Washington, DC, July 20, 2022 — Today, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the voice of the country’s nearly 3,000 local governmental health departments, named its 2022 Innovative Practice Award Winners. The award is a recognition of programs developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrating effective community partnerships and collaboration, adaptability and program resilience, and remarkable innovation. Twenty-four outstanding local health department programs received this recognition, with four Gold Awardees, ten Silver Awardees, and ten Bronze Awardees. An additional 15 programs received Honorable Mentions. The awards will be presented during the 2022 NACCHO360 Annual Conference in Atlanta on July 20, 2022.
“Local health departments have demonstrated remarkable innovation and resilience to better the health of their communities during the pandemic, and the 2022 Innovative Practice Awards highlight the very best practices,” said NACCHO’s Chief Executive Officer Lori Tremmel Freeman. “Winners excelled at various disciplines including promoting health equity, contact tracing, mobile testing, contactless medication delivery, and many more. NACCHO is very proud to honor the outstanding work done by local health departments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Winning projects were determined through a competitive, peer-reviewed process and will be added to NACCHO’s Innovative Practice searchable online database. There, other local health departments can review these best practices and adopt them for use in their local community.
2022 Innovative Practice Awards – Gold Winners:
California
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Protecting the Vulnerable: Vaccinating HCWs and Residents in Skilled Nursing Facilities in Los Angeles County
County of Santa Clara Public Health Department, A Language-Matching AI Model to Improve COVID-19 Contact Tracing
Texas
City of San Antonio – Metropolitan Health District, Public Health as a Team Sport: COVID-19 Community Response & Equity Coalition
Virginia
Fairfax County Health Department, Using Community Health Workers to Improve Isolation and Quarantine Adherence
2022 Innovative Practice Awards – Silver Winners:
Arizona
Pima County HD/GIS, PIH Surgo Ventures, The COVID-19 Vaccine Solutions Dashboard
California
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles County Early Childhood Education COVID-19 Response Team
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, LAC DPH Contact Tracing Student Internships: Building Future Leadership in a Public Health Crisis
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Data Transparency To Inform An Evidence-Based, Partnered Pandemic Response
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Building Community Partnerships to Enhance COVID-19 Vaccine Equity in Communities Across LA County
Florida
Florida Department of Health - Broward County, Addressing Health Equity Through Use of Walk-Up PODs
Kentucky
Louisville Metro Department of Public Health & Wellness, Community Partnerships for COVID-19 Response
North Carolina
Wake County Health and Human Services, “Equitable COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution in Wake County #TeamWake”
Ohio
Delaware Public Health District, Drive Through Vaccination Clinics at Fire & EMS Stations
Oregon
Washington County Health and Human Services, Effective Enforcement of Public Health Laws Through Code Enforcement
2022 Innovative Practice Awards – Bronze Winners:
California
San Francisco EMS Agency, San Francisco Emergency Medical Services Agency COVID-19 Transportation Hub
San Francisco Department of Public Health, Giving A Fair Shot: Ensuring Equity & Speed in Covid-19 Vaccination Program
Colorado
El Paso County Public Health, Strategic Partnering: Developing a Unified Approach to Meet Community Needs
Illinois
Vermilion County Health Department, Vaccinations at the Theatre
Cook County Department of Public Health, Care Resource Coordination for the COVID-19 Contact Tracing Initiative
Iowa
Pottawattamie County Public Health, An “Expression of Community”
Massachusetts
Cambridge Public Health Department, Creating a Comprehensive System To Address Food Insecurity During Pandemic Quarantine & Isolation
Michigan
Genesee County Health Department, Flint Water Crisis Health Disparity Index - Reaching Those at Highest Risk for COVID-19
Oregon
Clackamas County Public Health, Immunization Program
Washington
Public Health-Seattle & King County, Environmental Health COVID-19 Recovery Program: Equity-Driven Assistance on Indoor Air Quality
2022 Innovative Practice Awards - Honorable Mention:
Arizona
Pima County Health Department, Healthy Shops
California
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Training a Large Public Health Workforce for COVID-19 Contact Tracing in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles County School Technical Assistance Team: A Safe Return to School
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Managing COVID-19 Outbreaks in Los Angeles County
Monterey County Health Department, A COVID-19 Call Center to Address Misinformation and Support Residents’ Needs
Florida
Florida Department of Health in Broward County, Effective Partnerships for Resource Allocation to Reduce the Spread of COVID 19
Florida Department of Health in Broward County, Bring Testing and Vaccination to the People with Pop up PODs & PODs
Maryland
Howard County Health Department, Mobile Community Outreach Clinic
Massachusetts
Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment, Barnstable County COVID-19 Helpline
Missouri
Jefferson County Health Department, ASPEN (Access to Services Providing Essential Needs)
New Jersey
Middlesex County Office of Health Services, Partnering with Food Pantries to Offer Health Services to Vulnerable Populations
New York
Nassau County Department of Health, Reducing COVID-19 Vaccination Disparities
The New York State Association of County Health Officials, Leveraging Partnerships to Boost Rural LHD Equity Response to COVID-19 in NYS
North Carolina
Durham County Department of Public Health, Durham County COVID-19 Data Initiative
Oklahoma
Tulsa City-County Health Department, Rapid Results Tulsa
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About NACCHO
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the nation’s nearly 3,000 local governmental health departments. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities. For more information about NACCHO, please visit www.naccho.org.
