ECU alumna named N.C. Distinguished Family Physician of the Year
Shannon B. Dowler, a 1999 graduate of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, was named the 2022 Distinguished Family Physician Award winner by the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians (NCAFP), the state’s largest specialty medical association.
The Distinguished Family Physician Award — the most prestigious award given by the NCAFP — is awarded annually to a family physician whose career exemplifies an unwavering commitment to his or her patients, the ideals of family medicine, and enhancing the quality of life in his or her local community. The winner is selected by a confidential committee.
Shannon B. Dowler, right, an alumna of the Brody School of Medicine, was named the 2022 Distinguished Family Physician Award winner by the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians. She is pictured with her husband, Jared. (Contributed photo)
Dowler was honored for her career as a family physician, for working to combat the spread of sexually transmitted infections and for her expertise in health care policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She currently serves as chief medical officer (CMO) for N.C. Medicaid and deputy CMO for Health Access within the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. She was previously medical director of a federally qualified health center and a physician executive within Mission Health System before joining N.C. Medicaid in 2018. She is a part-time volunteer at the Buncombe County Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic.
Dowler said her Brody experience helped cement her passion for ensuring health care access to patients across North Carolina to improve overall health.
“The influence of my medical education at Brody (then ECU School of Medicine) significantly impacted my career,” she said, “from understanding the critical importance of a foundational medical home and a desire to drive meaningful improvements in health equity, to the influence of a person’s environment and experiences that ultimately contribute to achieving optimal health.”
During the presentation of the award, NCAFP outgoing President Dimitrios “Takie” Hondros highlighted Dowler’s service at the local and state level, praising her efforts to combat sexually transmitted infections, and more recently, her work at Medicaid to swiftly change many policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hondros noted Dowler’s work to minimize patient disruptions and mitigate administrative burden for primary care during the Department’s recent transition to Medicaid Managed Care.
“During the pandemic, state Medicaid policies changed at lightning speed, particularly around telehealth,” Hondros said during the award presentation. “I was personally astounded by how quickly new policies got put in place to make sure physicians could still care for their patients during COVID.”
Beyond her work with Medicaid, Dowler continues her focus on STIs through service at a clinic in Buncombe County. She is also in the process of publishing her first book, “Never Too Late: Your Guide to Safer Sex After 60.”
Dowler completed her undergraduate degree at Appalachian State University before earning her medical degree at ECU. She completed her family medicine residency at the MAHEC-Asheville Family Medicine Residency.
NCAFP is a non‐profit professional association headquartered in Raleigh representing over 4,300 family physicians, family medicine residents and medical students across the state. It is the largest medical specialty association in North Carolina and is a constituent chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians, based in Leawood, Kansas.