Know of an individual or group in the Upper Peninsula whose efforts help make the region a healthier place to live?

The Michigan Public Health Week Partnership seeks nominations of individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to preserve and improve local health for its annual Hometown Health Hero awards.

Hometown Health Hero awards are presented every April as part of Michigan Public Health Week. This year’s awards focus on these five areas of public health:

– Mental health;

– Maternal/child health;

– Violence;

– Environmental health;

– Education;

– Healthy housing.

“Everyone deserves to live a long and healthy life in a safe environment,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health for MDHHS. “Hometown Health Hero awards are an opportunity to honor those tackling the causes of poor health and disease risk within their communities.”

Nomination forms can be downloaded from Michigan.gov/mphw. Completed nominations should be sent to Jim Koval via email at kovalj@michigan.gov or faxed to 517-335-8392 by Friday.

Awards will be presented at the State Capitol on April 15.

The Michigan Public Health Week Partnership consists of: Grand Valley State University, Michigan Association of Counties, Michigan Association for Local Public Health, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan Health Improvement Alliance Inc., Michigan Public Health Association, Michigan Public Health Institute, Michigan State University, University of Michigan School of Public Health and Wayne State University.