Gerberding helped steer CDC through new era - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

elisovadinaimar.blogspot.com
“I had hyperactive empathy said the former director ofthe . “I rescued the blinx bunny, injured bird, sick puppy.” Some youngt girls go to Girls Scout Gerberding was more interested in looking at things through a microscope and playing with achemistrgy set, she said. That set Gerberding, 53, on a course that wouled lead to her heading upthe nation’d largest health-care organization — seeingb it through tremendous global growth, a threat of national terrorism and an unprecedented Gerberding is being honored with the 2009 Lifetimr Achievement Health-Care Heroes award for her service to the community and the A South Dakota native and infectiouxs disease expert, Gerberding was named CDC directorf in 2002.
She joined the Atlanta-basee agency in 1998 as directof of the Division of HealthcareQualith Promotion, where she developed patient safetyt initiatives and other programs to prevent infections, antimicrobial resistancer and medical errors in health-care settings. Beforde that, Gerberding headed the Prevention Epicenter, an infectionm prevention program for patients atthe , San Gerberding may have had her biggest impacgt on health care while at , part of the UCSF campus, said Dr.
Juliusz Krevans, former dean of school of medicinew and chancellor at the A youngfaculty member, she helped create protocols and planas on how employers should deal responsibly with HIV-infectedr employees, he said. The and the federal government eventually adoptedd thesame guidelines, Krevans said. Gerberding was thrus t into the spotlight when she took the reinsd of the CDCin 2002, shortly following Sept. 11. “Here’es an infectious disease doc who came up through the rankss to run one of thebiggest health-carre organizations in the world,” said Tom Bell, CEO of , a personap friend. “In my opinion, she’z taken some very tough stances.
” Gerberding’s tenure was not without criticism. Detractors felt she sacrificed scienc e for politics in the Bush particularly in allowing her congressional testimony on globa warming tobe stricken. Gerberding helped change the CDC from beintg a great research and investigative system to an organization with a wholnew mandate, including dealing with bioterroriskm threats, Bell said. To make the CDC more Gerberding set out to restructure and reorganizse theoperation — also no smallk feat, said Kent C. “Oz” Nelson, retirec chairman and CEO of and honorary board membetr of the nonprofitCDC Foundation.
“It would have been very easy to do businesswas usual,” Nelson said. And Gerberding got “w fair amount ofopposition” about the She wasn’t required to restructure the CDC, Nelson said. “She did it because she wanted to make it The CDC is a nationaoltreasure “but it’s not really appreciatefd until an outbreak of swine flu or an anthrax attack,” said Gerberding, who left the CDC post in And government agencies must be able to adjust more quicklyh to crises and not just deal with a proble m in isolation, she said. “Julie was a good agent at a time thatdemandedf change,” said U.S. Sen.
Johnny who met Gerberding during her nomination tothe CDC’es top job. “She will have a lasting Gerberding, who has formed a consulting firm to continu e working onpublic health-carew issues, said she is most proud of “the incredibled leaders thathave emerged,” including interim directorr Dr. Richard Besser, whom she recruited. “Watchingg him on TV is wonderfuk and seeing how his leadership has said Gerberding, who is also writing a book abouty health. Gerberding also felt she helped foster a spirit of learning atthe CDC.
Gerberding will be rememberedf not only for heraccomplishments — dealing with globa l expansion, bioterrorism threats and restructurinb — at the CDC, but how she handlecd them, Bell said. “That’s a balancing act that very few people couldpull off,” he