Mt. Clemens, MI - The Macomb County Health Department’s (MCHD) Women Infant and Children (WIC) program recently received national and state-level awards at the 2023 Michigan WIC Training Conference held in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The first award – a National WIC Association Leadership Award – was presented to the MCHD WIC program for its work in health equity to support its Advancing Health Equity to Achieve Diversity and Inclusion (AHEAD) project. Program activities focused on improvements in the overall WIC client experience. Program strategies included an equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) organizational assessment to determine capacity and readiness; EDI workshops for WIC staff; and consultation with industry leaders to identify ways EDI can be further incorporated into WIC program procedures, policies, and operations. The MCHD WIC program was one of six organizations nationally to receive a National WIC Association Leadership Award.
The second award – an Advanced Competent Professional Authority (Advanced CPA) award – from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ WIC program – was achieved by Jill Ondreyka, a nutritionist for the WIC program at MCHD. The Advanced CPA award serves as recognition of the ability to provide direct nutrition services to WIC clients as well as technical assistance and consultation to local agency staff and other health professionals in nutrition services. Ondreyka is one of four recipients of an Advanced CPA award in Michigan.
"We are extremely proud to be recognized on both national and state levels which is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team at the Macomb County Health Department,” said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. “We remain committed to improving the health and well-being of our community through innovative programs and a focus on health equity, diversity, and inclusion.”
“We’re all incredibly proud of the work of the entire WIC team,” said Krista Willette, director of the Macomb County Health Department. “Our staff has always been focused on client service, and these awards are proof-positive of the great work they do.”
In 2022, the Macomb County Health Department’s WIC program served an average monthly enrollment of 12,081 clients. For more information on the Macomb County Health Department’s WIC program, call (586) 469-5471.