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The director of the Saint Louis County Department of Health – Dr. Dolores J. Gunn – was honored Oct. 18 at the Washington University Office of Diversity Program’s Homer G. Phillips Public Health Lecture.

Gunn, along with the director of the St. Louis City Health Department Pamela Walker, was recognized for her collaborative efforts to improve the health of St. Louis.

“I am very honored by this recognition of our collaborative efforts, but in a sense there is no other way to approach public health problems,” said Gunn. “Only by working together can we ever hope to improve the situation. We are all in this together.”

One of the primary motivations for the recognition, according to Washington University’s Office of Diversity, was Gunn’s leadership as co-chair of the St. Louis Regional Health Status Reporting Task Force.

Gunn has been director of the Saint Louis County Department of Health since December of 2004. The organization has almost 600 employees.

Under Gunn’s supervision, the department has successfully managed several communicable disease outbreaks, handled public health emergencies caused by several weather-related events, and  achieved re-accreditation for the department from the Missouri Institute for Community Health with 100% compliance.

In addition, the department has constructed a state-of-the-art Animal Care and Control Center and a new, silver LEED certified Public Health Campus, and  oversaw the implementation of the county’s first comprehensive clean indoor air legislation to protect people from secondhand smoke.

The Homer G. Phillips Public Health Lecture Series was established in honor of the former faculty, physicians, and nurses of the Homer G. Phillips Hospital. The lecture series has traditionally focused on reducing health disparities through empowering individuals, health institutions, and health professionals to serve as partners in improving community and global health.