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  GOLD -  Shared by members of Environmental Health
Left to Right:
Will Forest
Steve Schneider
Robert Smith
John Hodges
Troy Boone

On October 3, 2008, the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District notified the Board of Supervisors of a serious air quality problem due to elevated levels of hexavalent chromium (known as chromium VI) in fugitive dust being emitted by the CEMEX plant in Davenport. Upon hearing this information, members of the Environmental Health team quickly proceeded to investigate the findings and assess whether the level of emissions could pose health impacts for residents of Davenport. With the heightened sensitivity and complexity of this case, as well as a strong desire for transparency of information, Environmental Health served as the central point to coordinate the flow of information. At every step, team members provided clear and accurate communication so that all parties involved could better understand and respond to the issues.

The team's continuous leadership and guidance, spanning almost four months, resulted in a final analysis from the County's Health Officer that there was not an immediate public health hazard related to chromium VI in fugitive dust from the CEMEX plant. Through the team's extraordinary dedication and their effective negotiations with CEMEX officials to ensure modifications in plant equipment and operations, the air quality has greatly improved in the town of Davenport. The outstanding manner in which team members addressed this situation has earned them the gratitude of the entire Davenport community.

  SILVER -  Tied between Alice Kollmann and Carl Graue

Alice Kollmann - HSA Nurse Practitioner For the past 28 years, the Health Services Agency clinics have benefitted from Alice's hard work and dedication. As a nurse practitioner, Alice blends the artful skills of clinician and patient advocate in her efforts on behalf of clients at the Watsonville Health Center, the Homeless Persons Health Project clinic, and Juvenile Hall. Her abilities and expertise allow her to effectively address the complex needs of young children, adolescents and adults. Alice is one of the County's experts on reproductive health and is a leader in providing comprehensive women's healthcare and addressing family planning issues. She is also considered to be one of the clinic's most efficient and effective providers, admired by peers and co-workers for the outstanding manner in which she cares for all patients. Alice has provided years of consistently excellent care and service, demonstrating extraordinary skill and compassion, and her efforts merit recognition.

Carl Graue - Adult Mental Health Over the course of his career with Adult Mental Health, Carl has willingly taken on different and challenging assignments, including serving as a case coordinator for individuals with chronic and persistent mental illness. His prior assignments include working as a Crisis Worker with the STAT team, at the Jail and the Dominican Hospital Behavioral Health Unit, and as a case coordinator with the Mentally Ill Offender grant program. Carl is currently assigned to the Access team, providing outreach and assessment services to Spanish speaking individuals throughout the county. Carl has the ability to put the most challenging individuals at ease and engage them in mental health recovery and consistently demonstrates extraordinary dedication to the needs of clients regardless of the assignment. He also works diligently to improve operating systems by providing computer training to streamline paperwork requirements, which in turn helps colleagues work more efficiently. Carl's flexibility and willingness to serve the mental health system wherever his skills will be most beneficial truly set him apart as an outstanding employee.

  BRONZE -  Brenda Armstrong and Aimee Mangan of Project CURB


The County has partnered with the countywide drug and alcohol prevention collaborative--Together For Youth--to address the high rates of binge drinking among youth in our community. Project CURB (Community United to Reduce Bingeing) began after the County received a highly competitive grant to develop a program to change community policy and norms in a way that emphasizes collaboration, consensus building, and solid public policy research. As key members of the CURB team, Brenda and Aimee have provided leadership in managing a complex change in how the community responds to and addresses underage binge drinking. Aimee and Brenda guided the team's efforts to collect data, raise community awareness, and educate the community about methods to combat this rapidly growing problem. These efforts led to strong community and grassroots support for implementation of social host ordinances at the local government level which hold adults accountable for parties that occur on their property that also involve access to alcohol by minors. Brenda and Aimee completed highly technical research of ordinances in other localities, worked with local government attorneys to craft policies that fit local needs, and organized community support for the new regulations. Their efforts culminated in the adoption of ordinances by the County of Santa Cruz and the Cities of Santa Cruz, Watsonville and Scotts Valley. As a result of the excellent work performed by Aimee and Brenda, we are creating a safer and healthier community for the youth of Santa Cruz County.