Summit County’s former Nursing Director was honored by the Utah Public Health Association (UPHA) at its annual meeting this week.
Former nursing director Carolyn Rose was one of 12 individuals and organizations that were honored for improving public health in Utah. Rose was named as the 2020 Beatty Award recipient, the most distinguished award given by UPHA. Because the conference was canceled in 2020, Rose was recognized in this year’s ceremony.
Rose served as the Nursing Director at the Summit County Health Department for more than 17 years before her recent retirement. In a prepared statement from the association, it said Rose has proven her dedication to public health by acting as a leader and innovator. In 2009, when Summit County was one of the first counties in Utah to experience the H1N1 virus outbreak, Rose played an instrumental role in coordinating mass flu clinics and organizing nurses and clinical staff to provide services and information to community members.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn was also recognized with THIS year’s Beatty Award. In the statement it was noted that Dr. Dunn has been a leader and advocate for public health from the beginning of her career. Since 2003, she has taken on a variety of leadership roles including designing and overseeing community-based preschool programs, serving on the CDC’s Ebola Response Team, and most recently serving as Utah’s public health leader and spokesperson during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Dunn communicated important public health messaging during the pandemic, often daily, earning her the respect of a broad spectrum of Utahns during a politically divisive time. Even though she and her family were targeted at their home by protesters last fall, Dunn was not deterred from continuing her work to advise on evidence-based public health recommendations.
