Health, Fire Departments Receive National Accolade

From the City of El Paso: The City of El Paso formally accepted the 2019 Model Practice Award for its exceptional Vaccinations for Health Program at the 2019 National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) Conference.

“The Vaccinations for Health Program started in 2014 as a way to expand the services provided by both the Department of Public Health and the El Paso Fire Department,” said Robert Resendes, Public Health Director. “The idea is to ensure that El Pasoans, especially the elderly, remain healthy through immunizations and regular screenings so that they don’t end up having to call to 9-1-1.”

This unique experiment that joins two different City departments has proven quite successful over the past five years. More than 5,500 persons have been immunized and received basic health screenings have been provided through the health and fire departments and partners. It is made possible by funding provided by the Medicaid Waiver Program.

The award recipients are selected by NACCHO based on exemplary and replicable qualities in response to a critical local public health need. This year, 53 outstanding local health department programs will receive this recognition, addressing a broad range of public health issues, including immunization, infectious diseases, environmental health, and emergency preparedness. Winning projects, as determined through a competitive, peer-reviewed process, will be added to NACCHO’s Model Practice searchable online database. There, other local health departments can review these best practices and adopt them for use in their local community.

For more information on the program you can visit www.EPHealth.com and click on Vaccinations for Health under the Prevention tab.