Dora Anne Mills receives Distinguished Public Service Award from Harvard Pilgrim Foundation

The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation has awarded the Distinguished Public Service Award to Dora Anne Mills, MD, vice president of clinical affairs and director of public health programs.

The award, which was presented at the Foundation’s 5th anniversary celebration of its Growing Up Healthy initiative, was created to honor leaders from public service who have been instrumental in helping children live healthier lives.  A leader in each of the three states the Foundation serves was awarded. The other award recipients are John Auerbach in Massachusetts and State Senator Nancy Stiles in New Hampshire.

“These current and former public sector leaders have been instrumental in the success of our efforts to create healthier environments for kids,” said Karen Voci, executive director, Harvard Pilgrim Foundation. “The solution to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity is creating environments at home and in communities that make the healthy choices the easier options. From creating new policies to implementing changes in the classrooms, these leaders have broken new ground in their states and are truly the heroes of this movement.”

Prior to Mills’ current role at 91AV, she served as director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention for 15 years. She is widely recognized for her public health accomplishments including reducing Maine’s rate of tobacco use, teen pregnancy and childhood obesity. In particular, she is credited with creating the Healthy Maine Partnerships that provide an infrastructure for health programming around the state.

The Foundation’s Growing Up Healthy initiative works to combat childhood obesity through grants to evidence-based programs in schools and afterschool programs, support for policy development and advocacy, and publishing information on the epidemic and its solutions. This month, the Foundation published Gaining Traction, a look back at some of the initiative's successes and lessons, and suggests some next steps on this road to healthier kids and a healthier nation.

About The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation

Created in 1980, The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation supports Harvard Pilgrim's mission to improve the quality and value of health care for the people and communities we serve. The Harvard Pilgrim Foundation provides the tools, training and leadership to help build healthy communities throughout New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine. In 2011, the Harvard Pilgrim Foundation awarded more than $1.3 million in grants to almost 1,000 nonprofit organizations within the three states.  
 

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.