Governor Nathan Deal has appointed Kiera von Besser, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, to the Georgia Board of Community Health.

The Georgia Board of Community Health establishes the general policy for the Department of Community Health, which serves as the lead agency for health care planning and purchasing in Georgia. 

"As an Emergency Medicine physician with a unique perspective on the health and health care needs of our community, I am excited to be able to bring my insight and expertise to help affect policy and make positive change in Georgia," says von Besser.

Von Besser, who sees patients at Grady Memorial Hospital, will also serve on the Care Management Committee – which reviews and makes recommendations about policies that affect Medicaid-funded programs. 

With a 2013 fiscal year budget totaling $12 billion, the Department of Community Health manages the healthcare needs of approximately one in four Georgians through Medicaid, PeachCare for Kids and the State Health Benefit Plan. Other divisions within the department include Healthcare Facility Regulation and Health Information Technology – which leads Georgia’s strategic initiative for the electronic health record and health information exchange.

Von Besser is a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology from Princeton University and a medical degree from the University of Chicago as well as a doctorate degree in Philosophy focusing on Molecular Genetics and Cellular Biology.