WHITE PLAINS, NY — The Westchester County Board of Health wants to recognize volunteers whose time and talents this past year made outstanding contributions to public health in Westchester, and encourages community leaders, educators, health professionals and leaders of local organizations that serve county residents to nominate their unsung volunteer heroes for these annual public health service awards through by Feb. 11.
The Dr Harold Keltz Distinguished Public Health Service Award is presented annually to a person or community-based organization, whose efforts have made an extraordinary contribution to the public health of Westchester residents but who is not professionally engaged in public health work.
The J.R. Tesone Youth Public Health Service Award is an annual award to a student for his or her creative contribution to public health in Westchester. The award was created in 2014 in memory of J.R. Tesone, a Board of Health member with a lifelong commitment to Westchester children.
The Board also will highlight the compassion, creativity and commitment demonstrated by a select group of nominees, who will be named Public Health Honorees.
These awards will be announced and presented in April to spotlight National Public Health Week, and the honorees and their achievements will be featured on the health department’s web pages. Recent youthful winners have included a teenager who advocated for children affected by cancer and another who created an app to foster communication between teens with Type 1 diabetes. A volunteer who advocated for comprehensive mental health care for low-income residents, as well as non-profit programs that have worked to reduce health disparities, improve health literacy, and improve access to care also have been honored with the Distinguished designation.
“The Health Department and the Board of Health rely on creative partnerships with the public to promote public health,” said Steven Nakashima, president of the Westchester County Board of Health. “By shining a spotlight on these local heroes, we hope to inspire more people and organizations to join us in this work which is so vital to the health of our community.”
Nomination forms are available at www.westchestergov.com/health.