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North Dakota Child Health Care Advocate Donene Feist 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 Donene Feist, a longtime North Dakota child health care advocate, 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 Feist this year for her leadership at Family Voices of North Dakota, a health information and education center helping families throughout the state find critical services and treatment for their children with special health care needs. Feist 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.
"Donene Feist is a passionate advocate for the children and families whose special health issues are often overlooked or dismissed in the discussions about the big picture of health care," said Janice Ford Griffin, national program director for the award. "She is tenacious and leaves no stone unturned in her efforts to provide assistance to all South Dakotans and to persuade policy makers to be equally responsive to their unique needs."
Feist founded the center in 1996 to ensure that children with special health needs receive the health services and care their young lives require. She works to help families - already burdened by their children’s condition - navigate complex health systems and insurance plans and find accurate information and resources to improve their children’s health. Under Feist’s leadership, the organization serves families raising children who have physical, mental or emotional disabilities or chronic illnesses. It also listens to families vent frustrations about their cumbersome experiences with the health system and urges legislators to make health policy changes based on testimonies families offer.
The center has proven to be especially relevant in the sparsely populated state of North Dakota, which averages 9.3 people per square mile and has few urban health care facilities. It addresses parents’ daily frustration with their unsuccessful efforts to find nearby services and treatment for their children. In many cases, families are forced to travel for miles for their children’s medical appointments and hospital stays. Compounding the problem is that 18.5 percent of families in North Dakota with children with special needs have incomes below the federal poverty level. Studies show that in nearly a quarter of North Dakota households, caring for a child with special needs has a negative impact on the employment of at least one family member. North Dakota is home to almost 20,000 children who have special health care needs and the center operates from a premise that these children’s challenging conditions and the vast distances that comprise the state make life harder for them and their families.
"It is such an honor to be recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation," said Feist. "This award, for which we are so grateful, will provide necessary assistance to help improve our infrastructure and our ability to continue helping families. Families are not looking for a hand out, they are looking for a hand to hang on to, to keep from drowning in this complex system."
According to the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau, one in five North Dakota households has a child with special health care needs. Feist draws on the fears and frustrations she encountered during her own struggles to find services and health care for her three children with special needs while working full-time. She established the center driven by her passion to limit the number of North Dakota families who might have to live through the troubles she experienced. In a letter of recommendation supporting Feist’s nomination for the award, State Senator Dick Dever (32nd legislative district) wrote that Feist’s commitment to special needs children and their families is "unquestioned" stating "if persistence is the key to advocacy, [Feist] wrote the book."
Feist 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 to support their work. In addition to Feist in North Dakota, this year, Community Health Leaders hail from Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Massachusetts, California, Utah, New York and Hawaii. 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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