Press Release

Oakland County Government Programs Capture National Awards

Pontiac, MI, June 15, 2006 -- Oakland County has earned eleven 2006 Achievement Awards from by the National Association of Counties (NACo).  The winners are:

• The Apprenticeship Program (John Almstadt - Workforce Development) featuring a hard copy and electronic version of a 30-page booklet containing a list of occupations that require technical skills but not a college degree.
• Airport Ground Run-up (Karl Randal - Airport Manager) an enclosure which significantly reduces noise levels during maintenance procedures on jet aircraft at Oakland County International Airport.
• Criminal Justice Data Warehouse (Phil Bertolini - CIO) a decision support system that facilitates the sharing and analyzing of data among and between multiple agencies.
• Culturally - Competent Chemical Dependency Program for Hispanic Families (Sandy Cosick - Substance Abuse Services Office) focuses on mitigating the impact of alcohol and other drugs on Hispanic adults, adolescents and families.
• Hospital Mutual Aid Consortium Agreements (Tom Fockler - Health) which makes the Oakland County Health Division the only local health department in southeast Michigan to have successfully negotiated a legal commitment with all 14 hospitals in Oakland County to provide mutual aid during public health emergencies.
• Identity and Access Management (Phil Bertolini - CIO) provides single sign-on capabilities requiring users to log in only once at the network level to access all of their assigned applications and data.
• Infant Health Promotion Billboard Campaign (George Miller - Health Division Manager) utilizes billboards to provide messages about infant health, specifically targeting the African-American community in Pontiac.
• Interactive Vulnerability Zone Maps (Tricia Smith - Emergency Response and Preparedness) are geo-coded vulnerability zone / population maps utilizing an interactive PDF file which are provided free of charge to local emergency first responders to assist them in planning and responding to hazardous materials incidents.
• Medical Response Team (MRT) Program (George Miller - Health Division Manager) is designed to expand the local public health infrastructure needed to respond to large scale health emergencies, supplement public health staff in their efforts to manage events and offering health professionals a venue in which they can volunteer their skills.
• Modular Emergency Medical System (Tom Fockler - Health) developed to reduce potential failure of local health care systems to handle patient surges during an emergency.
• Super Highway to Success: Career Pathways to the 21st Century (Dawn Smith - Human Resources) was a mega career fair for the purpose of informing students in grades 8-12 about the immediate and future career opportunities as well as provide information on the skills, education and experience necessary for the future.

"I congratulate all of those involved in these award winning programs," said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.  "Once again the men and women of Oakland County government have demonstrated their ability to lead the way when it comes to developing and implementing innovative programs that benefit the citizens of Oakland County."

The NACo Awards will be presented during the organization's annual conference on August 4-8 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.

For media inquiries only, please contact Bob Dustman, Media and Communications Officer at (248) 858-1048.

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