The Franklin County Health Department recently received two national awards, one for the annual “Three for Free” flu vaccine drive and one for leadership and commitment to board development − the first ever of its kind given by the National Association of Local Boards of Health.
FCHD has become one of 39 health departments nationally to receive a “Model Practices” award from the National Association of County and City Health Officials during a recent conference in Los Angeles.
The FCHD award was given for the health department’s now annual fall “Three for Free” drive-through flu vaccines at Commonwealth Credit Union, during which non-perishable food items are collected for the Food Pantry. FCHD received its first Model Practices Award last year, for innovative application of the new national public health accreditation standards to a quality improvement project.
NACCHO’s Model Practices recipients date to 2004. FCHD and Louisville-Jefferson County Health Departments have been Kentucky recipients, each earning two such awards. FCHD also received a “Promising” designation this year for the partnership with the Frankfort City Police Department and the federal Drug Enforcement Agency for quarterly drive-through Drug Disposal Days. Many other Kentucky local health departments likewise received “Promising” designations this year. A complete listing can be found at www.naccho.org.
Tammie Bertram, FCHD clinic nursing director, accepted the award from NACCHO officials, along with FCHD Director Paula Alexander and Judy Mattingly, staff quality improvement-accreditation coordinator.
FCHD also recently received the first ever Gold Award from its professional affiliate, the National Association of Local Boards of Health during an annual conference in Atlanta.
The new award targets local health departments demonstrating outstanding leadership and commitment to board development, public health policy and public health outcomes.
Dr. Paula Hoover and Franklin County Judge-Executive Ted Collins were on hand to accept the award on behalf of the other FCHD board members. The presentation was made at NALBOH’s annual gala recognition and awards dinner before an audience of some 300 public health officials at the historic Fox Theater in downtown Atlanta.
“This is such an honor, to receive this Gold Award from among the 3,000 or so local health departments in the United States,” said FCHD Board Chairman, Dr. Charles Bradshaw.
Hoover and Mattingly presented during a NALBOH conference workshop in Atlanta about the board’s experience last fall as one of eight national pilot sites for a new Centers for Disease and Prevention guidance to improve local health board performance.
Alexander said she submitted the board’s nomination for the Gold Award in part because the board agreed to field test the CDC instrument, but more importantly, for its support of the expansion of the school RN program and its early support of quality improvement processes and national public health accreditation, as well as many other progressive initiatives including clean air initiatives.
Other FCHD board members include Vice Chair Wayne Morris, Dr. O.M. Patrick, Dr. Arba Kenner, Joe Grider, Dr. Jackie Phillips, Pam Melton, Constance Morgan and Richard Tanner. Alexander also said several recent FCHD board members had played key roles in the NALBOH recognition, including Betty Cowherd, Tom Layman and Dr. Scottie Green.
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