Harold Higgins Wins “Doc” Ballard Award

TYLER – The Northeast Texas Public Health District (NET Health) announces Harold Higgins as the recipient of the 2012 W. T. “Doc” Ballard Award for Excellence in Public Health. Higgins is NET Health’s senior deputy director for public health emergency preparedness, a program he developed for the Health District following the 9/11 disaster. In a statement, NET Health CEO George Roberts says Higgins “was instrumental in the sheltering of thousands of special needs evacuees during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike.” Roberts adds, “During the recent H1N1 flu crisis, Mr. Higgins and his team provided over 20,000 vaccinations against H1N1 throughout East Texas. The relationships that Mr. Higgins has built and grown through the years have enabled the Northeast Texas Public Health District to grow, sustain, and become recognized as experts in the field of public health.”