- Samuel J. Crumbine Medal
- Special Service Awards
- Dorothy Woodin Award
- Jane Addams Award
- Virginia Lockhart Health Education Award
- Corporate Public Health Service Award
- President's Award
Samuel J. Crumbine Medal: Linda Kenney
Linda Kenney receives the 2009 Samuel Crumbine Medal for her dedication
and achievement in the field of maternal and child health (MCH).
Over the course of her career, she has provided leadership for
priority
setting, planning, and policy development to support community efforts
to assure the health of women, children, youth, and their families.
She also serves as a mentor for practitioners working with these
populations in local and state health departments.
Under Linda’s thoughtful and visionary leadership, the health
of families
in Kansas has been enhanced through several significant initiatives.
Responding to the need for preventative oral health for the MCH
population, Linda created the position of Oral Health Consultant
which paved the way for the creation of a fully staffed Office of
Oral Health within the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
This department is now implementing statewide oral health initiatives,
including regional dental hygienists that work with other health
providers to increase capacity in a variety of health and community
settings to meet the oral health needs of pregnant women and children.
As a result of innovative conceptual planning by Linda, Kansas
has also
made steady progress in developing program capacity to collect and
analyze MCH data and to monitor trends in child health that guide
program and public policy decision-making. Linda has shifted resources
to support two epidemiology positions to provide guidance and technical
support for MCH staff to work with local and state programs. This
gives them the opportunity to improve their ability to gather and
understand data.
Other key contributions Linda has made to MCH in Kansas include
writing
the grant for Kansas Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (KECCS).
This addresses Kansas’s fragmented system of early childhood
care and
education systems by bringing stakeholders from private and public
agencies into collaborative discussion and planning for a coordinated
system of service delivery. The KECCS plan has served as the model
for the vision and implementation of initiatives to address health
insurance and medical homes, mental health and social-emotional
development, early care and education services, parent education,
and family supports.
Linda has also promoted and supported breastfeeding efforts, including
the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition, and has worked with stakeholders
and policy-makers to create a comprehensive statewide newborn screening
program. Linda serves as Director of the Bureau of Family Health
as well as the Kansas Title V Director at KDHE, a position she has
held since 2000. From 1989-2000, she was the Director of the Children
and Families Section in the Bureau, primarily responsible for services
to pregnant women and infants, children and adolescents,
and women's health. She has held positions as director of a state
breast
and cervical cancer screening program, director of a state mental
hospital community transition project, case management supervisor
for a community disability organization, and director of a local
family planning clinic. She has been an active member of the Kansas
Public Health Association (KPHA), including service as a board member.
She has served on a number of state and federal advisory groups
relating to maternal and child health. She holds an MPH degree in
Health Services Administration from the University of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, and a bachelor's degree from Indiana University.
Linda Kenney exemplifies the mission of the Bureau of Family Health,
which is to provide leadership to enhance the health of Kansas women
and children through partnerships with families and communities.
Linda has provided and continues to provide meritorious service
to assure that the healthcare needs of Kansas families are well
served. For that we extend her our gratitude and are delighted to
award her the 2009 Samuel Crumbine Medal.
Special Service Award: Jack Brown
Jack Brown, Research Instructor in the Department of Preventive
Medicine and Public Health at the KU School of Medicine-Wichita,
has dedicated more than 30 years of service to public health. He
is a registered sanitarian and longtime advocate for improved environmental
health for Kansans. Jack began his career in public health as Water
Quality Supervisor in the Wichita-Sedgwick County Department of
Community Health in 1975. In 1981 he was promoted to the Chief of
Environmental Services, and from 1990 to 2004 he served as Director
of Environmental Health at the Wichita- Sedgwick County Department
of Community Health.
Post retirement, he has remained an active public health supporter
as the project manager of the Gilbert Mosely groundwater remediation
project. He has also supported public health education, teaching
in the Environmental Studies program at Friends University from
1990 to the present day. He has served as a Research Instructor
for the MPH program at the KU School of Medicine-Wichita since 1992,
and in 2009 began teaching environmental health for the Kansas Core
Public Health Program.
Dorothy Woodin Award: Vicki Barnes
Vicki Barnes has dedicated 30 years to public health nursing. She
completed a bachelor’s degree in nursing at Pittsburgh State
University in 1977 and began serving the Labette County Health Department
as a maternal child nurse in 1978. After two years, Vicki became
a nursing instructor, teaching satellite courses to students in
Montgomery County.
Following a move to Johnson County, Vicki worked in hospital and
private
duty nursing settings. Her experience during that time included
ICU, cardiac, hospice care, and pediatrics, in which she used her
public health
knowledge of developmental screenings and community education.
She returned to public health in 1986 by joining the Johnson County
Health Department as a child care facilities surveyor. Vicki has
established seniority among the current staff of surveyors, which
has grown during her tenure from two to twelve. Vicki has obtained
certifications in child care health consultation from the University
of North Carolina in 1999 and playground safety in 2002 from the
University of Iowa. She also earned a certificate in public health
from the KU Public Management Center in 2006 and has taken graduate
courses in adult education. In 1999, Vicki was asked to participate
as a speaker in a video presentation created by KDHE covering child
care licensure and regulatory information. With extensive experience
and a desire to educate child care providers, Vicki has created
multiple trainings and reference sheets in areas such as fire safety,
injury prevention, and hand washing. She has traveled across Kansas
to educate health departments, communities, and businesses, and
she considers the “called and committed impact on children
and providers” a highlight of her career. In 2005, Vicki became
the primary surveyor for all initial home visits, thus ensuring
that Johnson County providers beginning a child care career receive
a thorough, consistent start. Vicki shares the consultation checklist
that she developed in 1998 with these providers, and it has also
been submitted to KDHE for use statewide.
Vicki has taught classes on recognizing the signs and symptoms
of childhood disease for 22 years. She currently serves as the secretary
for the Johnson County Fire and Burn Prevention committee and coordinator
for all child care classes that the health department offers. Although
she is now eligible to retire, Vicki continues to enjoy her interactions
with child care providers and families. Through her sincere heart
and public health nursing expertise, Vicki has truly impacted the
health, safety, and well being of children in Kansas.
Jane Addams Award: Anne Nelson
Anne Nelson, LMFT, is the Associate Executive Director of the Central
Plains Regional Health Care Foundation in Wichita, Kansas. For nearly
25
years, Anne has had a key role in improving the health and well-being
of
the community through a social service lens.
Anne’s work history includes service as the Director of
the Kansas Child
Abuse Prevention Council (KCAPC) Parent Helpline, the Salvation
Army’s
Family In-Home Services Treatment Coordinator, and the South Central
Kansas Area Manager of Kansas Children's Service League. Since 1999,
Anne has worked within the Central Plains Regional Health Care Foundation
and has helped to launch, navigate, and sail the Project Access
program.
Project Access is a community-based, physician-led initiative that
connects uninsured adult residents of Sedgwick County with medical
services from physicians, hospitals, durable medical equipment companies,
and pharmaceuticals. Since 1999, more than 8,200 patients have been
enrolled into Project Access. This ongoing collaboration requires
coordination with more than 500 physicians, 72 pharmacies, six safety
net clinics, area hospitals, ambulatory and specialized surgery
centers, and rehabilitation centers. Anne manages the organization
of this complex effort and also handles contract and grant negotiation
and oversight, community partnerships, and public relations and
technical assistance services for other communities. Several other
innovative programs that Anne has developed and implemented in partnership
with community agencies and coalitions include: Call-a-Nurse, a
dental services program, case management of uninsured use of emergency
department services, the Clinics Patient Index linking Sedgwick
County safety net clinics, and the Charisma Salus database that
manages Project Access client information. Nationally recognized
as the “IT” girl for launching and maintaining Project
Access programs, Anne provides local and national presentations
as the organization’s representative. She has served as a
technical advisor to approximately 80 other communities developing
similar models. Currently, Anne is also shepherding a community-wide
exploration of healthcare coverage for uninsured adults. Anne is
a dynamic individual and a force for change. As an avid listener
and translator of diverse ideas, she has become a master facilitator
of community partnerships, and Kansas is fortunate to have her.
Virginia Lockhart Health Education Award: Karen Oller
For her longtime service as a public health educator, Karen Oller
receives
the 2009 Virginia Lockhart Health Education Award. Karen presently
serves as the administrator of the Comanche County Health Department,
wearing the hats of public health nurse, school nurse, public health
educator, and emergency preparedness coordinator, among many others.
Before Karen began working in Comanche County, residents were without
staff to provide public health services and had to leave the county
for such essentials as WIC and immunizations. Karen took on the
position of administrator and RN, making a career change and a move
to rural Kansas at a time she was also a new bride. She handled
all of these life changes with excitement, enthusiasm, and humor,
earning the respect of community members as well as her fellow health
workers.
During her time at the Comanche County Health Department, Karen
has implemented a number of significant health education initiatives
for different age groups. These include courses on Red Cross basic
aid training, hygiene, asthma, and bullying for children of elementary
school age and education on bloodborne pathogens for school district
employees. She also writes newspaper articles on current health
concerns, speaks to community groups about health issues, and takes
care to keep day care providers informed about health issues and
regulations. She is always willing to provide health education to
individuals who come to the health department with questions.
She has been described by her partners in Comanche, Kiowa, and
Harper
Counties as “exceptionally strong, smart, caring, funny, and
compassionate.” Karen will soon be retiring, but her achievements
and influence in the field of health education will long be felt.
Corporate Public Health Service Award: Kansas National Guard
For their strong support and partnership with public health preparedness
and response efforts, the Kansas National Guard (KNG) receives the
Corporate Public Health Service Award. Support of public health
efforts extends to all levels of the KNG, including Major General
Tod Bunting, General Deborah Rose, LTC John Ginzel, LTC Les Gellhaus,
and many more commissioned and non-commissioned members of various
units.
During the disasters of 2007, the KNG provided logistical support
to a
number of health and medical missions, including transporting vaccines,
establishing EMEDS in Greensburg when the community hospital was
destroyed by a tornado, and providing generators to hospitals to
serve as daily warming stations for community members. KNG has continuously
played a role in the Kansas Strategic National Stockpile Program
through
the planning stages and supporting a number of exercises related
to a
push-package deployment.
Most recently, KNG provided personnel and equipment to support
the spring antiviral distribution efforts related to the H1N1 influenza
outbreak. This support was invaluable to efforts to distribute antiviral
medications quickly and efficiently to the entire state of Kansas.
KNG’s immediately available manpower, combined with their
ability to rapidly configure appropriate workspace, helped ensure
the success of the distribution. KNG continues to be key to the
success of all public health emergency responses in Kansas and deserves
acknowledgment for their ongoing contributions.
President's Award: N/A
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