The Guilford County Division of Public Health (GCDPH) has been named the 2021 North Carolina Public Health Association (NCPHA) Dr. Sarah Taylor Morrow Health Department of the Year. This award is given to health departments who have demonstrated outstanding and exemplary health initiatives and programs. Winners are also awarded a prize of $1,000.
Dr. Iulia Vann, GCDPH Director said, “Receiving this award is a full-circle and historic moment for the GCDPH – as the award is named in honor of Guilford County’s very first female Public Health Director, Dr. Sarah T. Morrow. When Dr. Morrow, who still follows us very closely from her home in Wilmington, NC, found out that we received this award she said, ‘Well of course they did!’ This is such a special moment for us and it is truly an honor to continue the rich legacy of monumental achievements in public health in Guilford County.” (More about Dr. Sarah T. Morrow at the end of this release)
Without question, 2020 was the year of COVID-19. The GCDPH not only tackled unprecedented issues surrounding an international pandemic, but exercised creativity and determination to keep Guilford County community members safe and healthy.
The GCDPH was awarded the NCPHA Health Department of the Year for our unique ability to provide COVID-19 services while simultaneously addressing priority health issues in Guilford County. Some of our work recognized in the NCPHA Health Department of the Year award included:
- Guilford County Formerly Incarcerated Transition (FIT) Program
- Care management for high risk pregnancy (CMHRP)
- Addressing the needs of community members with housing insecurity
- Collaborative opioid awareness and outreach efforts
- COVID-19 Testing, contract tracing, surveillance, vaccinations, mitigation, and nationally recognized communication campaign.
For more information about the above, and other, GCDPH programs that were recognized contact Kenya S. Godette.
Please see photos below:
Left to Right: Louise Baldwin, MPA (Guilford County Public Health Agency Business Manager), Dr. Iulia Vann, MD, MPH (Guilford County Public Health Director), Jasmine Buxton (Guilford County Public Health Billing Unit Supervisor)
Left to Right: Leah Mayo, MPH, MCHES (2021-22 NCPHA President), Jasmine Buxton, Louise Baldwin, Dr. Iulia Vann, Michael Zelek (Chatham County Public Health Director, 2020-21 NCPHA President)
The 2021 NCPHA Dr. Sarah Taylor Morrow Health Department of the Year award
About North Carolina Public Health Association (NCPHA):
NCPHA is a professional association comprised of an interdisciplinary group of current and future public health professionals and is one of the nation’s largest American Public Health Association affiliate organizations. NCPHA was formed in 1909 and continues to serve their mission of working together to improve the public’s health through political advocacy, public awareness, professional development, and the interface between research and practice. For more information, visit www.ncpha.com.
About Dr. Sarah Taylor Morrow:
Dr. Sarah T. Morrow served as a clinician at the Guilford County Health Department where she established the department’s groundbreaking Child and Youth Development Program. Dr. Morrow was soon appointed the first female health director in Guilford County in 1969 and went on to be appointed as the first female
N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary in 1976 by Governor James Hunt Jr. The Guilford County E Wendover Clinical building is named in honor of her and Dr. Ross (the first Public Health Superintendent). Morrow earned a medical degree from the University of Maryland in 1942 and a Master of Public Health from UNC- Chapel Hill in 1959. Dr. Morrow is 101 years old and currently resides in Wilmington, NC.
Original source can be found here.
