The NC Oral Health Collaborative recently awarded Dr. Rob Doherty the 2020 Janet Reaves Community Achievement Award.

Dr. Doherty is Greene County Health Care’s Chief Dental Officer and has worked at GCHC for almost 17 years.

The Collaborative works to improve the oral health status of all North Carolinians by increasing access and equity in oral health care through partnership, advocacy and education.

This is the Collaborative’s first Community Achievement Award. The award is named in memory of Janet Reaves, an advocate for North Carolinians who worked statewide to improve the health of those with chronic disease, a release from the Collaborative notes. The award also highlights the connection between oral and systemic health.

The Collaborative was set to present the award at the North Carolina Community Health Center Association’s Clinical Conference on Quality and Chronic Disease in April, but the conference was canceled due to COVID-19. Instead, Zachary Brian, director of the North Carolina Oral Health Collaborative Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation, conducted a virtual interview with Dr. Doherty recently.

In a press release announcing the award, Dr. Brian called Dr. Doherty a “a tireless innovator, collaborator, and advocate for better oral health care. Throughout his career, he has worked to increase access to quality oral health care for underserved communities by spearheading new and innovative approaches to community-based dentistry, “ Dr. Brian said.

“(Thank you) to Dr. Doherty for his passion, unwavering support of our most vulnerable communities, and his commitment to fostering growth and professional development of North Carolina’s talented dental providers,” he said. “We can all learn something from Dr. Doherty, and we are proud to collaborate with him and his team.”

“When I came to Greene County Health Care, I wanted to do three things: open the doors to the most in need, mainly uninsured adults, offer comprehensive oral health care and create a nurturing teaching environment for up-and-coming dentists and other staff,” Dr. Doherty said.

“We’ve done that. And we’re helping people every day in their process to better their own lives. Our patients and this work humble me.”

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number H80CS10607 Health Center Program, in the amount of $8,654,913 or 48% of total program costs with $8,956,453 or 50% financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov. GCHC is licensed by the state of North Carolina, led by an independent Board of Directors and is an FQHC Program grantee under 42 U.S.C. 254. GCHC receives HHS funding and has Public Health Service (PHS) deemed status with respect to certain health or health-related claims, including medical malpractice claims, for itself and its covered individuals.