Boots on the Ground: Narratives from Today’s Local Public Health Workforce

by Cynthia Morrow, MD, MPH

Boots on the Ground will address the practice of public health from the perspective of those working in LHDs and will provide an informal platform for public health leaders across the country to share their stories of how public health is accomplished in real life, in real time. The series is intended to showcase the work done by LHDs and to celebrate the successes that occur every day within an LHD. Ideally, the series will provide lessons learned to advance the practice of public health and to keep LHDs at the center of health improvement efforts in their communities. In addition, the column will serve as a forum for public health practitioners to share stories of management, such as how a quality improvement initiative resulted in operational changes within the LHD.

Introducing Boots on the Ground

Cynthia Morrow, MD, MPH

Dr. Cynthia Morrow, a former local health director for Onondaga County, NY is currently teaching at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. Previously, she was the Lerner Chair for Health Promotion at Syracuse University. Her prior academic positions include Professor of Practice in the Department of Public Administration and International Affairs at Syracuse University and an assistant professor with the Center for Bioethics and Humanities as well as with the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Upstate Medical University. Dr. Morrow served as Commissioner of Health for Onondaga County during which time she earned numerous awards from community-based organizations.   She is a consulting editor for the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice and is also an editor of two books, including Public Health Administration: Principles for Population-Based Management and JPHMP’s 21 Public Health Case Studies on Policy & Administration. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College (BA) and Tufts University School of Medicine (MD, MPH).  

Read all columns in this series: