REGIONAL- Bois Forte Community Health Program Manager Teri Morrison received a St. Louis County Public Health Achievement Award on Tuesday for her work with the band’s Health and Human Services department.
Public Health Division Director Amy Westbrook presented the award to Morrison at Tuesday’s regular meeting of the board of commissioners.
The Public Health Achievement Awards are given out as part of National Public Health Week, which is the first full week of April each year. The awards highlight the broad role of public health staff and the importance of the many partners they work with to improve the health of both individuals and larger groups in their communities of service.
“Public health is more than just health care,” Westbrook said. “It’s the steps we take to make sure our neighborhoods have access to healthy food, quality streets, and a well-maintained environment. It’s making sure our food and water are safe to eat and drink. It’s working in community to prevent substance misuse, prevent suicide, and promote harm reduction strategies. It’s also the relationships we foster in our communities.”
Westbrook highlighted Morrison’s collaborations with state, county and tribal entities to protect the community and build a sustainable public health system for Bois Forte Band members. She praised Morrison’s leadership and the work of Bois Forte Health and Human Services staff who work to educate and engage people with services including nutrition education and food sovereignty, family spirit programs, and diabetic prevention programming. Westbrook singled out a project last year that developed a new community food shelf for Nett Lake that offers many local, culturally driven foods such as bison, wild rice and Red Lake walleye and serves enrolled members and non-members in nearby communities.
“The food shelf in one day served 476 people in November,” Westbrook noted. “Programs such as these constantly demonstrate originality and innovation. Teri is adaptable and innovative in creating solutions for rural areas to increase support services for the community. Teri Morrison at Bois Forte Community Health is a clear definition of community health improvement, collaboration and advocacy for the Bois Forte members. I’ve known Teri for a long time so it’s nice to see her work recognized. I know how hard she works.”
After the presentation, Morrison shared some brief remarks of appreciation with the board.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” she said. “We have collaborated with St. Louis County for years and years. I’ve worked here 22 years and I think we’ve collaborated the whole time. We cover most of our bases and we’re continually working on expanding. Thank you for the recognition.”
Additional awards were presented to Divine Konnections Inc., a Duluth organization that operates Annie’s House of Refuge and Restoration, a communal-style home for displaced young mothers of color and their babies to live safely and securely; the Youth Mental Health Days Committee, which collaborates with school districts and health agencies in northern St. Louis County to offer events and resources to address the youth mental health crisis; and Mallory Cummings, a registered nurse working in Women and Children’s Services at St. Luke’s Hospital system.