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Michigan names 2017 Hometown Health Heroes, Jean Chabut Health Policy Champions

As part of National Public Health Week, the Michigan Public Health Week Partnership recently presented the 2017 recipients of the annual Hometown Health Hero Award and the Jean Chabut Health Policy Champion Award. 

The 2017 Hometown Health Hero winners are:

Najah Bazzy
Ms. Najah Bazzy demonstrated her passion for, and commitment to, the
marginalized in Southeast Michigan by founding Zaman International. Zaman International is a non-profit organization that transforms the households they serve, over 145,000 in ten years, from a hand-out to a hands-on status.


Dr. Erica Canales
Dr. Erica Canales is an obstetrician-gynecologist in Saginaw, Michigan who spent over 10 years in private practice and then joined CMU Health Partners. Dr. Canales implements the Centering Pregnancy in Saginaw. This is a proven care model that has improved outcomes for both mom and baby. It nearly eliminates racial disparities in preterm birth, and reduces infant mortality.


Dan Farrow
Dan Farrow, as part of the Mecosta County Ambulance Service and child death review team, wanted to do more to lower the child death rate in
Mecosta county. On his own initiative, he became a trainer in the Direct On Scene Education (DOSE) program. It is a proven safety program that reduces infant mortality and child deaths through safety training by first responders.


Amy Peterson
Amy Peterson’s work in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and her
commitment to Detroit youth came together as a member of the Board of Directors for Teen-HYPE. She uses her public health expertise along with her personal commitment to Teen-HYPE to make a positive impact on the physical, mental, and emotional health of the youth of the City of Detroit.


Barry Schmidt
Mr. Barry Schmidt has conducted five Bay County Heroin summits to educate and bring awareness of the heroin abuse crisis in area communities. The sum-mits have resulted in individuals seeking help and treatment.


Barbara Smith
As an emergency department nurse, Ms. Smith saw first-hand what can happen when children do not use water resources safely. Her commitment to her community resulted in her applying and receiving a grant to develop curriculum and instruct water safety classes in the elementary schools. She has received permission for classes to start this spring.


Washington Square Building Recycling Committee (WSBRC)
The Committee formed in 2013 and began incorporating the 3R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) into the way employees work. They educated staff, created and implemented processes resulting in continuous increase in staff participation in 3R activities, and an improved work and community environment.

 

The 2017 Jean Chabut Health Policy Champion winners are:

?Theresa Covington
Teri Covington implemented the Child Death Review process in Michigan in 1995, she later became director of the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention. Teri is now working with numerous organizations to use the Child Death Review findings to inform program planning and prevent child deaths.

Debbie Edokpolo
Debbie Edokpolo, has been instrumental in institutionalizing health equity and social justice as a core value and core practice at Ingham County Health Department (ICHD). As a result ICHD developed a four day Health Equity and Social Justice training for staff and community members. This workshop has been provided over 50 times across the state and the nation.

Representative Pam Faris
As the Flint Water Emergency evolved, Representative Pam Faris worked tirelessly for residents of Genesee County. She has been an advocate and promotes continued funding to provide the necessary services to ensure a healthy Flint community. She went above and beyond by notifying Genesee County residents about the services available in their community.

Senator Jim Marleau
Senator Marleau is an advocate for timely vaccination of Michigan children. He worked on legislation to improve immunization reporting, and address the high immunization waiver rate in our State. Senator Marleau was instrumental in promoting funding for a new statewide media campaign called IVaccinate.

Dr. Joshua Meyerson and Dr. Robert Schirmer
Dr. Meyerson and Dr. Schirmer raised the issue of Tobacco 21 in 2014. As a result of their commitment to tobacco prevention and control activities, a Coalition began meeting and has now grown to include local, state and national level partners. As a result of their efforts, the city of Ann Arbor and Genesee County now have Tobacco 21 laws on the books.

Senator Jim Stamas
Senator Stamas led the effort to supply safe drinking water to residents of Oscoda when their wells became contaminated with chemicals from a local Air Force Base. He also led the passage of legislation that would require the US military to pay for municipal water hook up in similar situations in the future.

Macomb County Health Department
Macomb County Health Department has earned the Project Public Health Ready (PPHR) recognition for their exceptional preparedness and response capability by meeting a comprehensive set of nationally recognized standards. PPHR is a rigorous program that requires a tremendous amount of time, collaboration and dedication.