The Story Behind the Pump Handle…
The UK College of Public Health recently held their 6th Annual Hall of Fame Celebration. Inductees into the Public Health Hall of Fame are chosen based on their significant contributions to public health not only in the state of Kentucky, but their contributions nationally and worldwide. Since the establishment of this honor in 2004 the list of nominees and the recipients have been extremely impressive. This year the 2009 inductees were Glyn G. Caldwell, MD; Henry P. Cole, EdD, Dixie E. Snider, Jr., MD, MPH; and Thomas L. Young, MD. To read more about these individuals and past recipients please see the following link. http://www.mc.uky.edu/publichealth/hallaffamepastinductees.html This event is especially meaningful to me, since over the years many of my colleagues from the field of public health have been recognized with these awards. The UK College of Public Health is doing a great job in advancing the profession for those who feel a "calling to service in the field of Public Health." In fact, the reason that I selected the field of health care administration for my career is very much attributable to a very special aunt of mine who worked in public health for over forty years. She found her career very rewarding.
During the ceremony, the new Doctor of Public Health students in the College of Public Health were also recognized. They each received a pump handle from my friend, Dr. Jim Holsinger. Before I knew the history behind the pump handle I thought this award was the most bizarre form of an award a student could receive. These pump handles signify one of the biggest public health discoveries and the beginning of epidemiology. In the 19th century the physician, John Snow, traced the cholera epidemic in Soho, London to the public water supply. He convinced the local council to remove the pump handle so citizens could no longer access the contaminated water supply, which led to a decrease in the number of cholera cases. Now we use the pump handle as a commemorative award to recognize our students entering the Doctor of Public Health class. This is the equivalent of a white coat ceremony, which is held by many of our health related colleges.
Congratulations to our new students and to the 2009 Public Health Hall of Fame inductees! See the pictures below taken at the celebration.
Recognition of a new DrPH student with Anthony Hartsfield and Dr. Holsinger.
The new DrPH student award- the pump handle.
The 2009 Public Health Hall of Fame inductees: Henry P. Cole, EdD; Glyn G. Caldwell, MD; Dixie E. Snider, Jr., MD, MPH; and Thomas L. Young, MD
The 2009 Public Health Hall of Fame award