View photos from the 2009 Champions of Health awards banquet
Rodney L. Huey, M.D., Memorial Champion of Oklahoma Health and
Community Health Champion:
Tulsa County Recycled Medication Program, Tulsa
Tulsa County Recycled Medication Program has been named the Community Health Champion and recipient of the 2009 Rodney L. Huey, M.D., Memorial Champion of Oklahoma Health award, the highest honor of the Champions of Health awards.
The Recycled Medication Program serves as a model for the public-private volunteer physician partnership. The program is accomplished through the cooperation of the Tulsa County Social Services, Tulsa County Medical Society, 27 retired volunteer physicians and the Tulsa County Pharmacy. This is the first program in the nation to legally “recycle” unused prescription drugs from long-term care facilities to charity clinics.
Long-term care facilities have traditionally destroyed unused prescription drugs that were no longer needed but not yet expired. The Recycled Medication Program re-routes those medicines to a local charity pharmacy instead, where they are used to fill prescriptions of county residents who could not otherwise afford them. Collected psychotropic medications are provided to a local community mental health center.
Over-the-counter medicines and products have been provided to 11 foreign nations and were utilized during Hurricane Katrina. In the last five years, more than $5.5 million in medicines has been distributed by filling more than 55,000 prescriptions. The program has since been replicated in whole, or in part, in 37 states.
The Rodney L. Huey, M.D., Memorial Champion of Oklahoma Health Award was named in memory of Dr. Rodney Huey, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma’s first physician president. Huey passed away in December 2007.
Champion of Senior Health
James R. Pletcher, D.O., Miami
Dr. James Pletcher is a psychiatrist and chief of staff for INTEGRIS Baptist Regional Health Center in Miami, Okla. He also serves as medical director at Betty Ann Nursing Center in Grove, Okla. Pletcher’s contributions to the community go far beyond his office walls—he regularly travels to towns in southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma, treating rural residents with mental illnesses. Diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia require special attention, as hospitalizations can be particularly traumatic to those patients. Pletcher meets with patients in smaller towns to keep their medications adjusted to avoid such unnecessary hospitalizations.
Corporate Health Champion
Oklahoma State University Seretean Wellness Center, Stillwater
Seretean Wellness Center has a vision to make Oklahoma State University the healthiest campus in America by providing a variety of health and wellness programs to its faculty and staff. The center’s mission is to help people achieve a balance of physical and mental health. An employee health clinic for university employees and spouses is offered, providing physical exams and treatment of minor illnesses. The center also provides wellness screenings, smoking cessation programs, wellness seminars, an onsite fitness center, massage therapy, nutrition services and other programs. During the past 18 months, OSU human resources employees collaborated with the Seretean Wellness Center to encourage staff members to march toward achieving a healthier lifestyle. Cowboys on the Move, a Web site designed to get the campus moving, was launched in 2009. The site provides fitness and nutrition information, local trail maps, a fitness event calendar and incentives for employees to track the minutes they spend exercising. Employees are challenged to achieve 150 minutes of exercise each week.
Champion of the Uninsured
Crossings Community Clinic, Oklahoma City
Crossings Community Clinic, housed in the Crossings Community Center, offers medical care, dentistry, eye care and counseling services to the uninsured in the Oklahoma City area. The volunteer base includes registered nurses, residents, doctors, dentists, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, dental hygienists, mental health personnel and substance abuse professionals. More than 450 patients are seen each month and treated for high blood pressure, diabetes and depression. Patients are seen by appointment and are scheduled with an appropriate health care provider, based on their individual needs. Crossings Community Clinic has formed partnerships with health care providers in the Oklahoma City area which allow them to find ways to help those who need more specialized care or surgery.
Champion of Children’s Health
The Margaret Hudson Program, Tulsa
The Margaret Hudson Program was founded in 1968 in honor of Dr. Margaret Hudson, a strong advocate of helping teen mothers complete high school by providing medical care and social support needed to ensure healthy babies and competent parents. The program educates pregnant and parenting teens and their families on how to be healthy, self-sufficient, contributing members of the community. With campuses in Tulsa and Broken Arrow, it is the only multi-disciplinary organization serving pregnant and parenting teens in the Tulsa metropolitan area. The Margaret Hudson Program provides a comprehensive program of academic, social and child care services, as well as WIC, Healthy Start, outreach, mentoring and the Pointers on Parenting Network Group for Young Fathers and Grandparents.