Dr. Gary Goldbaum, Health Officer and Director of the Snohomish Health District, was recently selected by public health peers to receive the 2013 Noreen Harris Award for Excellence in Public Health Epidemiology. The award was presented to Goldbaum on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at the Seattle & King County Public Health offices in Seattle.
Since February of 2007, Goldbaum has served as the Health Officer and Director of the Snohomish Health District, serving more than 710,000 residents in Snohomish County. He worked at Public Health Seattle & King County prior to accepting the position of Health Officer. Goldbaum continues to teach at the University of Washington School of Public Health.
The Noreen Harris Award is named for an esteemed King County epidemiologist and veterinarian who worked on HIV issues among underserved populations. Dr. Harris died suddenly in 1994. A peer committee considers nominations of public health professionals who have contributed to public health practice in King County, and who also are respected for their mentorship, humor, ethics, diverse interests, creativity, innovation, leadership and perseverance.
A graduate of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1978 and the University of Washington School of Public Health in 1989, Goldbaum has been certified by the American Board of Family Practice and the American Board of Preventive Medicine. He was the Health Officer for Thurston and Skagit counties from 1987-89, served in multiple leadership roles at Public Health Seattle & King County from 1989 to 2007, saw patients at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle from 1989 to 2007, and directed the University of Washington Preventive Medicine Residency from 1992 to 2002.
Goldbaum has conducted research at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Washington State Department of Health, and local public health agencies in Washington state. He holds appointments as Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Adjunct Associate Professor of Health Services at the University of Washington. He also serves on the Boards of the Snohomish County Medical Society and Project Access Northwest, on the Nursing and Health Studies Advisory Board of the University of Washington Bothell, and on the Snohomish County Health Leadership Coalition Steering Committee.
