County Health Department Director Rosemary Bakes-Martin Dies: Agency’s Leader Fought Cancer More Than a Year

By Pam Zubeck And Carlyn Ray Mitchell, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Jul. 10–Rosemary Bakes-Martin, director of the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment, died late Tuesday night after a battle with cancer.

County Commissioner Sallie Clark said Bakes-Martin, 62, had fought cancer for more than a year but worked until just a few months ago. After undergoing intense treatment, she decided a few weeks ago to leave the hospital and stay with her children in Peyton under hospice care.

“She decided she had had enough and went home to spend time with her kids,” Clark said. “She’s been a pretty big rock for the Health Department.”

Bakes-Martin came to the Health Department as deputy director in August 2000 after spending nine years with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

She took over as director in 2002 after then-director Dr. Tisha Dowe was removed from the position.

As recently as April, Bakes-Martin worked to present the facts about growing health concerns in a county that continuously shrank her department’s budget.

Fountain Mayor Jeri Howells, who works for the Health Department and was a county commissioner when Bakes-Martin took charge, called her a stabilizing force who followed three directors in short succession.

“She did an outstanding job, and her vision for bringing public health to the public in her own community was so insightful and helped people appreciate what public health was all about,” Howell said. “I think she also helped the Health Department through some trying times and was doing it up until her death.”

Howells noted that Bakes-Martin was the first director who was not a medical doctor in recent memory but commanded the respect of the medical community for her ability and vision. “She never stopped for an instant promoting the Health Department and what was good for this community,” Howells said.

Clark, who serves as the commission’s liaison to the Health Department, said Bakes-Martin’s years with the Centers for Disease Control and other experience made her the “consummate professional” who returned the department to an even keel after several years of disruption as evidenced by the changes in leadership.

“The commissioners have had a deep respect for her,” Clark said. “She was a kind person. She was caring about the job she did and the people who worked for her. She ran a tight ship and was respected by her colleagues.”

Clark said deputy director Kandi Buckland will continue in her interim role until the Health Board decides who will lead the department.

A representative for an answering service for Shrine of Remembrance funeral home said a private service for Bakes-Martin was held Wednesday afternoon.

It was unclear Wednesday night whether a public service will be held.

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Copyright (c) 2008, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.

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