Lakeland Collects Award ; Berrien County Health Department Honors Regional Health System for Community-Health Initiatives.
Posted on: Tuesday, 12 April 2005, 12:00 CDT
BENTON HARBOR -- The Berrien County Health Department was in the midst of assessing its options and designing a strategy to deal with the national shortage of flu vaccine last fall, when officials received a call.
On the other end of the line was an official from Lakeland Regional Health System offering to sell the bulk of its flu vaccine to the health department.
The partnership between the two health care entities helped provide more than 8,000 high-risk citizens with the vaccine, and Wednesday it helped land Lakeland the health department's annual Friend of Public Health Award.
"That's community health thinking," said board chairman Duane McBride as he presented the award to Lakeland President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Wasserman. "Lakeland thought of the community and how to serve the community's needs."
McBride said the health board believes its partnership with Lakeland has made a "major" difference in Berrien County.
"That's how we view our relationship with the department," Wasserman said.
In addition to Lakeland's work during the flu vaccine shortage, the health system is a member of the Healthy Berrien Consortium, shares staff expertise with the health department, hosts a community health fair, is an active participant on the Infant Mortality Task Force and chairs the Safe Kids Coalition.
The health department established the award in 2000 to recognize "outstanding, significant and innovative activities by an individual, agency or other entity in furthering the principles of public health."
It gives the award every year during the first week in April, which is National Public Health week.
The presentation was made following the monthly meeting of the health board at its office on Michigan 169 in Benton Township.
Past winners include Southwestern Medical Clinic (2000), Robert Dolsen (2001), Adventist Community Service Center (2002), Dr. Robert Clark (2003) and the Rev. James Hightower (2004).
Source: South Bend Tribune
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