College of Public Health

Public Health Champions 2009

The College of Public Health held its fifth annual Champions of Public Health Awards reception on Oct. 8 at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center.

View event photos here

The awards recognize the impact that individuals and groups have made on the health of Ohioans. The 2009 award winners are Cheryl Boyce, executive director, Ohio Commission on Minority Health, in the Public Health Practitioner category; Lois Hall, executive director, Ohio Public Health Association, in the Public Health Community Leader category; and Grant Family Medicine Physicians, in the Public Health Organization category.

Cheryl Boyce

Cheryl Boyce committed her career to the notion of better health for all, though she is known specifically for her leadership in the area of minority health. A native of East St. Louis, Illinois, Boyce's interest in public health was a result of the premature death of her father. She directed or worked in the Governor's Task Force on Black and Minority Health, Advocacy and Protective Services, and the Department of Mental Retardation and Rehabilitation Services Commission.

When the Ohio Commission on Minority Health was created in 1987, Boyce was appointed by then-Governor Richard Celeste as its first executive director, a position which she still holds. The commission focuses on improving the health status of African Americans, Latino/Hispanics, Asians and Native American Indians. The commission encourages programs that result in behavior change by tapping into the attitudes, values and beliefs of the target populations.

One nominator wrote:

"In her decades of service, Ms. Boyce has established a reputation around Ohio and around the country as a dedicated, forceful advocate for protecting and improving the health of all people."

Boyce earned a bachelor's degree in Health Education from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and a MS in Health Planning and Administration from the University of Cincinnati. Boyce was a 2004 ELPH Kellogg Fellow at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health at Chapel Hill.

Lois Hall

Lois Hall doesn't know the meaning of the word "quit." She spent her career at the Ohio Department of Health, most recently as the department's cancer program coordinator. But her 30-year career has had a much broader impact. Previous assignments at ODH include work in the areas of Reye's Syndrome, Legionnaire's Disease, Kawasaki Disease, and AIDS.

In addition to her professional activities, Hall has also been a member of the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church's AIDS Ministries Committee, has served in the Kairos Outside prison ministry program for female loved ones of incarcerated men at Marion Correctional Institute, and is a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist.

Since her retirement from ODH, she continues to advocate for public health as director of the Ohio Public Health Association.

Referring to what many consider the beginning of modern public health, one nominator wrote:

"She would have made John Snow proud by taking the handles off the pumps!"

Another said:

"Within four months of her hire as executive director, OPHA won the Affiliate of the Year award from the American Public Health Association, developed a robust strategic plan … and is now focused on new and innovative initiatives."

Grant Family Medicine Physicians

In 1992, Grant Medical Center, now part of the OhioHealth system, saw significant needs in its surrounding community and responded by creating the Project to Reduce Infant Mortality (PRIM). In the first year of the program, the Grant Family Medicine Physicians did not hesitate to serve and agreed to volunteer their time. To date, the prenatal program has served more than 3,500 patients with 18,500 visits and 2,000 births. For the past 17 years, the Grant Family Medicine Physicians have staffed not only the prenatal clinics, but many programs on the Wellness on Wheels mobile unit.

In 1997, Wellness on Wheels addressed a need by creating its second program, Urgent Care on Wheels, at two inner city high school sites. In the year 2000, the third program, Urgent Care Elementary Program, was introduced at three Columbus City Schools sites. From 1998 to 2006, the Grant Family Medicine physicians staffed all five sites. Over 6,000 free urgent care visits were completed, including free prescriptions.

Over 7,500 free sports physicals were provided, allowing students at Columbus City Schools without access to a physician the ability to participate in sports programs. Physicals are provided three months out of the year with 16 clinics per year. Through these clinics, 422 children/teens were identified with undiagnosed medical problems, several of which were life-threatening.