About the Board

City: Greensboro, NC
Term ends: Oct. 31, 2023
Specialty: Neurological Surgery; Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery
Certification: American Board of Neurological Surgery
Professional Background:
Dr. Kilpatrick practices at Novant Health Brain & Spine Surgery with offices in Kernersville and Greensboro. She also holds an Adjunct Faculty position at the UNC School of Medicine Charlotte Campus. Her practice includes the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of spine, brain, and peripheral nerve disorders in adults. Dr. Kilpatrick graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill and completed her Neurosurgery residency at UNC Hospitals. Dr. Kilpatrick earned a Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

City: Apex
Term ends: October 31, 2024
Specialty: Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Certification: American Board of Family Medicine
Professional Background:
Dr. Khandelwal is a Professor of Family Medicine and Director of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine with the Cambpell University School of Osteopathic Medicine. Previously, she was a practicing palliative care and hospice physician and the VP of Education and Outreach at Transitions Life Care in Raleigh. Dr. Khandelwal is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine, which has granted her certificates of added qualification in both Palliative and Hospice Medicine and in Geriatrics.

City: Durham
Term ends: Oct. 31, 2025
Specialty: Family Medicine
Certification: American Board of Family Medicine
Professional Background:
Dr. Sangvai is a family physician practicing with the Duke University Health System in Durham. He is Professor of Family Medicine, Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the Duke University School of Medicine and Vice President for Population Health Management at DukeHealth. Dr. Sangvai has a clinical practice in the medical management of eating disorders and a teaching and scholarly focus on leadership development among undergraduate and medical students, residents and early career faculty. He previously served as Chief of Duke Family Medicine. Dr. Sangvai graduated from The Ohio State University and received his medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio, where he also completed postgraduate training in family medicine. Dr. Sangvai earned his Master of Business Administration from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

City: Raleigh
Term ends: Oct. 31, 2023
Specialty: Pediatrics
Certification: American Board of Pediatrics
Professional Background:
Dr. Rusher practices with Raleigh Pediatric Associates, where he is a partner. He is also an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of General Pediatrics at the UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill. Dr. Rusher is board certified in Pediatrics and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Rusher practiced law in Raleigh for six years before training to be a physician.

City: Matthews
Term ends: June 30, 2023
Professional Background:
Mr. Brawley served four terms as the Representative for District 103 in the North Carolina House. He held several chairmanships during his service including Senior Co-Chair of the House Finance Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He has previously served two terms as a Commissioner for the Town of Matthews, and served 11 years as an appointed Park Commissioner for Mecklenburg County. Mr. Brawley is a native of North Carolina who grew up in Charlotte. He is a veteran of the US Army and has a degree in Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he began his professional life as an accountant. His early use of computers in government filings and financial modeling led to a career in the application of technology. Mr. Brawley changed careers to commercial real estate in 2004 and has been involved in infill assembly and property management.

City: Morganton
Term ends: Oct. 31, 2025
Specialty: OB/GYN
Certification: American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Professional Background:
Dr. Hall currently practices gynecology with Blue Ridge Women's Care in Morganton, after more than two decades of busy OB/GYN practice. He earned his medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed postgraduate training in OB/GYN at Greenville Hospital System in Greenville, SC. Since becoming part of Carolinas Healthcare System - Blue Ridge, Dr. Hall has held numerous leadership positions within the system, including President of the Medical Staff. In addition, he is a past President of the Piedmont OB/GYN Society in Hickory.

City: Morganton
Term ends: October 31, 2024
Specialty: General Psychiatry
Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Professional Background:
Dr. Hill-Price is an Attending Psychiatrist for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services at Broughton Hospital in Morganton. Dr. Hill-Price began her career in medicine as a registered nurse and went on to earn both medical and law degrees from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She served a brief residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at East Carolina University but found postgraduate training too consuming to allow her to care for her toddler and instead pursued a career in law. After practicing law for eight years, Hill-Price returned to medicine, beginning postgraduate training in Psychiatry in Chapel Hill and completing her training at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Dr. Hill-Price is board certified in general psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is a member of the NC Medical Society. She maintains an active license with the NC State Bar.

City: Goldsboro
Term ends: October 31, 2024
Certification: American Nurses Credentialing Center - Family Nurse Practitioner
Professional Background:
Dr. Johnson is the System Administrator for Advanced Clinical Practice (Physician Assistants, Clinical Pharmacist Practitioners and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses) at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, NC. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, she practices at East Carolina University (ECU) Division of Nephrology and Hypertension in Greenville. Dr. Johnson has worked in various healthcare organizations across the United States due to her husband’s service with the United States Air Force. Dr. Johnson entered the nursing profession as a diploma nurse in Rapid City, SD, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from South Dakota State University. She then trained as a Family Nurse Practitioner in the master’s degree program at the ECU College of Nursing, where she also earned her PhD in Nursing. Dr. Johnson serves as an Assistant Research Professor and Preceptor Development Coordinator with the ECU College of Nursing.

City: Pembroke
Term ends: Oct. 31, 2025
Professional Background:
Mr. Malcolm, an attorney, is one of three public members of the Board. His legal expertise is in tribal enterprises, corporate governance, compliance, healthcare governance and government ethics, among other topics. Mr. Malcolm currently serves as President and CEO of Lumbee Tribe Holdings, Inc., in Pembroke, NC. Previously, he served as vice president of legal affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary for Lumbee Tribe Enterprises, LLC and as general counsel for the University of North Carolina at Pembroke for more than a decade after serving as associate general counsel for Fayetteville State University. He currently serves on the NC State Bar Council and previously served on the NC State Board of Elections. Mr. Malcolm earned his law degree from the North Carolina Central University School of Law after serving seven years on active duty as an officer and aviator in the U.S. Air Force.

City: Cary
Term ends: October 31, 2024
Certification: National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants
Professional Background:
Mr. Pineiro is the co-owner of FamHealth Primary Care in Raleigh, where he practices full scope primary care, including chronic disease management. A graduate of the Duke University PA program, Mr Pineiro’s clinical experience includes behavioral health and emergency medicine as well as preventive medicine. In addition, Mr. Pineiro is an Assistant Professor of Physician Assistant Studies with Campbell University PA program, where he teaches during the didactic year of the curriculum. He holds a Master of Health Professions Education from Campbell University.

City: Raleigh
Term ends: Oct. 31, 2023
Specialty: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Certification: American Board of Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation
Professional Background:
Dr. Rao-Patel is Associate Vice-President and Senior Medical Director for Government Markets at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC). In that role, she serves as the primary interface between Blue Cross NC and its clinical partners. She also provides clinical-focused leadership to drive the organizational pursuit of high quality and cost-effective care for government programs. In addition to this role, Dr. Rao-Patel has led an internal opioid workgroup for Blue Cross NC and works collaboratively with other key stakeholders at both state and national levels to identify solutions and best practices on the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders while focusing on effective care coordination for member-focused care delivery. Dr. Rao-Patel attended medical school at Louisiana State University in New Orleans and completed her internship in Internal Medicine at Earl K. Long Hospital in Baton Rouge. She completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to joining Blue Cross NC, she was in private practice providing services for chronic pain management and addiction management. She remains clinically active.

City: Bladenboro
Term ends: October 31, 2025
Specialty: Family Medicine
Certification: American Board of Family Medicine
Professional Background:
Dr. Rich is a family physician practicing with Bladen Medical Associates in Elizabethtown. He earned his medical degree from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University and completed a family medicine residency at East Carolina University/Pitt County Memorial Hospital. Dr. Rich is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. He is the American Academy of Family Physicians representative to the National Academy of Medicine – Opioid Collaborative (Prescribing Guidelines Working Group) and a member of the NC Prescription Drug Abuse Advisory Committee.

City: Raleigh
Term ends: October 31, 2024
Professional Background:
Mr. Sousa, an attorney with deep experience in health care, consults with several large medical practices on a myriad of regulatory and compliance issues. For more than 26 years, Mr. Sousa worked at Curi (formerly Medical Mutual), most recently as its Chief Legal Officer. At Curi, he oversaw the Claims, Risk Management, Information Technology, Communications, Health Policy, Member Benefits and Human Resources functions. For six years he served as the organization's Chief Operating Officer. He led the company's Community and Advisory Boards in five states in its geographic footprint. Prior to joining Medical Mutual, he practiced law in Raleigh for fifteen years and represented physicians in the defense of malpractice claims throughout North Carolina. Mr. Sousa holds a JD degree from Wake Forest University, and his M.B.A. and B.A. from the University of Kentucky.