Health Medical

Location:

Raleigh, NC

Posted:

December 10, 2012

Contact this candidate

Resume:

Paul Allen Buescher

**** ********* ******

Raleigh, North Carolina 27608

919-***-****

************@*********.***

Education

****-**** **. ****** **** School, Jackson, Mississippi

Graduated with honors

1967-1968 Mississippi State University

Mechanical engineering major

1968-1971 Louisiana State University

Engineering and mathematics coursework

B.A. in Sociology

1971-1973 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

M.A. in Sociology

1973-1977 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Ph.D. in Sociology (Advisor: Amos H. Hawley)

Major Area: Demography/Statistics

Work Experience

January 2010-

present Consultant to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Cancer

Surveillance Branch.

Provide technical assistance related to data collection, data acquisition, data quality,

and linkage of data files, as well as a state-level perspective on health statistics

projects. This consultation is to support the establishment of specialized state cancer

registries with enhanced data collection to promote comparative effectiveness

research.

September 2010-

Present Consultant to Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Provide technical assistance to staff at Mathematica Policy Research in support of a

project to update and refine previous cost/benefit and other evaluations of the WIC

program (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and

Children). The project is funded by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S.

Department of Agriculture. States selected to participate provide WIC, Medicaid, and

birth certificate data to Mathematica for linking and analysis.

2005-2009 Director

State Center for Health Statistics

Division of Public Health

N.C. Department of Health and Human Services

Manage agency of approximately 65 employees; supervise managers of Statistical

Services Unit, Central Cancer Registry, Birth Defects Monitoring Program, Health

and Spatial Analysis Unit, and Operations Unit; participate in the management teams

of the Chronic Disease and Injury Section and the Division of Public Health; work

with state and local public health program managers to meet their data and technical

assistance needs; collaborate with university colleagues on research projects; serve as

Project Director for CDC-funded Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System

(PRAMS) in North Carolina; serve as Project Director for CDC-funded Behavioral

Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) in North Carolina; continue role as

Adjunct Professor of Maternal and Child Health in the University of North Carolina

School of Public Health.

1993-2005 Head of Statistical Services Unit

State Center for Health Statistics

Manage unit of 15 employees; work closely with Center Director and Management

Team to achieve overall goals of organization; work with state and local public

health program managers to meet their data and technical assistance needs; oversee

Unit activities including production/editing/analysis of vital statistics data files,

analyses of Medicaid and hospital discharge data files, and publication of many

annual reports and special studies of the Center; promote research agenda within the

Center; collaborate with university colleagues on research projects; serve as Project

Director for CDC-funded Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS)

in North Carolina.

1980-1993 Statistician

State Center for Health Statistics

Director of Statistical Analysis

Supervise and evaluate work of four statisticians; interact with public and private

organizations on data-related matters; frequent public speaking; extensive research

design, data management, computer programming, data analysis, and writing;

produce annual publications within organization; provide technical assistance to

health programs regarding statistical analysis, survey sampling, and data processing.

1977-1980 Planning Data Analyst

State Health Planning and Development Agency, N.C. Department of Human

Resources. Writing and editing to produce State Health Plan and State Medical

Facilities Plan; liaison to Health Systems Agencies, state government offices, and

other organizations; staff support to State Health Coordinating Council Committees;

extensive work in developing hospital and nursing home bed need methodologies;

data collection, analysis, and special reports; computer programming.

1977 Summer Intern

Division of Community Employment, N.C. Department of Natural Resources and

Community Development. Assessment of employment and training needs in North

Carolina for Comprehensive Manpower Plan.

1976-1977 Research Assistant

Carolina Population Center, UNC Chapel Hill. Migration research; preparation of

federal grant proposals for study of economic resources and migration in the United

States.

1976 Consultant

To Professor James L. Morrison, School of Education, UNC Chapel Hill. Computer

programming, data analysis, and interpretation for educational research.

1975-1976 Instructor

Department of Sociology, UNC Chapel Hill. Teaching of Population Problems

course for three semesters.

1975 Research Assistant

Department of Sociology, UNC Chapel Hill (summer position). Preparation of

research proposal for study of internal migration in Colombia; literature review and

questionnaire design.

1975 Tutor

Department of Sociology, UNC Chapel Hill. Graduate course in mathematics for

sociologists.

1973-1974 Consultant

Carolina Population Center, Educational Materials Program, UNC Chapel Hill.

Compiled Professor Amos Hawley's taped lectures in introductory population course

into a self-instructional format; editing and writing as well as consultant work,

resulting in three-volume Carolina Population Center monograph.

Other work experience includes electrician's assistant, kitchen helper on offshore barge, and outdoor

labor.

Special Areas of Interest

Epidemiology and vital statistics Program evaluation

Maternal and child health The American South

Poverty and health Public policy

Professional Experience and Activities

Management Academy for Public Health, North Carolina Institute for Public Health, graduate of 2008-

2009 class; wrote business plan for public health project

Member of the NC DHHS Secretary and Commission on Indian Affairs Joint Task Force on Indian

Health, 2004-2005

Member of the PRAMS National Evaluation Advisory Group, Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC), 2003

Research Fellow of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North

Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2001-present

Member of Panel to Evaluate the USDA s Methodology for Estimating Eligibility and Participation for

the WIC Program. Committee on National Statistics, National Academy of Sciences/National Research

Council, 2000-2002

Editor of Running the Numbers, a regular column in the North Carolina Medical Journal to inform

North Carolina physicians and their patients about current topics in health statistics. July/August 1999

to July/August 2009

Technical assistance visit to the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, Cairo, February 1 -10,

1998. Project sponsored by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Agency for

International Development. Included hosting two Egyptian public health officials in North Carolina for

two weeks in January 1998

Member of North Carolina Dental Public Health Residency Advisory Committee, 1998 to 2009

North Carolina Public Manager Program, Class of 1992

Adjunct Professor, Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina School of

Public Health, 1991 to present

Reviewer for journals: Health Services Research, Public Health Reports, Maternal and Child Health

Journal, Journal of the American Medical Association, Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, American

Journal of Public Health

Presentation on health program evaluation at workshop "Tools of Policy Analysis and Research for

Health Decisionmakers" for state legislators and senior health officials, Agency for Health Care Policy

and Research, November 1991, Snowbird, Utah and June 1992, Charlottesville, Virginia

Participant in planning meeting on "Database Development for Clinical Evaluation," Institute of

Medicine, May 1991, Washington, DC

Panel member for "Assessing the Feasibility of a Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the Medicaid

Expansions for Infants, Children, and Pregnant Women," Health Care Financing Administration, May

1991, Washington, DC

Presented session on "Linking Health Service Data Files to Vital Records," at workshop sponsored by

Midwest Maternal and Child Health Data Improvement Project, September 1990, Chicago

Faculty of Maternal and Child Health Continuing Education Institute through San Diego State

University School of Public Health; five workshops on sources and uses of data, 1988-89

Panelist on "Evaluating Program Impact," National Governors' Association Conference on Improving

State Programs for Pregnant Women and Children, March 1989, San Antonio

Collaborated with faculty of Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and

Gynecology, on studies of low birthweight prevention, 1987-1989.

Chairperson of Employee Wellness Committee and editor of departmental newsletter "The Good Health

News," 1987-1989

Member of National Institutes of Health Scientific Review Panel, 1987

Conducted regional workshops on "Data-Based Decision Making for Maternal and Child Health," MCH

Leadership Development Project, University of Kentucky College of Nursing, 1987, New Orleans and

Savannah

Chairperson, Statistics and Epidemiology Section, North Carolina Public Health Association, 1986-87

Participated in Region IV Network for Data Management and Utilization (RNDMU), 1985-1989:

member of project planning team, responsible for production of annual perinatal data book, made

presentations at annual workshops, visited state health departments for technical assistance

Member of Low Birthweight Prevention Task Force of Center for Health Promotion and Disease

Prevention, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1985-1990

Panelist on topic of "Communicating Sociology to Public Policy Makers," 1984 meeting of North

Carolina Sociological Association, Winston-Salem

Presentation at "Seminar on the Development and Utilization of Multiple Cause of Death Data,"

sponsored by Applied Statistics Training Institute, National Center for Health Statistics, June 1982,

College Park, Maryland

Attended Applied Statistics Training Institute Workshop on "Cost Benefit and Cost Effectiveness

Analysis," March 1980, Tucson, Arizona

Chairman of North Carolina Health Planning Data Committee, 1978-1979

Attended Applied Statistics Training Institute course, "Information Methods for Health Planning,"

March 1978, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

Contracts and Grants Received

Project Director, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Cooperative agreement with

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct a random telephone survey of North Carolina

adults (1999-2003 and 2005-2009; $250,000 per year)

Project Director, Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). Cooperative agreement

with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct a post-partum survey of women (1996-

2009; $145,000 per year)

Co-Principal Investigator, North Carolina Community Health Assessment Initiative. Cooperative

agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to enhance local community health

assessment activities in North Carolina (1997-2003; $200,000+ per year)

Wrote National Institutes of Health application resulting in funding for State Center for Health Statistics

to participate in multinational study of perinatal health, 1984

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Articles

Buescher PA, Whitmire JT, Pullen-Smith B. Medical care costs for diabetes associated with health

disparities among adult Medicaid enrollees in North Carolina. North Carolina Medical Journal 2010;

71:319-324.

Buescher PA, Whitmire JT, Plescia M. Relationship between body mass index and medical care

expenditures for North Carolina adolescents enrolled in Medicaid in 2004. Preventing Chronic Disease

2008; 5: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2008/jan/06_0131.htm.

Buescher PA, Whitmire JT, Brunssen S, Kluttz-Hile CE. Children who are medically fragile in North

Carolina: using Medicaid data to estimate prevalence and medical care costs in 2004. Maternal and

Child Health Journal 2006; 10:461-466.

Buescher PA, Mittal M. Racial disparities in birth outcomes increase with maternal age: recent data

from North Carolina. North Carolina Medical Journal 2006; 67:16-20.

Buescher PA, Gizlice Z, Jones-Vessey KA. Discrepancies between published data on racial

classification and self-reported race: evidence from the 2002 North Carolina live birth records. Public

Health Reports 2005; 120:393-398.

Buescher PA. A review of available data on the health of the Latino population in North Carolina.

North Carolina Medical Journal 2003; 64:97-105.

Buescher PA, Horton SJ, Devaney BL, Roholt SJ, Lenihan AJ, Whitmire JT, Kotch JB. Differences in

use of health services between white and African American children enrolled in Medicaid in North

Carolina. Maternal and Child Health Journal 2003; 7:45-52.

Buescher PA, Horton SJ, Devaney BL, Roholt SJ, Lenihan AJ, Whitmire JT, Kotch JB. Child

participation in WIC: Medicaid costs and use of health services. American Journal of Public Health

2003; 93:145-150.

Buescher PA, Harper M, Meyer RE. Enhanced surveillance of maternal mortality in North Carolina.

North Carolina Medical Journal 2002; 63:76-79.

Buescher PA, Horton SJ. Prenatal WIC participation in relation to low birth weight and Medicaid infant

costs in North Carolina a 1997 update. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2001; 101:997

(letter).

Martin SL, Mackie L, Kupper LL, Buescher PA, Moracco KE. Physical abuse of women before, during,

and after pregnancy. The Journal of the American Medical Association 2001; 285:1581-1584.

Buescher PA, Jones-Vessey K. Using Medicaid data to estimate state- and county-level prevalence of

asthma among low-income children. Maternal and Child Health Journal 1999; 3:211-216.

Meyer RE, Buescher PA, Surles KB. Multiple deliveries in North Carolina: effects on birth outcomes.

Maternal and Child Health Journal 1999; 3:233-240.

Surles K, Buescher P, Meyer R. Infant mortality and low birthweight in North Carolina: the last 10

years. North Carolina Medical Journal 1999; 60:163-168.

Buescher PA. Method of linking Medicaid records to birth certificates may affect infant outcome

statistics. American Journal of Public Health 1999; 89:564-566.

Buescher PA. Smoking in pregnancy in North Carolina: maternal characteristics and trends, 1988-

1994. North Carolina Medical Journal 1997; 58: 356-360.

Buescher PA, Leiss JK. Race, education, and mortality in North Carolina. North Carolina Medical

Journal 1995; 56:480-484.

Meyer RE, Buescher PA, Ryan K. Recent infant mortality trends in North Carolina. North Carolina

Medical Journal 1995; 56:302-306.

Meyer RE, Buescher PA. Maternal mortality related to induced abortion in North Carolina: a historical

study. Family Planning Perspectives 1994; 26:179-180, 191.

Buescher PA, Taylor KP, Davis MH, Bowling JM. The quality of the new birth certificate data: a

validation study in North Carolina. American Journal of Public Health 1993; 83:1163-1165.

Buescher PA, Larson LC, Nelson MD, Lenihan AJ. Prenatal WIC participation can reduce low

birthweight and newborn medical costs: a cost-benefit analysis of WIC participation in North Carolina.

Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1993; 93:163-166.

Jamieson DJ, Buescher PA. The effect of family planning participation on prenatal care use and low

birthweight. Family Planning Perspectives 1992; 24:214-218.

Buescher PA, Ward NI. A comparison of low birthweight among Medicaid patients of public health

departments and other providers of prenatal care in North Carolina and Kentucky. Public Health

Reports 1992; 107:54-59, Jan.-Feb.

Buescher PA, Roth MS, Williams D, Goforth CM. An evaluation of the impact of maternity care

coordination on Medicaid birth outcomes in North Carolina. American Journal of Public Health 1991;

81:1625-1629.

Buescher PA, Peoples-Sheps MD, Guild PA, Siegel E. Problems in estimating the number of women in

need of subsidized prenatal care. Public Health Reports 1991; 106:333-338, May-June.

Moore ML, Buescher PA, et al. The effect of a preterm birth prevention program in 17 rural and three

urban counties in northwest North Carolina. The Journal of Rural Health 1989; 5:361-370.

Buescher PA, et al. A comparison of women in and out of a prematurity prevention project in a North

Carolina perinatal care region. American Journal of Public Health 1988; 78:264-267.

Meis PJ, Ernest JM, Moore ML, Michielutte R, Sharp PC, Buescher PA. Regional program for

prevention of premature birth in northwestern North Carolina. American Journal of Obstetrics and

Gynecology 1987; 157:550-556.

Buescher PA, Smith C, Holliday JL, Levine RH. Source of prenatal care and infant birthweight: the

case of a North Carolina county. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 1987; 156:204-210.

Runyan CW, Kotch JB, Margolis LH, Buescher PA. Childhood injuries in North Carolina: a statewide

analysis of hospitalizations and deaths. American Journal of Public Health 1985; 75:1429-1432.

Buescher PA, Nugent RR, Levine RH. The impact of low birthweight on North Carolina neonatal

mortality 1976-1982. North Carolina Medical Journal 1984; 45:437-441.