Public Health honored for work during COVID-19

Contributed photo
Otter Tail County Public Health recently won a national award for its art and storytelling collaboration project. NACCHO CEO Lori Freeman, Otter Tail County Public Health Director Jody Lien, Otter Tail County Public Health Assistant Director Kristi Goos, NACCHO President-Elect Pramod Dwivedi.

Otter Tail County Public Health was recently honored with a national award for its creative work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) presented the Promising Practices Award for the “Return to Normal? COVID Diaries from Local Youth” collaborative art exhibit. 

The project was a partnership between, Springboard for the Arts, the Otter Tail County Historical Society, and Otter Tail County Public Health. It was funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Foundation.

According to the NACCHO, the Model Practices Program recognizes outstanding local public health practices. The Promising Practices Award is given to local health departments nationwide for implementing programs “that demonstrate exemplary and replicable outcomes in response to an identified public health need.” 

A committee of peers reviewed each awarded practice and selected from a competitive collection of applications. Other 2023 winners included Florida and Los Angeles County Departments of Health, Houston Health Department, and Metro Denver Partnership for Health.

“Partnerships are at the core of Public Health,” shared Otter Tail County Public Health Director Jody Lien. “This unique partnership opportunity and the learnings along the way from the artists and youth are a highlight of my career to date. The project was a true opportunity to see and hear a variety of perspectives on the impacts of COVID-19.”

Local interdisciplinary artist Naomi Schliesman and multimedia artist Wesley Fawcett Creigh worked with local youth to explore the emotional toll of the pandemic on frontline workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibit featured the diaristic multimedia artworks each youth created. Five area high school students, Holly Gutzmer, Aurora Lindahl, Maria Myrhe, Sylvia Pesch, and Alex Ramirez, and Minneapolis College of Art and Design student, Nori Donais presented their art and storytelling from July through September 2022 at the Otter Tail County Historical Society exhibit hall.

Jody Lien and Kristi Wentworth, Assistant Public Health Director, attended the NACCHO’s national conference and were presented the Promising Practices Award by the NACCHO CEO and NACCHO President.