Posted on June 7, 2001 at 1:40 p.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — Dr. James Dearth, chief executive officer of Children’s Health System of Alabama, has been selected to receive the 2001 Public Health Hero Award. Dearth is the second recipient of the award, presented annually by the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in recognition of public health efforts to improve and protect the health of Alabamians.
The award, a plaque and $1,000, will be presented to Dearth at the school's honors convocation on Friday, June 8, at 2 p.m. at the Alys Stephens Center in Birmingham. The award is funded by the Hill Crest Foundation.
The school received nearly two dozen nominations for the award this year. "I was humbled to learn about what people are doing on the front lines that affects the lives of so many people -- people, who in many cases, they will never see or know," says Dr. Eli Capilouto, dean of the School of Public Health at UAB.
Friends and colleagues nominated Dearth for the award based on his work and continued commitment to improving the health and safety of Alabama’s children. As a founding member of VOICES for Alabama’s Children, a statewide child advocacy group, Dearth has played an instrumental role over the last decade in raising public awareness of children’s issues and in lobbying Alabama’s legislature for stronger child safety laws and enforcement.
“Dr. Dearth’s main contribution to the community as well as our society has been to give a voice to children who have no power or voice because they have no vote,” states Dr. Sandral Hullett, chief executive officer and medical director of Cooper Green Hospital in Birmingham. “He has championed many issues on behalf of Alabama’s children, including requiring bicycle helmets for young riders, and initiating new anti-drug and injury policies and programs. When it comes to issues that affect Alabama’s children, Dr. Dearth has been there.”
In addition to his role in founding VOICES for Alabama’s Children, he was instrumental in initiating Alabama Kids Count. The project annually reports indicators of child well being, including infant mortality, low weight births, teen pregnancy, child deaths and preventable teen deaths for each county in Alabama.
Dearth, a native of Monroe, Wis., moved to Birmingham in 1979. As chief executive officer of Children’s Hospital since 1987, he has led the hospital in becoming one of the 20 largest pediatric medical centers in the U.S.
He has served as a chair and member of the executive committee of National Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions and as chair of the organization’s Council on Child Advocacy. He is currently a member of the board of directors of the Child Health Corporation of America and the board of trustees of the Children’s Miracle Network.
Trained as a pediatric hematologist/oncologist, Dearth completed his undergraduate work in chemistry at Duke University in Durham, N.C. He received his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison and completed his post-graduate residency and fellowships at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minn.