 WHAT'S NEW!!Dorothy Bird Nyswander, 104, Promoted Public Health EducationDorothy Bird Nyswander, who was widely regarded as a primary promoter of U.S. public health education, died Dec. 18 at her home in Berkeley, Calif. She was 104. Dr. Nyswander was a founder of the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley after World War II. Earlier, in the Depression, she pursued her interest in public health at the Works Progress Administration and after the war started, she served with the Federal Works Agency, playing an important role in setting up nursery schools and child care centers in 15 Northeastern states to accommodate young mothers working in defense plants. Because centers could not be created fast enough, Dr. Nyswander advocated the nationwide training of temporary foster parents who could look after the children of working women. In 1939, she served as director of the City Health Center in Astoria, Queens, and promoted the idea that New York City should keep close tabs on the health of its children through records that would follow them when they moved to new schools. Her written analysis of the health problems of New York youngsters was called "Solving School Health Problems," and is still studied in public health education courses. She came to Berkeley in 1946, where she pioneered the application of behavioral sciences in public health. She was a professor of public health there until her retirement in 1957. She enjoyed good health until recently. Paul Mico, the executor of her estate who was also a student of hers in her final year at Berkeley, said that up until a couple of months ago, she had continued to receive former students at her home, where she conducted seminars. Dr. Nyswander was born on Sept. 29, 1894, the daughter of Albert Dixon Bird and the former Margaret Collins Miller. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Nevada and in 1926 received a doctorate in educational psychology at Berkeley. Dr. Nyswander was married for more than 20 years to George Palmer, former director of research for the American Child Health Association in New York. He died in 1971. She was also the mother of Marie Nyswander Dole, a psychiatrist who pioneered the use of methadone to treat heroin addicts in New York and elsewhere in the early 1970s. Dr. Dole died in 1986. There are no immediate survivors. Revised January 22, 1999, Mark Tomita Health Education Professional Resources ©1996-98 New York University. All rights reserved. URL: /health/healthed/taub/hepr/noframes/whatsnew/1.html |