Westchester Insider: Westchester County: WESTCHESTER COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH TO PRESENT 2022 PUBLIC HEALTH AWARDS.

 

WESTCHESTER COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH TO PRESENT

2022 PUBLIC HEALTH AWARDS.

Top Honors go to Westchester Library System, Petula Griffith, RN;

Yonkers Partners in Education Tech Squad and Jacob Feldman.

 

Together with County Executive George Latimer, the Westchester County Board of Health will present the 2022 Public Health Awards on Thursday, April 21 at 9:45 a.m. at the Scarsdale Public Library, 54 Olmsted Road, Scarsdale.

 

These awards recognize outstanding contributions to public health in Westchester by three adults, 23 students and six organizations and celebrate the accomplishments of the public health community.

 

Latimer will declare April 21 Public Health Appreciation Day, honoring the contributions of public health professionals, volunteers and community partners to improving the health of our community and acknowledging National Public Health Week, which was observed April 4-10.

 

Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler, MD, will present the Commissioner’s Award to Renee Garrick, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Westchester Medical Center, for her partnership and leadership in response to the pandemic.

 

Board of Health President Robert Baker, MD, will present two Dr. Harold Keltz Distinguished Public Health Service Awards for 2022 to the Westchester Library System for its Westchester Breathes program, which has brought wellness, resilience and stress relief to hundreds of residents across Westchester, and to Petula Griffith, who provided pro bono foot, nail and skin care to seniors, homeless individuals and residents at a women’s shelter in White Plains.

 

Baker will bestow two 2022 J.R. Tesone Youth Public Health Service Awards: one to a group of 22 students who comprised the Yonkers Partners in Education Tech Squad; and the second to Jacob Feldman of Bedford Corners. The YPIE Tech Squad coached dozens of senior citizens on how to use their computers, smart phones and iPads to connect with family and friends during the pandemic, and registered homebound seniors for in-home COVID-19 vaccines. Feldman, a dedicated volunteer with the Northern Westchester Hospital’s President’s Junior Leadership Council, a student group committed to improving the health, safety and well-being of youth in northern Westchester, entertained children at Northern Westchester Hospital’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine clinics, volunteered with Feeding Westchester’s mobile food pantry and developed a curriculum to teach his peers how to avoid social isolation during the pandemic.

 

Baker also will recognize Public Health Honoree The Child and Family Institute. This Scarsdale behavioral health provider, led by Adam S. Weissman, Ph.D., delivered critical pro bono and pay-what-you-can care to nearly 1,000 underserved families in crisis during the pandemic from Eastchester, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, White Plains and Yonkers.

 

To recognize their collaboration and critical response to the pandemic, the Board will present three Special Recognition Awards, to the Chief School Administrators of Northern Westchester, the Chief School Administrators of Southern Westchester, and to Westchester Medical Center.