Community Care of North Carolina CEO to speak April 24 at Appalachian

Posted April 9, 2015 at 2:51 p.m.

BOONE—L. Allen Dobson Jr., M.D., president and chief executive officer of Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC), will be the speaker for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Distinguished Lecture Series at Appalachian State University.

The event, sponsored by the College of Health Sciences and supported by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, will be held Friday, April 24, at 11 a.m. in the Holmes Convocation Center on campus. The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://lectureseries.healthsciences.appstate.edu or call 828-262-8145.

Dobson will talk about the changing healthcare landscape in North Carolina and how CCNC helps the state improve care delivery and get more value for its healthcare dollar.

A native of North Carolina, Dobson received his undergraduate education at N.C. State University. He attended medical school at the Bowman Grey School of Medicine at Wake Forest University and completed his residency in family medicine at East Carolina University.

Dobson has been active in health policy formation on the state and national levels. He was an early leader and developer of the nationally recognized Community Care of North Carolina program, which received the 2007 Annie E. Casey Foundation Innovations in American Government Award, presented by Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Dobson also holds a faculty appointment as professor of family medicine at UNC Chapel Hill.
He has served as assistant secretary of health for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, where he was responsible for the health divisions of the department. He also served as the state’s Medicaid director.

About CCNC

CCNC is a public-private partnership designed to improve healthcare quality and better coordinate care. The physician-led program emphasizes collaboration across specialties and fosters community-wide teamwork that incorporates local resources and is focused on the needs of patients.

Through CCNC, networks of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, hospitals, social service agencies and other community organizations work together to provide physician-driven, patient-centered care for North Carolina. According to an independent evaluation by Milliman Inc., CCNC saved North Carolina nearly $1 billion between 2007 and 2010.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Distinguished Lecture Series was established in 2013 and supported by a grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina to Appalachian’s College of Health Sciences.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.