Sandra B. Greene has been contributing to research at Carolina for 45 years.
Sandra B. Greene has worked for UNC-Chapel Hill in a variety of roles, most recently as Professor of the Practice in the Department of Health Policy and Management within the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is also the co-director of the Program on Health Care Economics and Finance and a senior research fellow at the UNC Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, and an adjunct associate professor within the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
What brought you to Carolina?
I received my doctoral degree from UNC-Chapel Hill. Dennis Gillings was my doctoral dissertation chair and guided me through the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program in the Department of Biostatistics in Gillings. Cecil G. Sheps was a consultant to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) when they decided to start a research unit, studying their claims data to better understand the health care utilization of their subscribers. Both of these wonderful Carolina faculty mentors assisted me in landing the position at BCBSNC and continued to serve in a consulting role as I built the new research unit.
As I developed and expanded BCBSNC’s research program, I maintained close ties with Carolina faculty. During these years, I returned to the university frequently to provide guest lectures and interact with students. When I came to a point in my career where I was ready for new professional challenges, it was a no-brainer that a position at UNC-Chapel Hill was the right step to take. While I have technically worked at the university since 1979 as an adjunct assistant professor in the biostatistics department and then a research associate at the Sheps Center in 1980, I joined Gillings full time in 2001 as Professor of the Practice.
How has your role here changed over the years?
My role at UNC-Chapel Hill is in two parts: teaching and research. My teaching has been in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Gillings, and my research has been at the Sheps Center. My relationships with both of these entities are deep and special.
Because of my experience in health services research and policy at BCBSNC, my teaching interests at the university were with the DrPH students in healthy policy and management. These students are in the practice world in public health, both domestically and globally. I started out teaching one course, and eventually three courses in a series that focused on research skills needed to conduct their dissertations on topics of relevance in their work environments. Over the years, I became increasingly involved with these students. I have now served on 88 dissertation committees, 39 of which I have chaired.
When I began my role at the Sheps Center, the only health insurance claims data available for health services researchers was the N.C. discharge data. These data included records for all hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and ambulatory surgery cases in N.C. facilities. What was striking to me was that the university had no access to any other insurance claims data for its researchers to use. So, in my role at Sheps and in conjunction with Gillings, I began the Carolina Cost and Quality Initiative (CCQI) to bring N.C. insurance claims data into the Sheps Center.
Over a number of years, I negotiated with data owners and developed contractual agreements to facilitate the sharing of their data. CCQI now includes data from Medicaid, BCBSNC, and the State Health Plan. As this has evolved, my role has been to continue maintaining key relationships with the data owners, oversee the processes at Sheps for proper use of the data, and work with students and faculty to understand how these data can be appropriately leveraged.
Impact Report
Public Health researcher Sandra B. Greene founded the Carolina Cost & Quality Initiative to improve health care quality and access for North Carolinians. The program promotes research on how often diseases occur, how people use health care, and the costs of care in N.C.
In 2021, Sandra was appointed chair of the N.C. State Health Coordinating Council. In this role, she produced the annual State Medical Facilities Plan, which oversees the expansion of medical facilities and services in N.C.
The use of the N.C. discharge data, for which I am responsible, has also evolved. Through a contract with the Division of Health Services Regulation, the Sheps Center analyzes the use of N.C. hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers and evaluates future need to expand these facilities. This work is overseen by the N.C. State Health Coordinating Council (SHCC), of which I had been a member since 1996. In 2021, I was appointed by the governor to chair this statewide council. In this role, I am responsible for producing the annual State Medical Facilities Plan, which oversees the expansion of medical facilities and services in N.C.
What’s kept you at Carolina?
There are three passions that have kept me here:
- maintaining relationships with N.C. claims data owners to continue the flow of CCQI data into the university for researchers to use;
- coaching students to conduct strong research projects for their dissertations; and
- working with the N.C. discharge data to continue supporting the health planning process in N.C. and chair the SHCC in producing the annual State Medical Facilities Plan.
Since coming back to Carolina in 2002, I have not once considered leaving!
What contribution are you most proud of?
I am proud of the students I have worked with throughout the years and the roles they now have all over the world.
Barbara Martin, for example, is here at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she works as the assistant director of community outreach and engagement and population sciences. She has spent the last 25 years leading, training, and researching community-based initiatives to improve public health.
Claude Jacob is the public health director for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District. He oversees more than 50 programs that serve over 2 million residents across San Antonio and Bexar County, Texas. For the last 30 years, he’s worked as a public health administrator across four states.
Kristie Mikus is the executive director of the Global Health Technologies Coalition — which conducts research on vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and other essential health technologies — in Washington, D.C. Her work is instrumental for improving the health and lives of people globally.
What is a uniquely Carolina experience you’ve had?
My faculty role as Professor of the Practice was very new when I arrived at the university. And for someone with my background who had corporate experience, rather than academic experience, this was an appropriate faculty position for me. It has allowed me to build on my leadership and research experience gained in the private sector and to continue making contributions in the university setting.
But I must also acknowledge the wonderful and unique experiences of witnessing the men’s Tar Heel basketball team beating Duke in the Dean Dome, which I have witnessed many times, in the same seats since the dome opened 38 years ago!
Rooted recognizes long-standing members of the UNC-Chapel Hill community who have aided in the advancement of research by staying at Carolina. They are crucial to the UNC Research enterprise, experts in their fields, and loyal Tar Heels. Know someone we should feature? Nominate a researcher.