1970s - Birkhead

Guthrie S. Birkhead, M.D. ’79, deputy commissioner of the Office of Public Health for the New York State Department of Health, received in March one of the 2008 Dr. Nathan Davis Awards for Outstanding Government Service from the American Medical Association (AMA). These national awards, named for the founder of the AMA, are presented to local, state and federal career and elected government officials in seven categories of public service. Birkhead’s award is in the category of “Career Public Servant at the State or Local Level.” He is the chief public health physician in the state health department, overseeing four public health centers and two public health offices.