Domestic violence services, child educator support, therapy for kids, oral feeding education, and accessible physical fitness among the list of unique programs being awarded at October 25 event.

DOVER, Del. – The 2023 Lt. Governor’s Wellness Leadership Challenge has announced this year’s award recipients. The six winning submissions came from individuals, organizations and institutions across Delaware who made a commitment to enacting better health and wellness for their communities, ultimately helping to elevate the well-being, productivity, and prosperity of the state of Delaware. The mission of the annual Lt. Governor’s Challenge is to recognize local health and wellness programs, policies or environmental changes that help improve the quality of life of Delawareans. 

“The winners of the 2023 Challenge have truly raised the bar to meet the needs of the community and spearhead initiatives to support the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of Delawareans,” said Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long, PhD, RN. “These initiatives have the power to change people’s lives and I couldn’t be prouder of their unwavering dedication to fostering a healthier community in the First State.”

The Challenge is more than just a recognition program. It offers applicants the opportunity to demonstrate that they are drivers of change among family, neighborhoods, workplaces, faith-based organizations and institutions, communities or schools. While both categories of champions exemplify the Challenge’s mission of encouraging healthy lifestyles, recipients of the Delaware Wellness Hero Award have shown the highest degree and most comprehensive PSE (policy, system or environmental) changes to address their specific public health issue, while winners of the Delaware Health Leader Award are being applauded for taking significant steps to improve the overall health of their community. The 2023 Lt. Governor’s Challenge list of awardees includes:

Delaware Wellness Hero Award

• Erin Ridout, Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence – Implemented statewide services to address domestic violence (DV) as a health issue and integrate DV and health services. The services have helped more than 600 survivors of DV throughout the state. 

• Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood – Created a health and wellness program to support family childcare educators by improving mental health, physical wellness and providing social support to reduce stress and lower the risk of chronic disease. Participants reported that the program significantly reduced both personal and work-related stress.

• Providence Creek Academy Charter School – Created a program to provide alternative therapeutic methods, such as art and farm therapy to students experiencing loss and grief. Making this therapy accessible to students has decreased absences and improved the mental health of participants. This program could serve as a case-study to broaden the program to schools statewide.

Delaware Health Leader Award

• Nemours Children’s Health – Created the First Oral Feed Initiative for parents of infants with congenital heart defects to educate and foster important early feeding experiences, such as skin-to-skin contact, breast and bottle feeding. The program achieved a 77% participation rate at Nemours and has achieved national participation amongst other children’s hospitals. 

• Sussex County Health Coalition – Improved physical health by providing grants for libraries to conduct exercise classes and provide access to community health workers who provided health and wellness coaching. Their program educated underserved residents about health and fitness and led to improved physical health outcomes. 

• Face The Facts Delaware – Provides resources and support to those who have lost loved ones to overdose or substance use disorder, as well as overdose awareness, Narcan training and other resources to help those in recovery. Thousands of people who have lost loved ones have found solace at their meetings. 

The Selection Process

All Challenge nominees completed an extensive application process with a requirement to feature an initiative that met the following criteria:

• SUSTAINABILITY: The initiative should provide ongoing opportunity for healthier living, instead of being a one-off activity.

• REACH: The initiative should seek to demonstrate improvements in the capacity to address the health needs of a community or a target population.

• OUTCOME/IMPACT: The initiative should demonstrate measured improvements in access and/or increased opportunities for improving behavioral and physical health in the state.

A review committee including impartial judges from state government, nonprofits, and community leaders collaborated on selecting the winners. 

Making a Difference in Delaware

By engaging businesses, local organizations and individuals to be change-makers for health in their communities, the Lt. Governor’s Challenge spotlights and applauds those implementing solutions to create environments that support and sustain overall good health in the state.

The group of six award recipients will be recognized for their achievements by the Lt. Governor at an October 25th event; location to be announced. For more on the Lt. Governor’s Challenge, visit the website.

Print