County's health department changing hands next week

Frances B. Phillips once dreamed of traveling the country on a horse and serving as a midwife.

So when she was hired at the Anne Arundel County Department of Health 20 years ago, she took the job on a part-time basis, waiting until something else came along.

But she continued to advance in the department, eventually taking over its top post in 1993.

That has given her enough time to implement programs that help the uninsured, curb the county's rabies incidents and address health disparities among different ethnic groups. She guided the county through two hurricanes, two national health scares stemming from anthrax...