UTHSCT’s Levin named 2020 Net Health ‘Doc’ Ballard Award recipient
August 3, 2020
The Northeast Texas Public Health District (NET Health) has announced the recipients of the 2020 W. T. “Doc” Ballard Award for Excellence in Public Health, their highest accolade for outstanding service contributing significantly to the enhancement of public health.
Dr. Jeffrey Levin, Md, DrPH – the senior vice president for Academic Affairs and Provost of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler (UTHSCT) – has been named co-recipient of this year’s award.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Levin has been the face and spokesman of health information in Smith County and has provided many residents with calm and peace because of both the substance of the information he provided and the manner with which he provided it. Dr. Levin graduated from the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio, completed his internal medicine training at the University of Missouri and postgraduate training in occupational medicine at the University of Kentucky, and is board certified in internal and occupational medicine.
In addition to serving as the senior vice president for academic affairs and Provost at UTHSCT, Dr. Levin is the medical director of the Texas Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (TIOSH® ), serves on the board of directors for the American Board of Preventive Medicine, and is past-president of the Texas Occupational Medical Association.
Since 2014, Dr. Levin has served as Local Health Authority for Smith County, working tirelessly throughout the Coronavirus pandemic to keep the public informed with updated health and scientific information. He has been instrumental in the Emergency Operation Center co-led by the City of Tyler and Smith County and has been at the forefront of keeping community leaders informed, helping them to make the decisions to best serve Smith County.
Additionally, as the designated “Responsible Official” for the Public Health Laboratory of East Texas (PHLET), Dr. Levin has overseen the laboratory during its transformation to a COVID-19 testing center for patients all over East Texas, working to ensure that the lab prioritized testing procedures so that medical professionals, first responders, and vulnerable patients could obtain accurate results.”
Dr. Levin will share the award with Dr. Bruce Carter who graduated from The University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio, completed his residency in radiology at the University Health Center at San Antonio, and is board certified in Diagnostic Radiology. Currently practicing at Tyler Radiology Associates, Dr. Carter has contributed to many community service organizations including St. Paul’s Childrens Services, Tejas Missions, and Marvin United Methodist Church and served in leadership positions with the Smith County Medical Society. He is perhaps best known in the community for his landmark work authoring and securing passage of the current City of Tyler Smoking Ordinance for Public Places and Work Places, development of the first lung cancer screening program in East Texas, and successful lobbying for Tobacco 21 legislation passage in Texas.
“Doc” Ballard, a registered professional engineer for the Texas Department of Health and mentor to NET Health, was a leader in protecting the health of the public. His expertise and administrative skills ensured the environmental controls crucial to the quality and safety of public drinking water and public food service, proper disposal of waste, and the monitoring of radiation. NET Health presents the award named in his honor each year.