Dr. Carol Holtz, Chair of the Cobb County Board of Health (Cobb & Douglas Public Health, CDPH), was recently presented with the 2020 Fred Agel Governance Award by the Georgia Public Health Association (GPHA) in recognition of her outstanding commitment and service to the promotion of public health.

Dr. Holtz has been a member of the Cobb County Board of Health since 1998. She is extremely engaged in the agency’s priorities and never hesitates to use her voice, expertise, and influence to make the agency and community better.

In recent years, Dr. Holtz has been acutely aware of maternal and infant mortality issues in the community and internationally. She was a strong supporter of efforts to put this issue at the top of CDPH’s strategic priorities. When the opportunity was presented for CDPH to apply for the five-year, $5 million maternal mortality reduction grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), she jumped in to help however needed. She was able to contribute her deep knowledge of this topic from a nursing perspective as well as an advocate as the Board of Health Chair. CDPH is pleased to have been selected in 2019 as one of 100 sites nationally, to address maternal and infant mortality issues in the community for African American women and their families.

Dr. Holtz recently retired from Kennesaw State University after 37 years of teaching undergraduate and doctoral nursing students and leading numerous domestic and international field experiences for her students. She developed and taught five new elective nursing courses, including a study abroad course that has run for over 23 years. She has conducted research, and published articles and textbooks that are used internationally. She has presented at numerous international conferences, including the World AIDS conferences in Mexico and Austria. In addition, she has lectured at universities on numerous occasions in China, Mexico, Egypt, and the Philippines.

About Cobb & Douglas Public Health
Cobb & Douglas Public Health, along with the Georgia Department of Public Health, has been committed to the mission of “Healthier Lives. Healthier Community.” since 1920. We are dedicated to improving our residents’ quality of life by tracking and preventing the spread of disease, promoting health and safety, providing exceptional medical services, and ensuring that our community is prepared for public health emergencies. For more information, visit www.cobbanddouglaspublichealth.org.