Senate Concurrent Resolution 576

(As Adopted by Senate and House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING DR. ALTON B. COBB, FORMER STATE HEALTH OFFICER, UPON HIS RECEIPT OF THE PRESTIGIOUS MISSISSIPPI ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS HUMANITARIAN AWARD FOR 2020 AND FOR HIS DECADES OF PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE.

WHEREAS, Dr. Alton B. Cobb, a native of Camden, graduated from Holmes Community College, graduated from the University of Mississippi's two-year medical school in Oxford in 1952, graduated from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1954, and performed an internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans in 1955; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cobb earned a Master's of Public Health Degree from Tulane University in 1960, then was a Resident Doctor at the Tulane School of Public Health, serving at the Mississippi State Department of Health from 1961 to 1963; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Alton B. Cobb served as a Medical Officer in the United States Army from 1955 to 1957, then served in the Mississippi National Guard from 1958 to 1980, and retired in 2006; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cobb worked for the Mississippi State Department of Health from 1958 to 1960 as County Health Officer in Sunflower County; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Alton B. Cobb served as the first Director of the Mississippi Division of Medicaid from 1969 to 1973 and helped shape it into a successful medical program for Mississippians; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cobb served as the Director of the Mississippi State Department of Health, otherwise known as the state's Chief Health Officer, from 1973 until his retirement in 1992; and

WHEREAS, during his tenure as State Health Officer, he created the district health system, guided the evolution of licensing emergency health services, led the development of home health agencies in the state, and led the separation of the Board of Health from the Board of Medical Licensure; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cobb and his wife, Mary O'Connor Cobb, have been married 61 years and have three children, nine grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Alton B. Cobb created the Division of Chronic Disease within the Mississippi State Department of Health, marking the beginning of the battle against heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cobb spearheaded the enactment of Mississippi's compulsory school immunization law, which has done more to protect Mississippians from disease than almost any other legislation; and

WHEREAS, the state office building at 570 East Woodrow Wilson Drive has been named the Dr. Alton B. Cobb – Mary D. Osborne State Public Health Building since 2010; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Alton B. Cobb has made some of the most important contributions to public health and medicine of any Mississippian over the last 50 years; and

WHEREAS, the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians has chosen to honor Dr. Cobb with its Humanitarian Award for 2020 in recognition of the difference he has made in the public health of Mississippians during his career:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Dr. Alton B. Cobb upon his receiving the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians Humanitarian Award for 2020 and decades of service to Mississippi and his legacy of improving the public health in Mississippi.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Dr. Alton B. Cobb, forwarded to the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.