Dr. Naik Retirement Celebrated

On Tuesday Nov. 22, family, friends and colleagues of Pulmonologist Dr. Somnath Naik gathered in the UNC Health Southeastern cafeteria for a long-awaited celebration of his retirement. Dr. Naik retired in 2019, however, his celebration event had to be postponed due to COVID-19.

UNC Health Southeastern Vice President/Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joe Roberts to present Dr. Naik with a crystal tower engraved with his years of service to the medical staff as a gift from the UNC Health Southeastern Board of Trustees. Dr. Roberts, along with Dr. Naik’s children, also unveiled a portrait of Dr. Naik that has been hung in the medical center's main corridor as a gift from the UNC Health Southeastern Medical Staff.

“We are thrilled to be able to celebrate with Dr. Naik and his family tonight,” said Dr. Roberts. “He was an outstanding physician who was known for his kind demeanor and thoroughness in the care he provided to patients in both the hospital and clinic settings."

A native of India, Dr. Naik earned a medical degree from G.S. Medical College in Mumbai, India in 1976.  He completed residencies at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Long Island, N.Y., in 1978 and Catholic Medical Center in Jamaica, N.Y., in 1980. He also completed a pulmonary diseases fellowship at Veterans Administration Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1982. That same year, he moved to Lumberton and joined the UNC Health Southeastern Medical Staff. Dr. Naik is certified in internal medicine, sleep medicine and pulmonary disease. He is also a Fellow of the College of Chest Physicians.