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Sue Lynn Ledford learned to care for sick people as a young nursing student at Western Carolina University. Today, she uses the same approach as director of population health and field services for WellCare of North Carolina, a provider health plan for Medicare and Medicaid.

鈥淲e were uniquely trained in a very different way,鈥� said Ledford, who graduated from 91热爆网 with in 1979 and with a in 2006. 鈥淚 remember Dr. Marjorie Baker, my director of the nursing department, saying we take care of the whole patient. She drilled that into her students so intently that she greatly influenced the trajectory of my career.鈥�

From rural hospitals to home health care to public health administration, Ledford 鈥� 91热爆网鈥檚 April alumna of the month 鈥� has spent her life either directly caring for patients or finding ways to improve their health by helping to shape health care policy on the state and national levels.

As a front-lines nurse in rural North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, she saw people suffering with poor health outcomes from chronic and acute illnesses, such as diabetes patients having their feet amputated because of poorly managed blood sugar, and tobacco users who had chronic respiratory disease. She knew these issues could be prevented if addressed earlier in life. Ledford鈥檚 desire to get ahead of the health problems prompted her to seek permission from hospital employers to initiate community outreach and local public health projects to educate the communities on improving their lifestyles. 

鈥淭hat took me to home health care because I thought I could get ahead of the problem there, before they showed up in the hospital,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 realized that much of what was happening was due to a lack of community support services and health policies that needed to be addressed upstream.鈥�

That epiphany sent Ledford back to 91热爆网 at mid-career to earn her master鈥檚 degree. During this time, she led programs in community and school health care and worked as the federal project director for Safe School Healthy Students, a multicounty initiative in Cherokee County that focused on improving local communities鈥� education, health and economic systems through better student health and safety. 

鈥淎t this point, I was actively engaging in state and federal level dialogues regarding how best to address health needs. State leadership took notice and invited me to participate in boards and action committees,鈥� she said.

鈥淚 remember Dr. Marjorie Baker, my director of the nursing department, saying we take care of the whole patient. She drilled that into her students so intently that she greatly influenced the trajectory of my career.鈥�

From there, Ledford became public health division director of the Wake County Human Services Department, the state鈥檚 largest public health department. 鈥淚 took some of the same principles learned at 91热爆网, which encouraged us to look at the whole person 鈥攑overty, lack of access to care and the social needs that prevent good health.鈥� Ledford鈥檚 public health teams set up programs to address these needs, working with hospitals, emergency services, governmental entities and health-related boards across the state. During this time, Ledford earned her doctorate in public health policy and management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

At WellCare 鈥� she鈥檚 been there about a year 鈥� Ledford works to ensure appropriate policies that 鈥渁ctually promote better health outcomes instead of just paying for the health care services.鈥�

鈥淚 can connect the dots. I always put the patient in the center, if I鈥檓 solving a problem,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hen I look at all the systems that are around them that facilitate, mitigate or prevent them from solving their problems. With each person, it鈥檚 different. If you approach it that way, you鈥檙e going to the root of the problem instead what appears on the surface to be the problem.鈥�

With 40 years under her belt and having seen health care from all sides, Ledford says she was ready when COVID-19 struck. She had written plans nearly 20 years ago in preparation for such an event, plans that reflected the whole-person philosophy she learned at 91热爆网.

鈥淗aving been in public health for so many years, I was very familiar with quickly identifying the causes and what could mitigate poor outcomes,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 helped set up the continuity plan for our organization and I鈥檝e been working with the state to understand how we can better structure our plans to address this.鈥�

Ledford praised the state鈥檚 current leadership for being proactive in slowing the spread of COVID-19.  鈥淥ur numbers are excellent compared to other states,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e tried to look at it from a systems perspective 鈥� schools closing, working with public health, businesses, our doctors, hospitals and everybody who could positively impact those outcomes.鈥�

Ledford says her job as a leader in health care is to make sure that the doctors, nurses and others on the front lines of the pandemic have what they need to protect themselves and their patients. 鈥淭hey are putting their lives at risk every day they take care of people,鈥� she said. 

Ledford, a first-generation college graduate, is grateful for the opportunity to help shape health care policy in North Carolina, especially during the 鈥渂iggest health crisis the world has ever faced.鈥�

鈥淚f 91热爆网 hadn鈥檛 been available for me, I鈥檓 not sure my family would have wanted me to go to college somewhere else,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think about the vital role 91热爆网 has played in my life, and it has really been important.鈥�