Jefferson County, Colorado--Public Health is what we as a society do collectively to prevent illness and premature death and promote health in our communities. Each year, during National Public Health Week, being celebrated this year between April 6-12, 2009, Jefferson County Department of Health and Environment (JCDHE) honors some of the many people it works with throughout the year that help to make our County healthy.

While they may not have made public health their profession, the work they do, the partnerships they provide and their enthusiasm for protecting the health of Jefferson County residents, makes them the 2008 Public Health Champions of the Year. An award ceremony hosted by JCDHE, the Jefferson County Board of Health and the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners is scheduled for Thursday, April 9, 2009, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 100 Jefferson County Parkway in the Lookout Mountain Room.

JCDHE is pleased to announce the following 2008 Public Health Champions of the Year: Kathy Ireland, Dave Seal, Jackie Mohr, Amber Lippert, Annie Bekuhrs, Maria Gurbindo, Mary Pond, Elia Gonzales, Luis Bonet, Eli Ayala, Tina Ayala, Colleen Hatton, Brenda Crowe, Carol Salzmann and Fred Zastrow.

Ensuring a Safe and Healthy Learning Environment:

• Kathy Ireland, Classroom Coordinator, Lakewood Head Start and Early Childhood Education Programs
  Head Start and Early Childhood Education Programs aim to provide children with a safe, nurturing, and engaging learning environment. In Lakewood, Colorado this is accomplished through the dedication and hard work of Head Start Classroom Coordinator, Kathy Ireland. Kathy has made safe food a priority for the hundreds of children who attend the Head Start Program in Lakewood by requiring all program staff attend the health department?s Excellence in Food Safety course. The course teaches participants how to properly handle and safely prepare food, how to prevent food poisoning incidence, as well as how to properly wash hands and surfaces.  Kathy?s efforts to ensure that staff are trained in safe food handling and preparation are applauded by JCDHE. Frequent hand washing and close attention to food temperatures and storing are crucial to preventing foodborne illness. Kathy sees to it that in the Lakewood Head Start classrooms, foodborne illness isn?t on the menu. Kathy Ireland is a Public Health Champion for her efforts to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for young children in the County.
  
• Dave Seal, Jefferson County Schools Water Quality Management
  Ensuring a safe and healthy environment for learning is no small task for the second largest school district in the state of Colorado. With over 130 facilities which includes 7 water treatment plants and 2 wastewater treatment plants, Dave Seal has plenty of work keeping children safe.
  
  When a national E.coli outbreak in February 2008, resulted in Federal Food and Drug Administration recall of hamburger meat, Dave Seal coordinated the disposal of over 12,000 pounds of ground beef product in the School district food service system. The recall was unique in that it required proper disposal of huge amounts of meat in a local landfill.  Dave collaborated with the Health Department to be sure the meat was disposed of properly. His work ensured that groundbeef, potentially contaminated with E.coli, stayed out the Jeffco school system?s food supply and County children were protected from food borne illness. Dave Seal is Public Health Champion for his efforts to assure water quality and food safety in Jefferson County.
   

Promoting Automobile Safety from the Car Seat to the Driver?s Seat:

• Drive Smart Evergreen-Conifer?s Jackie Mohr and Amber Lippert; Middle School Coordinators, Annie Bekuhrs from Evergreen Country Day School,  Maria Gurbindo from Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen, and Mary Pond from West Jefferson Middle School
  Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers in Jefferson County. Since its formation back in 1993, Drive Smart Evergreen/Conifer has been a champion for safe driving in the mountain communities. Partnering with schools, businesses,  community and governmental organizations Drive Smart has created awareness and improved attitudes around safe and courteous driving in Jefferson County. Drive Smart?s Executive Director, Jackie Mohr and Buckle Bear Coordinator, Amber Lippert along with Middle School Coordinators, Annie Bekuhrs from Evergreen Country Day School,  Maria Gurbindo from Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen, and Mary Pond from West Jefferson Middle School are public health champions for promoting automobile safety in Jefferson County.  Drive Smart?s Buckle Bear Program, modeled after the national program, is especially effective in that it uses soon-to-be drivers as middle school mentors to educate younger children about the importance of automobile safety.
  
  The Buckle Bear safety belt program visits more than 1,000 preschoolers, kindergarteners and first and second graders each year sharing information about car seats and booster seats, while weighing and measuring each student for safety recommendations. By engaging middle school students with three to six year olds and involving parents, three key populations are simultaneously involved in promoting safe passenger practices.  Initially made possible from a grant from the Colorado Action for Healthy People, the Drive Smart Buckle Bear Program effectively promotes automobile safety from the car seat to the driver?s seat in Jefferson County?s mountain communities.

Promoting Healthy Nutrition for Jefferson County Families:

• Elia Gonzales, Luis Bonet, Eli Ayala and Tina Ayala with Healing Waters Family Center
  Public health professionals have long touted the benefits of including lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in one?s diet. Not only do they provide essential vitamins, minerals, and fibers, but they help to reduce obesity in our populations. Still, many in Jefferson County are forced to forego the fresh fruits and vegetables because of limited incomes. Healing Waters Family Center made it possible in 2008 for the health department to hold its first Produce & Health Fairs for low income residents.  Reverent Elia Gonzales, Luis Bonet, and Eli and Tina Ayala are all champions for their work not only providing the space for the produce fairs but also helping to make them run smoothly. The three fairs, a collaboration between the health department, Healing Waters Family Center, Foodbank of the Rockies and LiveWell Wheat Ridge featured fresh fruits and vegetables and provided an opportunity for participants to learn about a wide range of health resources.  Healing Waters commitment to serving the community along with public health?s interest in providing fresh produce, health screenings and information about community resources to low income families and seniors was a perfect fit. A total of 15,106 lbs of produce was distributed to over 500 households at the fairs this past summer. Healing Waters congregation, including youth groups and seniors, volunteered to staff the fairs and provided assistance in all areas to make these fairs a success.

Promoting Tobacco Free Workplaces

• Colleen Hatton, Brenda Crowe and Carol Salzmann with Exempla Lutheran Medical Center
  Tobacco-free campus policies, along with local and state smoke-free laws, make a significant, positive impact on health in Jefferson County by reducing tobacco use and secondhand exposure. In July, 2008 the Exempla Lutheran Medical Center campus went 100% tobacco free. The policy applies to the entire campus including the hospital, 4 medical office buildings, 2 outlying medical care faculties and the 100 acres of corporately-owned land in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.  Tobacco-use and secondhand smoke exposure continue to be among the top causes of preventable death and disease in Jefferson County and Exempla?s example sets an important standard. Exempla Lutheran?s Colleen Hatton, Brenda Crowe and Carol Salzmann as representatives of the Tobacco Free Campus Committee are 2008 Public Health Champions for making the dream of a tobacco free Exempla a reality.
  
  Exempla Lutheran?s journey to a tobacco free campus began in earnest in the fall of 2007 when employee Colleen Hatton partnered with the health department?s Tobacco Prevention Initiative and began work leading a committee to begin the process of a new tobacco free campus policy. Brenda Crowe, a respiratory therapist and director of Pulmonary Rehabilitation at Exempla was eager to see her dream come true and came on board. Brenda led the effort to educate medical care staff at the hospital in best practice strategies to address tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure. Unlike other facilities implementing tobacco free policies, Exempla Lutheran is one of the only ones in Colorado that worked to assure that staff consistently counseled patients and their families in strategies to quit tobacco and avoid secondhand smoke in tandem with the policy change. As a leader and an administrator, Carol Salzmann handled some of the most challenging aspects of the policy planning and implementation efforts.  Carol has made sure she and her colleagues are on the front line with enforcing the policy. On any given day, you may find Carol and other committee members, clearly and compassionately reminding visitors on the sprawling campus that the grounds are tobacco free.
  
  Exempla Lutheran?s Tobacco Free Campus Policy has raised the bar for other healthcare providers and major employers in our County and has become a model for other organizations going through a policy change process. Exempla Lutheran went out of their way to support employees who use tobacco prior to and during the policy change by offering information, education, programs, counseling support and nicotine replacement therapy onsite and during workshift hours. Many employees cut back and successfully quit over the nine month policy preparation process?and many also had their stories highlighted in the employee newsletter.  Exempla Lutheran?s Colleen Hatton, Brenda Crowe and Salzmann are 2008 Public Health Champions for their work preparing and serving their community while promoting tobacco free workplaces in Jefferson County.   

Promoting Tobacco Free Living

• Fred Zastrow
  Fred Zastrow has an important message for the thousands of Jefferson County school children he presents to each year, ?Don?t smoke or use any other form of tobacco.?  Zastrow speaks to his audience through a mechanical device due to the loss of  his larynx from cancer caused by cigarette smoking years ago.
  
  As a survivor of throat cancer, Fred uses his story to inspire and motivate thousands of youth throughout Jefferson County public schools each year. He has partnered with JCDHE?s Tobacco Prevention Initiative and the Jefferson County Schools Comprehensive Wellness/Tobacco Prevention Program to spread the word about the dangers of tobacco use. His presentations are educational and inspiring, so inspiring, that when Judy Hindman, the Jefferson County School District?s Comprehensive Wellness/Tobacco Prevention Coordinator heard him she knew she had to get as many people as possible to hear his message. Because of this partnership, Fred Zastrow continues to inspire children, teens, parents and school staff alike throughout Jefferson County. Fred Zastrow is a champion for his work promoting tobacco free living in Jefferson County.

The Jefferson County Department of Health and Environment held the first Public Health Champions Awards ceremony in April 1998. The Public Health Champion Awards have been duplicated nationwide by state and local health departments honoring their own public health champions or heroes during National Public Health Week, the first full week of April each year.