The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department’s Board of Health has selected Vickie Blevins and Jay McChord as the 2012 Public Health Heroes.
The award is given annually to individuals who have demonstrated their dedication to improving the health of Lexington residents. The awards are given each April as part of National Public Health Week (April 2-8).
Blevins is the program director of Kentucky Pink Connection, a non-profit organization that helps link women to the screening, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Now in its fourth year, the program has helped more than 3,000 women. Blevins is active at health fairs and shares information about breast cancer options at health departments, hospitals, doctors’ office, community events and fundraisers. She has also been part of a grassroots group developing a plan for a mobile mammography van for central and eastern Kentucky.
McChord, who represents the 9th District on the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, helped create the 2nd Sunday program, which encourages all forms of physical activity in an effort to promote better health. The event began in June 2008 with the participation of 70 counties and grew to 115 counties in 2010. McChord also created the Healthways Task Force to help Lexington and other communities understand how to build trails to achieve better health. In a four-year span, he helped raise more than $15 million to build more than 15 miles of trails in Lexington. McChord is also one of the creators of the Legacy Trail, a nine-mile trail connecting downtown Lexington to the Kentucky Horse Park.
Blevins and McChord will be recognized at the April 9 Board of Health meeting held at 5:45 p.m. at the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, 650 Newtown Pike, and the April 12 Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council meeting.
