A few years before the COVID pandemic, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department created an award for public health leadership. It’s named after Harold K. Bengsch — a former Springfield health director and Greene County commissioner who spent decades of his career promoting healthy communities.
"Public health was born from traditional values," says Katie Towns, current Springfield-Greene health director. "It was derived for a love of people. For a desire to increase that time that people get to enjoy their loved ones and their lives.”
Previous recipients of the Harold K. Bengsch Award include Steve Edwards, former CEO of CoxHealth. According to the city, the award went on hiatus for a few years during the COVID crisis. But the Bengsch Award got its comeback Monday night at City Council as it was awarded to outgoing Springfield Mayor Ken McClure.
McClure said, "I do want to emphasize how important public health is in our community. It’s always so critical, and we see it just literally every day. We're looking at concerns about measles now, we’re looking at bird flu, we’re looking at things where the public health department plays a role.”
As it turns out, the 30th anniversary of National Public Health Week runs through April 13.
