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 2021 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. Thirty-three outstanding local health department programs received this recognition, with eight Gold Awardees, five Silver Awardees, and twenty Bronze Awardees. An additional 15 programs received Honorable Mentions.
“Local health departments have demonstrated remarkable innovation and resilience to better the health of their communities during the pandemic, and the 2021 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. We also thank Contakt World for their commitment to recognizing innovation in local public health. NACCHO is very proud to join them in honoring the outstanding work done by local health departments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“We are honored to work with NACCHO in recognizing programs from local heroes who, in the face of adversity and unprecedented strain upon their resources, created new and better ways to serve,” said Justin Beck, Chief Visionary Officer and founder of Contakt World. “This inaugural award represents everything we stand for at Contakt World. We believe that sustainable public health and achievement of true health equity requires courage, innovation, and resolve.”
Gold, Silver, and Bronze Innovative Practice Awardees will receive complimentary registration and support to attend the 2021 NACCHO 360 Virtual Conference from June 29 – July 1, 2021. Awardees will be recognized during a Virtual Awards Reception on Wednesday, June 30 at 5 PM ET.
Winning agencies also will receive an in-kind contribution award from NACCHO’s Diamond Affiliate Member, Contakt World, ranging from $2,000 – $7,000. Contakt World is a technology and public health communications company that works with public health agencies, employer establishments, healthcare providers, and the general public to improve community health.
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.
2021 Innovative Practice Awards – Gold Winners:
Alabama
- Jefferson County Department of Health, Online Naloxone Program
Arizona
- Pima County Health Department, Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 in Communities of Color
California
- County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency, San Diego County COVID-19 Response – Academic Detailing by Zip Code
Colorado
- Metro Denver Partnership for Health, Collaborative Approaches to the COVID-19 Response
Florida
- Florida Department of Health in Seminole County, Community Integrated Mobile Health Services
- Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County, Mitigating the Spread of COVID-19 in People Experiencing Homelessness
New York
- Albany County Department of Health, Collaboration to Advance Mobile COVID-19 Testing in Underserved Communities
- Broome County Health Department, Broome County Mobile COVID-19 Rapid Testing Site
2021 Innovative Practice Awards – Silver Winners:
California
- County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, Operationalizing the Live Well San Diego Framework: a Population Health Approach to COVID 19 Pandemic
Florida
- Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County, Virtual Programming to Expand Chronic Disease Education
Massachusetts
- Northampton Health Department, Regional Face Mask Distribution Program
New York
- Rensselaer County Health Department, Naloxone Now – Free Contactless Delivery of Narcan
- Oswego County Health Department, Phone Bank to Promote Health Equity in the Pandemic Response in a Rural County
2021 Innovative Practice Awards – Bronze Winners:
California
- County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, Operationalizing the Live Well San Diego Framework during the COVID-19 Pandemic: COVID-19 Prevention Hygiene Kit Distribution Program
- County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, Cross-border (San Diego-Tijuana) COVID-19 Collaboration
Colorado
- El Paso County Public Health, Supporting Data-based Dialogue During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Tri-County Health Department, Developing a Homegrown, GIS-Based COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing Software System by Leveraging Existing Internal Technology
Florida
- Florida Department of Health in Broward County, Implementation of Mass Prophylaxis Plan for COVID 19 Testing
- Florida Department of Health in Broward County, COVID PH Safety: Fit Testing and Don/Doff Training: AHCA, County, Nat’l Guard, DOH, Nurses
Iowa
- Johnson County Public Health, Integration of An Online Survey Tool To Streamline COVID-19 Case Investigations
Kentucky
- Franklin County Health Department, COVID Testing Drive Thru Clinics
- Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, Health Equity During a Pandemic
Maryland
- Anne Arundel County Department of Health, Strengthening Families Program
New York
- Nassau County Department of Health, COVID-19 Workforce Response
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Adapting in a Time of Crisis: A New Style of Providing Technical Assistance
North Dakota
- Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health, Promoting Influenza Vaccine During a Pandemic: Strategies from Local Public Health
Texas
- Houston Health Department, Better. Together. COVID-19 Communications and Outreach Campaign
- San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, Congregate Settings COVID Response Team
- San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, Community Outreach & Communications: San Antonio’s LHD Approach to COVID-19 in Communities of Color
- Tarrant County Public Health, Adapting Delivery – Curbside WIC Services During COVID-19
Washington
- Public Health-Seattle and King County, Safe Start for Taverns & Restaurants (SSTAR) Program
- Public Health-Seattle and King County, Monitoring & Evaluation of COVID-19 Impacts on Social, Economic & Overall Health
- Snohomish Health District, Child Care Health Outreach Program, Maternal & Child Health, Prevention Services
2021 Innovative Practice Awards – Honorable Mention:
Alabama
- Jefferson County Department of Health, Public Safety Expedited COVID-19 Testing Program
Arizona
- Maricopa County Environmental Services Department, Introducing Virtual Food Safety Inspections at Long-Term Care and Other Food-Related Facilities
California
- County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, Community Health Worker Communication and Outreach Services
Colorado
- Denver Public Health, Innovative Data Integration Techniques to Streamline COVID Case Management
- El Paso County Public Health, COVID-19 Regional Recover Council: A Balanced Approach to Public and Economic Health
Florida
- Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie, Drive Thru HIV/STI Testing
- Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County, Transforming WIC Program Services to Provide Uninterrupted Access to Care
Georgia
- Cobb & Douglas Public Health, Power in Truth: The 2020 Virtual Experience
Massachusetts
- Town of Brookline, Brookline Department of Public Health
Michigan
- Ionia County Health Department, Providing Fruits and Vegetables to At-Risk Families during the COVID-19 Crisis
Minnesota
- Carlton County Public Health & Human Services, Drive Through Immunization Clinic
New York
- Madison County Department of Health, SARS-CoV2 Early Warning Surveillance Platform (SARS2-EWSP)
Texas
- Houston Health Department, Houston COVID-19 Testing Plan to Address Access and Equity
- Harris County Public Health, Evaluating the COVID-19 Response through an In-Action Review (IAR)
Virginia
- Alexandria Health Department, ALX Promise: Bridging Public Health and Economic Recovery
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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.
