ASHEVILLE, NC – September 22, 2022 – The Buncombe County Health & Human Services Public Health Department was awarded the Dr. Sarah Morrow County Health Department of the Year by the North Carolina Public Health This award is given to 2 health departments for outstanding programs and efforts. Buncombe County won the award for large counties with a population greater than 59,999 people. The award was presented at the NCPHA Fall Educational Conference in Wilmington, NC.
The BC HHS Public Health Department was selected for their commitment to integrating equity in public health. The department was recognized statewide for its equity-focused approach to COVID-19 vaccine outreach, staff trainings, and other COVID-19 response programs and specifically recognized for the following:
- Building on history of integrating equity through service outreach, Community Health Assessment and staff trainings
- Establishing equity as part of the Incident Command System (ICS) operational structure of the COVID-19 response
- Integrating equity into COVID-19 vaccine outreach and at-home test kit distribution initiative
- Creating a Mobile Team with a focus on achieving equity by bringing public health and health care to historically marginalized populations like low resource areas and rural communities
Stoney Blevins, the BC DHHS Department Director, praised the department, “I am not surprised, as I get to witness Public Health’s effective and efficient practice on a consistent basis. Our Public Health team comes to work every day motivated and dedicated to making quality services available to as many residents as possible. We have excellent leadership in public health as well, with lots of talent across our service specialties. Dedication plus talent is the equation for success.”
Listen to the full report below:
Contact: Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]
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