• By Todd Luck
• Posted Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Public Health staff receive statewide honors

Nurse Care Manager Beverly Barber received the GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Public Health Staff Award at the NC Public Health Association (NCPHA) Fall Educational Conference on September 14.

Barber works with first-time mothers as part of the Forsyth County Department of Public Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership. The program’s goal is to improve pregnancy outcomes, child health and development, and the economic self-sufficiency of families. It follows an evidence-based national model of nurses making regular home visits to mothers, starting early in their pregnancy and up to the baby’s second birthday.

Barber, who’s worked in nursing for 47 years, has also administered the COVID-19 vaccine as part of Forsyth County’s mass vaccination clinics. Prior to working for Forsyth County Public Health, she worked in a local medical center in the Mother-Baby, Labor and Delivery and Antenatal departments.

North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation awards recognize public health workers and programs that improve the health status of children. The Public Health Staff Award honors individuals for their outstanding service in preventive health activities in their local community.

Also during the conference, Forsyth Public Health Program Assistant Bonita Murphy received a Public Health All-Star Award. Public Health Educator Alexis Lambert was recognized for graduating from the Emerging Leaders program. Forsyth County’s Healthy Beginnings program received a Dr. Ann Wolfe min-grant of $8,000. Healthy Beginnings is a free case management service that supports minority women during their pregnancy and up to two years after delivery.

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.