The 2023 winners were recognized at the 20th annual Champions of Health awards for their efforts to improve the health of Oklahomans.
2023 Winners
Dr. Rodney L. Huey Memorial Champion of Oklahoma Health
Neighborhood Services Organization
NSO’s housing programs provide transitional and permanent housing that helps unhoused neighbors build stability, self-sufficiency and restore their health. Each year, NSO provides a safe, healthy home, support, and resources for 100+ chronically unhoused adults with mental illness, moms with children, and young men ages 18-23.
Champion of Senior Health
Calm Waters Center for Children and Families
Calm Waters is central Oklahoma’s only grief center that offers free support group programs to struggling Oklahoma families, including the newly created grief support groups for seniors 55+, who have experienced the loss of their partner.
Champion of Children's Health
Winner: Tulsa Public Schools
Tulsa Public Schools is the largest public school district in the state of Oklahoma. In 2022, TPS launched a comprehensive student wellness program called the Healthy Thriving Schools Initiative, which has provided over 5,000 students with an opportunity to gain access to the resources they need to thrive.
Champion of the Uninsured
GRAND Mental Health is the leading provider of mental health services, assisting 28,000 clients each year in 27 facilities across 13 Oklahoma counties. GMH adapts to meet changing community needs, ensuring unbridled access, immediacy and quality of care to under insured/uninsured Oklahomans.
Community Health Champion
Tulsa CARES is the largest and most comprehensive provider of prevention and care programs serving low-income individuals living with HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) in Oklahoma. Agency support includes care coordination, medical, mental health, housing, nutrition and transportation.
The Champions of Health Awards is presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, in partnership with Care Providers Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Association of Optometric Physicians, the Oklahoma Dental Association, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the Oklahoma Hospital Association, the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association, the Oklahoma Primary Care Association, the Oklahoma State Department of Health and the Oklahoma State Medical Association.