Barbara O'Grady
After graduating from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in the early seventies, Barb taught community/public health nursing at Gustavus Adolphus College. She provided guidance and positively influenced the lives and careers of countless numbers of nursing students.
In the mid-seventies, she took the position of Public Health Nursing Director in the Ramsey County Public Health Department. With her vision and leadership, the agency embarked on many innovative initiatives, among them gathering nursing and client-centered data; developing interdisciplinary teams examining child abuse; implementing the newly-legislated Medicaid and Alternative Care Waiver Program; establishing the Block Nurse Program and Living at Home Demonstration Grant Project.
Barb also influenced the broader Twin Cities health care community in several ways. Two of the more significant responsibilities were:
- She chaired the Metropolitan Council Health Planning Board in the 1980's the volatile time of discussions about hospital closings. The decision to voluntarily close some hospitals led to a lawsuit filed by several hospitals against the Board, which was subsequently dropped when the final report called for competitive market place strategies to reduce excess bed capacity.
- She served as Chair of the Board of Governors of the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinic during the 1980s during a period of tremendous growth and transition for the organization.
The Barbara O'Grady Excellence in Public Health Nursing Leadership Award was established in 1991 to recognize and honor public health nurses working in management or education settings in Minnesota for outstanding leadership and contributions to public health. The award is administered by the Local Public Health Association of Minnesota, an organization of public health administrators, public health nursing directors, and environmental health directors who provide leadership and advocacy on behalf of public health issues. The Densford Center assists in this process. For information about criteria for nominating individuals for the award, contact Mary Lou Christensen at 
