patel, MD Dr Neel Patel is the Site Based Medical Director and an Assistant Professor here at Biddle Point Family Medicine. He is a Charlottean! He received his bachelor from University of North Carolina and his Medical Degree from Ross University School of Medicine. He went to residency at University of New Mexico/Hidalgo Medical Services. He has a special interest in Musculoskeletal, Behavioral Health, Addiction, and Cardiology in addition to office based procedures (skin biopsies, toenail removals, joint injections). Outside of work he likes spending time with his wife and young son. He is an avid golfer, traveling the country and trying new golf courses. He enjoy hiking, running and cooking. When he doesn’t have his 9 iron he is holding a hammer, trying to learn DIY house projects!
	Alexis Robinson, PharmD Dr. Alexis Robinson is our clinical PharmD at Biddle Point Family Medicine. She is from Greensboro, NC and attended the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She completed the Atrium Health PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Program in the Ambulatory Care Setting and now serves as a preceptor for the Atrium Health PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency Program and pharmacy students. She provides pharmacy-led services in diabetes and anticoagulation management at Biddle Point. She has a special interest in and dedication to chronic disease state management including cardiometabolic disease and HIV, partnering with our HIV physicians to provide team-based care. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, reading books, and exercising.
	Janitra Shah, MD Dr. Janitra V. Shah is board certified in family medicine and specializes in maternity care and women’s health including procedures. Originally from Greensboro, NC, she attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for both her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and her Doctor of Medicine degrees. Between her undergraduate studies and medical school, she was a Science teacher at a charter school in Charlotte, NC through Teach for America, where she developed her passion for serving historically under-resourced communities. She continued to develop her experience in medical school as a Kenan Urban Primary Care Scholar. Dr. Shah went on join Forbes Family Medicine Residency in Monroeville, PA where she trained in full spectrum family medicine care, including obstetric care. After residency, she joined Rutgers RWJ Department of Family Medicine and Community Health as maternity care and predoctoral education faculty. She returned to Atrium Health as Core Faculty in 2024. Dr Shah states she chose family medicine because “I’ve seen how lack of access to quality healthcare and education can echo through generations. My goal is to be a consistent, trusted presence for families—helping to interrupt those cycles and build a foundation for lasting wellness.” She takes this with her as she serves patients in her special interest in Women’s Health, Maternity Care and OB. Outside of clinic, Dr. Shah is an avid Tar Heel who loves reading, going on walks, traveling, and trying new foods.