Founder of Closing the Gap in Healthcare, fellow physician, CCMS Board member, and CCMS Healthcare Disparities Committee Chair, received the Joseph P. Riley Vision Award at the YWCA Greater Charleston’s 50^th Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration on Thursday, January 13, 2022.

Recognizing model corporate citizenship, the annual award is named for Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., who served as mayor of the City of Charleston from 1975 to 2016. It recognizes an individual, corporation, or institution who achieves outstanding and favorable recognition in their field or industry; promotes diversity and equal opportunity through policy, business practice(s), and/or advocacy; contributes positively to the growth of the Charleston metropolitan business market, and advances the common well-being of society through community service and/or other acts of charitable goodwill.

Before going into medicine, Dr. Bell began his career as a schoolteacher in Gaffney, S.C., where he was the first African American to teach at an all-white high school in the state.

In 1980 he co-founded the Elijah Wright: Cross Family Health Center, a free clinic for the underserved in Cross, S.C., where he was the only physician for 10 years. He went on to serve as a physician at the Ralph Johnson Veteran Hospital in Charleston, and then to enter private practice in family medicine in North Charleston. While in private practice he served as a medical consultant to the Charleston and Berkeley County Jails and medical director of the Fenwick Hall Drug & Alcohol Abuse Treatment Center. He has also served as a sports medical consultant to the U.S. Olympics Committee at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado.

He holds distinguished degrees from South Carolina State University and the Medical University of South Carolina and earned a master’s degree from Atlanta University in addition to graduating from the School of Aerospace Medicine. He also holds a Doctor of Humane Letters degree, an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society.

“Dr. Bell is committed to providing valuable healthcare resources to the community with a determined focus on underserved populations,” said Kendra L. Snipe, board chair of YWCA Greater Charleston. “He has set the table for future generations pursuing careers in the medical field and we honor him for paying it forward.”