Lifetime Commitment to Public Health Award

For more than a decade, communities around the country have celebrated National Public Health Week each April to highlight the good work of public health professionals.

Locally, the Sedgwick County Health Department uses this time to recognize an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment and contributions to public health. The 2013 recipient of the Dr. Doren Fredrickson* Lifetime Commitment to Public Health Award is Dr. Douglas Horbelt.

Dr. Horbelt dedicated his medical practice and teaching career to the obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) oncology field. In addition to Dr. Horbelt’s many accomplishments in the medical field, his service to his patients and the community is what sets him apart. Colleagues of Dr. Horbelt report that he has the ability to bring others together for the greater good, whether to improve residency education, perform research, or assure that those who cannot pay the bill still receive quality OB/GYN care.

Dr. Horbelt was instrumental in establishing the Maternal and Infant Program at the Sedgwick County Health Department in the early 1980s, assuring that indigent and low-income women had a place to receive low-cost prenatal care.

When the Maternal and Infant Clinic closed in early 2011, Dr. Horbelt seamlessly shifted residents to two of the local federally-funded health care clinics to assure that the women would continue to receive quality prenatal care.

Thanks to Dr. Horbelt’s devotion to research, improving outcomes and providing leadership, there is a brighter future available for generations to come in our community.

*Dr. Doren Fredrickson served as the health department’s health officer from 2002 to 2008; he was a dedicated, caring and enthusiastic health advocate who dedicated his entire career to improving public health.