The University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria is accepting nominations for the 2020 Community Health Awards. The awards started in 1995 to honor individuals and organizations who promote community health in central Illinois.
“This year is an especially meaningful year for this UICOMP tradition. We are in the midst of a global pandemic, and our partners in community health have worked tirelessly to guide our response, promote public health, and prepare all of us to mitigate the spread of this disease,” says Meenakshy Aiyer, MD, UICOMP interim regional dean. “This year we also are celebrating our 50th anniversary as a medical college and as a collaborator in healthcare for central Illinois. We certainly have much to celebrate and will be honored to recognize this year’s winners.”
UICOMP sponsors these awards to recognize on-going commitment to community health promotion and/or disease prevention in our community. A healthy community requires a high quality medical system along with programs to confront and manage concerns such as livable neighborhoods, family support, job opportunities, improved educational opportunities, hunger, homelessness; and adequate systems of transportation, public safety, and crime.
Awards are presented in two categories — one for an individual and the other for a group or organization. Selection criteria is based promoting community health in one or more of the following areas:
- Promotes wellness
- Develops innovative educational programs/campaigns for the public
- Supports health services to the underserved and the community
- Leads or participates in research that helps to prevent disease
- Develops or works in programs that change “risky” behavior
- Uses teamwork to improve health, works collaboratively with others
- Sets a positive example or role model within the community
- Designs programs that impact healthcare costs and benefits
Online nominations may be submitted at https://go.uic.edu/communityhealthaward. Deadline for nominations is September 4, 2020, to be considered for this year’s award. For more information, contact Kim Deets at [email protected] or phone (309) 680-8613.