Award Winners Announced for 2011 'Champions of Health'
Reservations available for October 25 gala featuring former First Lady Laura W. Bush
The Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma's Food for Kids Backpack Program has been named the recipient of the Dr. Rodney Huey Memorial Champion of Oklahoma Health award, the highest honor of the Champions of Health awards.
According to the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, more than 26.7 percent of children in Oklahoma are living at or below poverty level. In response to this crisis, the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma started the Food for Kids Backpack Program which provides a weekly backpack full of food to elementary school-aged children at risk of going hungry over the weekend when federal free or reduced-price meals are unavailable.
As the Champion of Oklahoma Health, the Food for Kids Backpack Program receives a grant of $15,000, which will be presented at the 2011 Champions of Health Gala at 6 p.m. on Oct. 25 at the Tulsa Convention Center Ballroom. Winners will be honored in six categories: Children's Health, the Uninsured, Senior Health, Community Health and Corporate Health — Large Business and Small Business.
Tickets to the Champions of Health Gala are available for $100 each and may be purchased through Friday, October 14 by calling 866-876-4376.
The Champions of Health Gala benefits the Oklahoma Caring Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, which provides Oklahoma children with free immunizations. For more information about sponsorships or the gala, visit championsofhealth.org.
The Champions of Health awards program is presented by the Oklahoma Hospital Association, the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the Oklahoma State Department of Health and the Oklahoma State Medical Association in partnership with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma.
In addition to the Dr. Rodney Huey Memorial Champion of Oklahoma Health award, six additional winners will be recognized at the gala:
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Champion of Children's Health
Miki Farris, Infant Crisis Services, Inc. -
Champion of the Uninsured
Shirley Harris, Restorative Dental Care, Dentists for the Disabled and Elderly in Need of Treatment, Inc. (D-DENT) -
Champion of Senior Health
LIFE Senior Services -
Community Health Champion
Telestroke Program, Sequoyah Memorial Hospital -
Corporate Health Champion — Large Business (100 or more employees)
iCare Program, Melton Truck Lines, Inc. /AKA The Hawthorn Group -
Corporate Health Champion — Small Business (Up to 99 employees)
Plan Benefit Analysts
The judging panel also named finalists in several of the categories:
Champion of Children's Health
- Emergency Infant Services
- Global Gardens
Champion of the Uninsured
- Jackson County Free Health Clinic, Jackson County Community Health Action Team
- SoonerEnroll, Oklahoma Health Care Authority
- The Heart Improvement Project, University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine
Champion of Senior Health
- Geriatric Dentistry Outreach Initiative, OU College of Dentistry
- Mark Bravo, Momentum for Oklahoma Seniors' Health
Community Health Champion
- Free Nurses Clinic, Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless, Inc.
- Oklahoma Mission of Mercy, Oklahoma Dental Association
Corporate Health Champion — Large Business (100 or more employees)
- The Well, Devon Energy
Champions of Health — Winner Information
Champion of Children's Health
Miki Farris, Infant Crisis Services, Inc.
Miki Farris and Infant Crisis Services have grown together over the past 27 years, offering a safe haven for families and providing formula, food, diapers and other basic necessities to more than 152,000 babies and toddlers in crisis. Infant Crisis Services will receive a grant of $5,000.
Champion of the Uninsured
Shirley Harris, Restorative Dental Care
Under Shirley Harris' leadership, D-DENT has grown to become an office that coordinates the volunteer efforts of more than 450 dental professionals meeting the dental needs of Oklahoma's uninsured population. Restorative Dental Care will receive a grant of $5,000.
Champion of Senior Health
LIFE Senior Services
LIFE Senior Services promotes independence, quality of life and dignity for seniors through adult day services, case management, SeniorLine information and referral, caregiver support services, senior centers and affordable housing. LIFE Senior Services will receive a grant of $5,000.
Community Health Champion
Telestroke Program
The community served by Sequoyah Memorial Hospital ranks number one in the nation for the incidence of stroke among residents. This knowledge drove Sequoyah Memorial Hospital to break into the field of telemedicine, providing residents with immediate access to life-saving health care. Sequoyah Memorial Hospital will receive a grant of $5,000.
Corporate Health Champion — Large Business (100 or more employees)
iCare Program at Melton Truck Lines, Inc.
In 2006, Melton Truck Lines implemented an innovation wellness program for employees called iCare, which encourages healthy behaviors, provides health risk education and helps control health care costs for employees and for the group. Incentivizing through significant reductions in health insurance premiums for program participation has helped the program achieve success for more than five years.
Corporate Health Champion — Small Business (Up to 99 employees)
Plan Benefit Analysts
This two-time Oklahoma Certified Healthy Business isn't a corporate giant, but associates will tell you they are doing their part to create a culture of wellness. At no cost to employees, the program offers free biometric screenings, onsite weight loss programs and competitions, "breather" breaks, exercise balls for chairs, gym membership reimbursement, Weight Watchers reimbursement, free running shoes, points-based incentives and incentives to participate in the Tulsa Run, kitchen stocked with healthy snacks, freshly brewed green tea, a Nutrition and Wellness Specialist, and weekly recipes.
