Inaugural Live Healthy SC Award Winners Announced
The Live Healthy SC 2019 Annual Meeting was a chance for a diverse array of leaders and organizations from across the state working together to get updated on the Live Healthy SC State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) and State Health Assessment and to celebrate the health improvement work that supports the priorities outlined in the SHIP.
In an effort to celebrate that work, two awards were given out to recognize the tremendous work underway in Kershaw County. The LiveWell Kershaw Coalition received the Community Innovation Award for their seven years of effort which has transformed their community’s health focus and outcomes. Working together from their Community Health Improvement Plan, the Coalition participated in a wide variety of initiatives, from their health equity bus tour to community-focused facilitator training focused on systems supporting poverty and issues of race, racism and equity. The Coalition is also proud of their innovative Health Ambassadors program that features high school students facilitating student-led health change within the student population. The Coalition is also dedicated to working through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s SCALE initiative, which guides groups through the process of making large-scale change.
The LiveWell Kershaw Coalition has also actively advanced their three priorities with interventions in targeted groups throughout the county. The Healthy Eating, Active Living Team has implemented a host of programs in public schools; the Access to Care team has maintained a county-wide asset map and has worked on transportation barriers; and the Emotional Health team has had Mental Health First Aid training and Youth Mental Health First Aid training.
As part of that exemplary work, we’re also pleased to announce Community Medical Clinic of Kershaw County CEO Susan Witkowski is the winner of the first Dr. Rick Foster Leadership Award. A founding member of the coalition, Witkowski has made population health and equity a cornerstone of her clinic’s work and has been an integral part of the coalition’s efforts to close service gaps and tackle social determinants of health in her community. Under her leadership, the clinic has expanded its mission statement and expanded services to better meet those needs. Witkowski also became the Principal Investigator of a population health incubator funded through the Department of Health and Human Services during this time and is a part of Welcome Table in Kershaw, a group promoting diversity and equity in the community.
For more information on Live Healthy South Carolina (LHSC), a statewide collaborative to improve the health of all South Carolinians, go to livehealthysc.com.