Burke County Environmental Health receives Award for community preparedness and disaster management response efforts.

In 1951, the North Carolina Public Health Association created the Norton Group Award to honor Dr. John William Roy Norton, who served as state health director from 1948 to 1965. Presented to a local health group for outstanding contributions or activities in public health during the past year, the Norton Award is one of the most prestigious awards that can be received by a local health group in the state of North Carolina.

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This year's recipient was the Burke County Environmental Health Office of the Burke County Health Department. Members of the environmental health staff include Linda Mong, secretary and office manager; Roger Wesley, supervisor; Britt Paige, program coordinator; and Dennis Robinson, Matt Gupton, Nate Hall, Tim Hilton, and Robin Roper.

The award recognized the environmental health staff for their community preparedness and disaster management response efforts. Over the last few years, the environmental health staff have made a concerted effort to become educated and trained so that they can better serve the people of Burke County in environmental health-related disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. These accomplishments have come in addition to the environmental health staff's regular duties and assignments, which include the following state-mandated programs; food, lodging, institutions, onsite wastewater (sewage), tattoo/body piercing, child daycare, adult daycare, air sampling, lead, onsite wastewater reinspection, pools and spas, well/springs/surface waters, and school summer feeding program.

With the assistance of the Burke County Emergency Management staff; the Public Health Regional Surveillance Team 6; Dave Rust, health director; and Rebecca McLeod, health education supervisor, the environmental health staff have completed the following coursework:

* HazMat Awareness and Operations Level certification leading to Level I state certification as hazmat technicians;

* WMD Medical Management for the Health Care Provider;

* WMD Incident Management/Unified Command;

* WMD technician level Chemical, Ordinance, Biological, and Radiological Emergency Response training;

* WMD technician level Radiation/Nuclear HazMat course;

* WMD technical level Incident Response to Terrorist Bombings certification;

* Level 100 and Level 200 incident command system certification;

* mass decontamination training;

* various classes/exercises in epidemiology outbreak investigation and epidemiology policies and procedures; and

* various classes in the donning, doffing, and use of personal protective equipment.

The Burke County environmental health staff have shown the way to a leading role for environmental health staffs in North Carolina.