Buncombe County Health and Human Services Public Health was recently awarded the Dr. Sarah Morrow Health Department of the Year (Large County) by the North Carolina Public Health Association (NCPHA).
The award was presented at the NCPHA Fall Educational Conference in Wilmington, NC. The Dr. Sarah Taylor Morrow Health Department of the Year award is given to two health departments (two health departments based on the county’s population size: less than 59,999 and greater than 59,999) for outstanding programs and efforts.
The BC HHS Public Health Department was selected for the Large County Health Department of the Year due to their commitment to integrating equity in all things public health. BC HHS Public Health Department was recognized for the following:
- Building on history of integrating equity through other 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 Mobile Team with focus on 3 domains of equity: historically marginalized populations, low income areas, and rural communities
Stoney Blevins, BC HHS Department Director, is beyond proud of this achievement and says, “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.”
Prepared by Buncombe County Health and Human Services.