Leadership
Access East takes a team approach to its day-to-day operations, believing key personnel working in close collaboration produce more informed, ultimately better, decisions. The majority of our Leadership Team is drawn from the formal leadership structure of our Access East Care Management divison, the primary Access East service line.
Major operating and policy decisions may also involve our Access East Board of Directors.
Our Access East Leadership Team
Debra Thompson
President
President
Thomas Irons, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Chief Medical Officer
Ruth Craig
Director,
Medicaid Care Management
Director,
Medicaid Care Management
Gretchen Smith
Manager,
Medicaid Care Management
Manager,
Medicaid Care Management
Heather Deanes
Administrator,
Care Management
Administrator,
Care Management
Shantell Cheek
HealthAssist Uninsured Network
Director
HealthAssist Uninsured Network
Director
Tina Dixon
Vice President,
Healthy Opportunities
Vice President,
Healthy Opportunities
Lani True
Pharmacy Director
Pharmacy Director
- Debra Thompson, DNP, FNP-BC, MAS-PHM
President, Access East/
Vice President, Clinical Population Health, Vidant Health
(252) 847-1220 | DTHOMPSO@accesseast.org - Thomas Irons, MD
Chief Medical Officer
(252) 744-2983 | IRONST@ecu.edu - Ruth Craig, BSN, RN, CCM
Director, Medicaid Care Management and Practice Support
(252) 916-0620 | ruth.craig@accesseast.org - Gretchen Smith, MSN, RN, CCM
Manager, Medicaid Care Management and Practice Support
(252) 814-0535 | gretchen.smith@accesseast.org - Heather Deanes, MSN, RN
Administrator, Care Management
(252) 847-2101 | heather.deanes@ecuhealth.org - Shantell Cheek, RN, MAEd
Director, HealthAssist Uninsured Network
(252) 847-2224 | shantell.cheek@accesseast.org - Tina Dixon, MPA
Vice President, Healthy Opportunities
(252) 847-9350 | tdixon@accesseast.org - Lani True, PharmD, MBA, BCACP
Director, Pharmacy Program
(252) 902-5679 | lani.true@accesseast.org