Norman Crouch, Minnesota Department of Public Health, Awarded Lifetime Achievement Award by Association of Public Health Laboratories

OMAHA, NE--(Marketwire - Jun 7, 2011) - The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) recognized Dr. Norman A. Crouch, past APHL president and former assistant commissioner of the Health Protection Bureau, Minnesota Department of Public Health, with the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was presented at a ceremony on Tuesday, June 7, during APHL's 2011 Annual Meeting and 5^th State Environmental Laboratory Conference in Omaha, Nebraska.

APHL's Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals who have established a history of distinguished service to APHL, made significant contributions to the advancement of public health laboratory science or practice, exhibited leadership in the field of public health, and/or positively influenced public health policy on a national or global level.

Over his sixteen-year career at the Minnesota Department of Public Health, Dr. Crouch was a skilled, creative and indefatigable leader who progressed from supervisor of the state public health laboratory's virology / immunology unit to manager of its clinical laboratory section to director of the entire public health laboratory division. At retirement, Dr Crouch was assistant commissioner of the Health Protection Bureau, which encompasses the divisions of Environmental Health; Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control; the Public Health Laboratory; and the Office of Emergency Preparedness.

Dr. Crouch dedicated many years to APHL as a member of its Board of Directors, including tenures as president and secretary/treasurer. He also chaired, and served on, multiple APHL committees plus others at the American Public Health Association, National Environmental Health Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Crouch also found time to teach Microbiology to medical, graduate and health sciences students at both the University of Illinois and the University of Iowa, and to author numerous publications related to his research in virology and tumor immunology.

"We are honored to present this award to Dr. Crouch, a modest man of great stature, who has contributed so much to APHL and to the fields of public health and public health laboratory science," said Scott Becker, APHL executive director. "His vision and hard work have helped to shape the direction of the laboratories charged with protecting the public's health. If the public knew all that he had done for them, they would be here to thank him as well."

The Association of Public Health Laboratories is a national non-profit located in Silver Spring, MD, that is dedicated to working with members to strengthen governmental laboratories with a public health mandate. By promoting effective programs and public policy, APHL strives to provide public health laboratories with the resources and infrastructure needed to protect the health of US residents and to prevent and control disease globally.