By Dana Kazel
Calling it an opportunity to recognize some of the heroes of the broader public health system, St. Louis County commissioners and Public Health staff presented their annual Public Health Achievement Awards during Tuesday's County Board meeting in Duluth. Honorees this year include Lisa Hesse, Children's Dental Services, and Sally Ludlow.
Lisa Hesse recently retired as the Infection Prevention Coordinator at Fairview Range Hospital where she helped develop and update hospital-based infection control guidance and ensured the health system contributed to infectious disease studies. Through her work, she was able to bring together public health research and science to hospital-based care. More recently, Hesse led efforts to address HIV patient care and prevention, collaborating with the Minnesota Department of Health to offer continuing education to clinicians of the Fairview Range Health System.
Children's Dental Services works with St. Louis County WIC Clinics in Hibbing, Virginia and Duluth to improve access to preventive oral health care for children and families throughout the county. By providing on-site preventive oral health services directly to families where they already receive trusted nutrition and family support services, the Children's Dental Services model addresses transportation barriers, and provider shortages that often prevent families from accessing dental care. In accepting the award, Sarah Wovcha, executive director of Children's Dental Services shared that they will be opening a permanent clinic in Chisholm later this year.
Sally Ludlow has served as President of the W.C. Heiam Medical Foundation for 33 years. In that role, she has helped raise funds and coordinate volunteers - all in support of the Cook Hospital, ensuring residents and visitors across northern St. Louis County have access to modern healthcare close to home. Under Ludlow's leadership, the Medical Foundation has contributed more than $1 million to support healthcare services and equip the hospital with the tools and technology necessary to deliver high-quality care. Her work has directly improved healthcare access, patient safety, and the quality of medical services available to thousands of people in northern St. Louis County and beyond.
The Public Health Achievement Awards are given out as part of National Public Health Week, which is the first full week of April each year. St. Louis County presents these annual awards as a way to highlight the broad role of its Public Health staff, and the importance of the many partners they work with to improve the health of both individuals and larger groups as they seek to create community- or system-wide change.
"It’s a special day when we are able to recognize individuals and organizations that make up the fabric of the public health system," said Amy Westbrook, St. Louis County Public Health Division Director. "I want to extend sincere gratitude to the public health professionals in local government, community organizations, and healthcare systems who take action every day to promote a healthier St. Louis County."
Westbrook noted examples of the work of her team in the last year to address community needs, including:
- Addressing the increasing prevalence of syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections through testing, education, and outreach.
- Promoting vaccine up-take and preventing disease outbreaks such as measles.
- Training teachers and other trusted adults in mental health first aid
- Distributing medication lock boxes and providing education to families and others with small children for the safeguard of medications and other potentially harmful substances.
- Visiting new moms to help them manage hypertension
- Collaborating with health care systems to improve continuity of prenatal care including mental well-being.
- Providing education on risks of lead paint exposure so that young children and pregnant women living in old housing stock do not experience lead toxicity at higher rates than others.
- Assisting during the wildfires by setting up temporary evacuation sites, improving education, and readying a shelter.
St. Louis County Public Health is a division of the Public Health and Human Services Department. Public Health nurses, educators, planners, social workers, nutritionists and other staff work through a variety of programs to help pregnant moms deliver healthy babies, and at-risk families to give young children a better chance at positive development. They also help elderly clients maintain independent living, and work with community partners to address factors - such as environment, income and education level, lifestyle and genetics - that affect health and well being. Public Health also plays a key role in disaster preparedness planning.
To learn more, call (218) 725-5210 or visit stlouiscounytmn.gov/publichealth.
