RENSSELAER -- A memorial service will be conducted Saturday for Lorna Scott McBarnette, former state executive deputy health commissioner, who died March 18 in Brooklyn after a short battle with cancer.
The service will be from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the auditorium of the Albany School of Public Health in Rensselaer.
While living in Albany, McBarnette 'loved the political and academic energy of the Capital District,' her son Stanley McBarnette wrote in an e-mail message. Some of her favorite activities included shopping in Cohoes, seeing performances at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and horse races in Saratoga Springs.
McBarnette was born in New York City but grew up in Grenada and maintained close ties to the Caribbean region throughout her adult life.
She was the founding dean of the School of Nursing at the American University of Antigua. Started in September, the program was created in partnership with Lehman College in the Bronx.
'The school (AUA) has lost an outstanding colleague and the Caribbean a very strong advocate for the improvement of health care,' said Peter Bell, AUA's vice president of academic affairs and executive dean in a message to the campus.
McBarnette began her career in New York state public health when she became the executive deputy commissioner for the health department in 1983 where she served until 1992. She also served as president and chief executive officer of the Episcopal Health Services, executive vice president of St. Peter's Hospital, and associate executive director of Queen's Hospital Center.
While serving as executive deputy commissioner, McBarnette earned a reputation for confronting complex health care problems. She spearheaded legislative efforts dealing with issues such as HIV/AIDS, work force issues and domestic violence. McBarnette also was one of the first health care professionals to publicly call for the retraining of doctors after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to deal with the threat of biological warfare.
She played a leading role in creating programs and leadership opportunities for blacks, Latinos and women. She also started a minority health program that so far has sent 50 graduates into the health care field.
Most recently, McBarnette served as the vice president for institutional development at the University of Antigua.
She had also served as a professor of health at the University at Albany and at Stony Brook University.
She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after collapsing in February while attending an annual event with the state's annual Black and Puerto Rican Legislators Caucus at the Empire State Plaza. She died at a Brooklyn hospital three weeks after the diagnosis.
She is survived by her former husband John McBarnette, a sister, Glenna Scott Bullen, daughter Joan Roberts and son Stanley McBarnette.
Juliette Price is a senior at SUNY Oneonta and an intern for the Times Union. She can be reached at 454-5414 or at jprice@timesunion.com.
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A service will remember Lorna Scott McBarnette on Saturday.
