HealthActions/Jackson, AL

Beth Whitehead, PT, MPH
Chief Executive Officer

Interested in prevention.

"When I was young, my father had a back problem, and the chiropractor came to the house to work on him. I watched everything he did and tried to help. When I learned about physical therapy, I knew it was my calling. It combines helping people with movement problems, physical education and psychology. When my mother suffered a heart attack and died a few years later, I became profoundly interested in prevention. Today, I am guided by the saying, 'Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime'."

MPH: Public Health: University of Alabama, Birmingham, 1980

BS: Physical Therapy, University of Alabama, Birmingham, 1972

BS: Biology, Physical Education, Psychology, Judson College, 1969

Licensed: State of Alabama #199

Member: American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), Private Practice Section of the APTA, Research Section of the APTA, United States Chamber of Commerce, National Civic League, Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform, Alabama Physical Therapy Association, Economic Development Association of Alabama, Business Council of Alabama, Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, Jackson Chamber of Commerce

Building a healthy community.

"The framework of our practice and its expansion has been based on the U.S. Public Health initiatives: Healthy People 2010 and Healthy Communities, together with the Surgeon General's warning about physical inactivity. Not only do these initiatives guide our interaction with each individual client/patient, but they guide our efforts at the community level. A healthy community involves economics, education, government, policy development, infrastructure and above all leadership. We have made progress as a region in organizing ourselves to address problems and I am very optimistic about our future in Alabama and surrounding areas."

Positions: Board of Directors -Physical Therapy Learning Institute; Advisory Board -University of Alabama Birmingham, School of Health- Related Professions; Advisory Board -Clarke County Coordinated School Health; Board of Directors -Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform; Board of Directors -United Way of Southwest Alabama; Chair -Community and Economic Development for Jackson Chamber of Commerce

Awards: Marilyn Gossman -Professionalism in Physical Therapy Award, 2002; Jackson Citizen of the Year, 1999; Distinguished Physical Therapist of Alabama, 1987