Swanson Honored as Public Health Worker of the Year

Apr 21, 2009

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Debbie Swanson, nursing and nutrition supervisor for the Grand Forks Public Health Department, received the North Dakota Public Health Association’s 2009 Public Health Worker of the Year Award.

This award recognizes a member who has made a significant contribution in the field of public health in the past year.

Swanson has consistently demonstrated outstanding leadership in local and statewide public health. As spokesperson for the Dental Coalition initiative, her leadership contributed to the start of a Grand Forks clinic for the uninsured and underinsured. She assisted in writing successful grants to support a well-attended obesity summit in Grand Forks, which included nationally known speakers.

Swanson represented the North Dakota Public Health Association (NDPHA) at four national training events and helped to organize a strategic planning session. She took the lead in organizing the Public Health Day at the Legislature for 2009. Swanson has worked to develop more fully NDPHA and ensure its growth and public awareness. Her goal is to see NDPHA recognized as the voice for public health. Swanson’s effort as project manager for the NDPHA Affiliate Capacity Building Grant helped the NDPHA receive a $58,000 grant from the American Public Health Association.

The award is presented annually as part of the Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health, which is facilitated by the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine and Health Sciences. This year’s conference, scheduled for April 1–3 in Mandan, was canceled because many of the conference’s participants were providing support during the statewide emergency from flooding and severe weather.

The Dakota Conference is a joint effort by Altru Health System of Grand Forks; North Dakota Public Health Association; North Dakota Rural Health Association; UND College of Nursing; and the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences’ Center for Rural Health and Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Contact: Denis MacLeod, Communications Specialist, Center for Rural Health 701-777-3300, dmacleod@medicine.nodak.edu