Hawaii Disabilities Advocate Deann Canuteson One Of Ten Americans Chosen To Receive $125,000 National Award For Improving Local Health Conditions

PRINCETON, NJ (October 27, 2008) – The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation today announced Deann Canuteson, a longtime advocate for the rights and proper care of people with developmental disabilities, as one of ten exemplary Americans who will receive the Community Health Leaders Award for 2008. The distinguished annual award honors extraordinary men and women from all over the country who conquer huge obstacles and take commanding action in local communities to tackle some of the most challenging health and health care problems facing the nation. Awardees are celebrated with national recognition and $125,000.

This year, more than 800 nominations were submitted from across the United States.
Through a rigorous process, the Foundation selected ten outstanding individuals, all of whom have worked to improve health conditions in their communities through exceptional creativity, courage and commitment. The Foundation chose Canuteson this year for her leadership as president of the Full Life Corporation, an agency on the island of Hilo that empowers people with developmental disabilities to make their own life choices every day as they receive needed services. Canuteson will accept her award on October 29 at a special ceremony honoring each of the 2008 recipients during the Community Health Leaders Annual Meeting in San Diego.

"Deann Canuteson is committed to helping individuals with developmental disabilities fully embrace all opportunities to enjoy a quality of life with as few impediments as possible," said Janice Ford Griffin, national program director for the award. "Her work supports the individuals and their families and simultaneously heightens the recognition and willingness of the community at large to how they can become engaged in efforts that ultimately improve the quality of life throughout the Island."

Canuteson created Full Life to enable residents with developmental disabilities to live lives they choose with opportunities to make their own decisions about their daily activities and living situations. Under her leadership, the agency enriches their lives by empowering them to make decisions about virtually every aspect, including: where to live, what food to eat, what clothes to wear, what job to work, what friends to keep, what goals to achieve and what activities to engage in. Full Life embraces a culture of self-determination for each individual who has a developmental disability. The agency’s philosophy is that a person’s disability should not strip them of their right to determine their own life and the quality of that life.

People with developmental disabilities who enroll in Full Life have access to a wide range of services, including, bathing, eating, cooking, cleaning, shopping, transportation, laundry, education and employment assistance. With help from their families, participants choose their Full Life personal staff associate and maintain the right to terminate the individual if, for some reason, they grow unhappy or uncomfortable in their company. The founding and guiding principle of the agency is to allow people with developmental disabilities to live as they choose thereby positively impacting their social, emotional, physical and mental health.

"I am extremely honored that people in my community thought of me as the person they wished to nominate for this award and I am thankful to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for such an amazing recognition," said Canuteson. "This award will help us continue our mission of supporting individual lives in our community and providing individualized services."

Canuteson requires that all Full Life staff members entrusted with caring for participants build their clients’ lives around the choices they make for themselves. Unlike other agencies that simultaneously serve hundreds of disabled people of all ages, Full Life does not subject its participants to regimens that have been predetermined for every enrollee. Each participant of Full Life lives as they want instead of following a standardized plan. In a letter of recommendation supporting Canuteson’s nomination for the award, Howard Marks, a program specialist at the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities, wrote that the emphasis Canuteson places on identifying each individual’s needs and wants is "opening the doors of life" for people with disabilities in ways previously unseen in Hawaii.

Canuteson and each of the 2008 awardees will join the ranks of 153 Community Health Leaders in 45 states and Puerto Rico honored since 1993. The $125,000 award consists of a $20,000 personal gift and $105,000 toward their work. In addition to Canuteson in Hawaii, this year, Community Health Leaders hail from Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Alabama, North Dakota, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and California. Nominations for the 2009 Community Health Leaders Award can be submitted through November 7, 2008. For details on how to submit a nomination, including eligibility requirements and selection criteria, visit www.communityhealthleaders.org.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

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