866-331-1348Â |Â info@medassist.org
866-331-1348Â |Â info@medassist.org
Policy to Patients: Reshaping NC Healthcare Access
The Friday Conference Center
Grumman Auditorium
UNC Chapel Hill
5:00 pm | Networking
5:30 pm | Panel Discussion
7:00 pm | Private Reception (ticketed, 21+)
Join NC MedAssist for a timely, nonpartisan conversation featuring diverse perspectives on how federal and state policy decisions are reshaping healthcare access across North Carolina.
The discussion will examine the priorities and tradeoffs behind these decisions, their potential impact on patients and communities, and how our state can adapt and strengthen existing systems to protect access to coverage, medications, behavioral health services, rural care, and a strong healthcare workforce.
As changes take effect, how do we ensure that North Carolinians facing the greatest barriers are not left without a path to care?
This event is presented by Amerihealth Caritas.Â
Please RSVP by September 25
1.5 hours ACHE Qualifying Education credits
As an independent chartered chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Triangle Healthcare Executive Forum (THEF), is authorized to award 1.5 hours of ACHE Qualifying Education credits toward advancement or recertification in the American College of Healthcare Executives. Participants in this program who wish to have it considered for ACHE Qualifying Education credit should list their attendance when they apply to the American College of Healthcare Executives for advancement or recertification.
Panelists & Moderator
Michael Waldrum, MD, MSc, MBA
Chief Executive Officer | ECU Health
Dean, Brody School of Medicine | ECU
Panelist
Emily Roland, MPH
Executive Director of Program Implementation
North Carolina Healthcare Foundation
Moderator
Sponsorships Available
Sponsorship opportunities are available for every budget. Learn more about how you can make a meaningful impression on an engaged, forward-thinking audience through a sponsorship.Â
Contact Jordan Fletcher today: JFletcher@MedAssist.org
Thank you to our sponsors
Past Topics & Panelists
The inaugural event discussed the importance of public policy and how it impacts the health of our North Carolina neighbors. Moderated by Rose Hoban – the founder and editor of NC Health News – the group examined how policy, access, and health equity intersect to shape health outcomes — and what we can do to create change.
Yele Aluko, MD, MBA, FACC, FSCAI
Chief Medical Officer
EY Americas
Josh Dobson, MPA
President & CEO
North Carolina Healthcare Association
April Cook, MBA
CEO
NC Association of Free and Charitable Clinics
Devdutta Sangvai, MD, JD, MBA
Secretary
NC Department of Health & Human Services
Moderated by Rose Hoban, Founder & Editor of North Carolina Health News
Images shown from the Conversation: Political Determinants of Health in May 2025.Â
North Carolina’s healthcare system is undergoing a period of rapid change, driven by shifting state and federal policies. For residents with low incomes, these changes are creating new opportunities for coverage while also deepening challenges in accessing consistent care.
During this panel discussion, leaders from healthcare, government, philanthropy, and the safety-net sectors explored how evolving policies are impacting patients and providers across the state. The conversation highlighted both the opportunities ahead and the risks facing vulnerable communities—and underscored the importance of collaboration to ensure all North Carolinians can access the care they need.
Senator Jim Burgin
North Carolina General Assembly
12th Senate Distric
Ivan Canada
President & CEO
North Carolina Center for Nonprofits
Debra Farrington, MSW, LCSW
Deputy Secretary for Health
NC Department of Health and Human Services
Lynne Fiscus, MD, MPH
Chief Statewide Clinical & Academic Integration Officer
UNC Health
Ben Money, MPH
SVP, Population Health
National Association of Community Health Centers
Moderated by Ciara Zachary, MPH, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, and Assistant Dean of Masters Programs at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Deputy Secretary
NC Medicaid
Panelist
Melanie Bush is Deputy Secretary of Medicaid for the North Carolina Division of Health Benefits (DHB), Department of Health and Human Services – also known as NC Medicaid. In this role, she provides leadership, strategic direction, operational oversight, and managed care supervision for the North Carolina Medicaid program, which serves more than 3 million North Carolinians who cannot afford health care.  Â
As Assistant Secretary and Chief Operating Officer, Melanie and her teams led the implementation of managed care transformation, the unwinding of continuous coverage for the COVID-19 public health emergency, and an expansion of Medicaid that extended access to care to more than 700,000 additional North Carolinians.Â
Melanie also serves as a Governor’s appointee to the Board of Trustees for the North Carolina State Health Plan, which provides health care coverage for state and county employees. She is committed to ensuring high-quality health care at the lowest cost possible for the State of North Carolina.
Prior to joining NC Medicaid, Melanie was the Medicaid Fiscal Analyst for the Fiscal Research Division of the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA), where she led the Health and Human Services budget team. Â Her previous roles also include Senior Policy Analyst for Medicaid at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and Policy Analyst for the Center for Community Change in Washington, DC.
Melanie holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin.Â
President
Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust
Panelist
Dr. Laura Gerald is president of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, one of North Carolina’s largest private foundations. A pediatrician who was born and raised in rural North Carolina, Dr. Gerald joined the Trust in 2016 and brings decades of leadership experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors to the foundation.
At the Trust, she oversees grantmaking of $20 million annually from assets of more than $600 million. Under her leadership, the Trust announced in 2022 that it will divest from tobacco and invest $100 million of the foundation’s corpus in socially responsible funds that support economic opportunity for residents of North Carolina. The announcement coincided with the Trust’s 75th anniversary and further aligned Trust resources with Mrs. Reynolds’ vision of improving the health and quality of life of North Carolinians with low incomes.
Since Dr. Gerald joined the foundation, the Trust has deepened its commitment to racial equity and systems change to ensure all people—especially residents of color and communities that have been historically marginalized—have full access to opportunity and the supports they need to thrive. Guided by Dr. Gerald’s strategic vision, the Trust team has set clear goals and strategies around bodies of work focused on improving rural health, increasing equitable access to health care, and improving equitable health systems around the state. Locally in Forsyth County, the Trust focuses on improving early childhood education through its Great Expectations initiative and creating a more inclusive economy.
After medical school, Dr. Gerald began her career in her hometown of Lumberton, NC, as a pediatrician. From there, she focused on statewide health improvement and served as the executive director of the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission, which awarded millions in grants statewide annually to decrease tobacco use and increase healthy eating and active living.
In 2014, Dr. Gerald was appointed to be the North Carolina State Health Director and the Director of the Division of Public Health where she prioritized the importance of addressing social determinants of health to improve health outcomes across the state. She went on to work with Evolent Health to assist health systems across the country that are transforming healthcare delivery on a pathway to more value-based care.
Dr. Gerald is a graduate of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, a medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University School of Public Health. She is the former Board Chair of Grantmakers in Health, on the Board of Trustees for Winston-Salem State University, on the Advisory Board for Center for Effective Philanthropy, and adjunct faculty at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
In 2024, Dr. Gerald was appointed to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Wisdom Council to provide expertise to the national foundation as it embarks on its Truth, Repair and Transformation process. She is a board-certified pediatrician and fellow in American Academy of Pediatrics.
President & CEO
Scotland Health Care Group
Panelist
David Pope is the President and CEO of Scotland Health Care System. He has spent his career improving health for those living in rural areas and small towns. David grew up in Union County, North Carolina and attended college as a Morehead Scholar at UNC where he met his wife, Jeannie. They have been married for 26 years.Â
David holds master’s and doctoral degrees from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. His dissertation studied community-based mental health services in rural North Carolina. David also holds a law degree from Wake Forest University. He served as a judge advocate in the Marine Corps from 2005 to 2009 and deployed to Iraq with Second Battalion, Second Marines. David and his family moved to Laurinburg in 2019 when he was hired as the Chief Operating Officer at Scotland Health.  Â
In 2025 David was honored as North Carolina’s Community Star by the North Carolina Office of Rural Health. In 2025 he was also awarded the Dr. Collie Coleman Spirit of Unity Award by the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. In 2026 David was named Richmond Community College’s Citizen of the Year. David currently serves as the Chair of the Laurinburg/Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce.Â
David and Jeannie have three daughters, Lillian, Miller, and Catherine, who are 14, 12, and 10. They are members at Stewartsville Baptist Church where David is a deacon and Sunday School teacher.  Â
NC House of Representatives
District 97
Panelist
Heather Rhyne, a lifelong North Carolinian, represents Lincoln County in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Originally from Cherryville, she earned her Pharmacy degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and serves as a retail pharmacist for several independent pharmacies. Heather has been married to Lincoln County native, Chris Rhyne, for 29 years and has two daughters. Before joining the legislature, Heather spent eight years on the Lincoln County Board of Education, including three as Chairwoman, where she championed quality education and built strong community relationships.
Elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives, Heather quickly distinguished herself by being chosen as Freshman Leader of the new member class in her first year and becoming the only freshman legislator to receive a vice-chairmanship. In her first session, she successfully worked on legislation that became law, including Senate Bill 479 and House Bill 412, as well as House Bill 517 and House Bill 536. Her collaborative, level-headed, and common sense approach has allowed her to provide valuable insight on a range of legislative issues.
For Heather, representing her community is both an honor and a calling that reflects her lifelong commitment to faith, family, and public service.
Chief Executive Officer
ECU Health
Dean
Brody School of Medicine
Eastern Carolina University
Panelist
Dr. Michael Waldrum, a Nashville, Tennessee native, is chief executive officer (CEO) of ECU Health. Waldrum is a specialist in critical care medicine and pulmonology and is trained in internal medicine. He has expertise in clinical effectiveness, information system and health care management in academic organizations.
Waldrum has significant expertise and experience managing the clinical operations of hospitals and clinics. Before coming to eastern North Carolina, he served as the president and CEO of The University of Arizona Health Network. Prior to that he was the CEO of the University of Alabama Hospital at Birmingham (UAB) and vice president of the UAB Health system. He also served as chief operating officer and chief information officer of the UAB Health System.
Waldrum is a member of the CaroNova Board of Directors, the NC East Alliance Board of Directors and the Greenville Pitt County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Waldrum also serves as the chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Board of Directors where he has held board leadership positions since 2020.
Waldrum graduated from the University of The South Sewanee in Tennessee with a BA in English and the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, received a Master’s Degree in epidemiology from Harvard School of Public Health and earned his MBA from the University of Michigan.
Waldrum and his wife Susan have four grown children who live across the southeastern United States. They have eleven grandchildren.
Executive Director of Program Implementation
North Carolina Healthcare Foundation
Moderator
Emily Roland serves as the Executive Director of Program Implementation at the North Carolina Healthcare Foundation, the charitable non-profit affiliate of the North Carolina Healthcare Association. In this role, Emily leads cross-functional teams, strengthens strategic partnerships, and advances organizational priorities aimed at achieving the Foundation’s overall mission of health improvement.
Grant-funded programs and implementation assistance activities under Emily’s purview focus on increasing healthcare access, addressing chronic disease through community-led interventions and policy change, and scaling innovative approaches to equitable health improvement in the priority areas of access to care, behavioral health, rural health, and healthcare workforce.
Prior to her current role, Emily worked within the Association’s advocacy and policy department to coordinate and lead the grassroots advocacy engagement of more than 130 member health systems and their partners throughout the state.
Before joining NCHA in 2014, Emily spent a decade at the North Carolina Chapter of Blood Cancer United (formerly the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) as the statewide Campaign Director for various corporate and community fundraising campaigns.
She is a graduate of Leadership NC Class XXV and currently serves on the Steering Committee of the NC Rural Health Association, the Office of Rural Health’s Primary Care Advisory Committee, and the State Health Improvement Plan’s Uninsured Workgroup.
Emily earned her bachelor’s degree from UNC Chapel Hill and her Master of Public Health from East Carolina University. She currently resides in Cary, NC with her husband and two children.
