The NC Medical Board's longtime Licensing Department Director, Joy Cooke, is the recipient of a national service award.

Cooke, of Wendell, received the "AIM Distinguished Service Award" at the Administrators in Medicine (AIM) national meeting April 21 in Chicago. She has more than 26 years of service at the NC Medical
Board, which licenses and regulates physicians, physician assistants and certain other health care professionals.

"For more than 20 years, Joy has been the gatekeeper of physician licensure in North Carolina, making sure that all licensees meet the high standards required to practice medicine," noted R. David Henderson, the NCMB's executive director. "This recognition is well deserved."

AIM is the national organization for state medical and osteopathic board executives. The Distinguished Service Award is the organization's highest honor. It is presented to administrators who have dedicated a lifetime of service to medical licensing and regulation.