SNOW HILL – State officials named Worcester County Health Officer Debbie Goeller the first recipient of the Dr. Ulder Tillman Award.
This week the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) presented Goeller with the Dr. Ulder Tillman Commemorative Annual Award for Public Health Officers Community Service. The award was created this year in honor of Tillman, who served as Montgomery County’s health officer until her unexpected death in January.
“Dr. Tillman left a legacy of tireless, caring education and service in the field of public health,” said DHMH Deputy Secretary of Public Health Dr. Howard Haft. “We are proud to honor Debbie Goeller for her work, including her persistent and focused leadership, which has paved the way for new programs and specialty services now offered by Worcester’s health department.”
Goeller, the longest-tenured health officer in Maryland, retires this week after leading the Worcester County Health Department for the past 25 years. With her leadership, the health department in Worcester County was the first in Maryland to be accredited.
“She has been a champion for public health services and her dedication to the citizens of Worcester County has been unwavering,” Haft said.
During her nearly three decades at the health department, Goeller spearheaded numerous initiatives designed to help area residents. In 1998, she helped form a crisis response team to aid law enforcement in dealing with people with psychiatric or substance abuse issues who are in crisis. Goeller was instrumental in starting tele-med services to assist with the local psychiatrist shortage in 2004—long before telemedicine was available on the Eastern Shore. It was also in 2004 that Goeller assisted in the formation of the Delmarva Avian Influenza Joint Task Force.
The following year, Goeller helped create Maryland Access Point, which coordinates the services of the health department, social services and the commission on aging.
In 2008, the health department established a dental clinic to serve pregnant women and children under Goeller’s leadership.
In recent years, Goeller helped establish a tri-county care coordination team to reduce diabetes related hospitalizations, worked to provide behavioral health assistance to clients who lack primary care providers, and helped create a health insurance assistance program.
Goeller said she was honored to have been selected for the award.
“Dr. Tillman was a colleague of mine for many years, whom I respected and admired for her wisdom, compassion, and excellence in public health practice,” Goeller said. “I am both proud and humbled to have been recognized in this way.”
Goeller, whose last day at the health department is Friday, will be replaced by Rebecca Jones, a nurse program manager who has worked at the Worcester County Health Department for the past 16 years.
