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Three North Country Residents Honored at ‘Health Hero’
Luncheon
Published: November 08, 2023
at 07:00 p.m.
By: Press Release from Fort Drum Regional Health Planning
Organization
 
THREE NORTH COUNTRY RESIDENTS HONORED AT ‘HEALTH
HERO’ LUNCHEON
Individuals from Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence
counties receive 2023 Community Health Hero Award, given by Fort Drum
Regional Health Planning Organization (FDRHPO) and North Country Health
Compass Partners
 Watertown, NY, November 8, 2023 –Fort Drum
Regional Health Planning Organization (FDRHPO) and North Country Health
Compass Partners are pleased to introduce the recipients of the 2023
Community Health Hero Award.
One Health Hero
was chosen in each of Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties, and all
three were honored Wednesday afternoon during an award luncheon at the
Hilton Garden Inn, Watertown/1000 Islands.
The 2023
Community Health Heroes are:
- Jefferson County – Scott Stern, MD, Primary Care, North Country Family Health
Center
- Lewis County – Rebecca Paté-Johnson, Family Advocate, CAPC Head Start
- St. Lawrence County – Jayme Smith,
PsyD, Senior
Director of Behavioral Health Services, St. Lawrence Health System
“These three
exceptional individuals have had a profound impact on countless lives,”
explained Pat Fontana, FDRHPO Deputy Director and emcee of Wednesday’s
event. “The selection committee wholeheartedly acknowledged the authentic
passion and unwavering dedication that Dr. Stern, Rebecca, and Jayme
consistently bring to their work. Their contributions in their respective
fields undeniably enhance the health and well-being of the residents in our
region.”
The Community
Health Hero Award – given in honor of National Rural Health Day (November
16, 2023) – recognizes North Country residents who have demonstrated
outstanding public service and a commitment to improving the health and
wellness of their community. Nominations were accepted from the
community-at-large, and winners were selected by members of North Country
Health Compass Partners.
At the luncheon,
each Health Hero was presented with a plaque after being congratulated by
their peers and keynote speaker Denise Young, Chief Executive Officer of
the Watertown Family YMCA.
“Rural healthcare
has some unique challenges, and each of the Community Health Heroes have
found ways to help address those challenges and get people the help they
need,” stated Kayla Burns, FDRHPO Population Health Coordinator. “They
truly are selfless individuals, giving of their time, talent, resources,
and expertise to make the North Country a great place to live.”
Here is some
background on each of the recipients:
Scott Stern, MD
Dr. Stern has a passion for providing care to rural and underserved
populations, and his work for the past seven years at North Country Family
Health Center (NCFHC) has enabled him to work to improve the health and
wellness of some of the most underserved people in the North Country. His
career has focused on breaking down barriers to care, especially for
patients suffering from substance use disorders. Because of his passion,
Dr. Stern offers integrated medication-assisted treatment (MAT) as part of
his primary care services. He provides MAT to approximately 90 patients at
any given time. They are from different socio-economic backgrounds and
career fields; they could be our neighbors, friends, and family members.
Dr. Stern is the reason that hundreds of patients have been able to feel
welcomed and cared for while seeking treatment for their addiction within
their primary care office.
As one patient
stated, "It is exceedingly difficult to be taken seriously, listened
to, and treated with compassion given my unique needs. I'm always safe at
NCFHC, and being treated with dignity and respect, makes such a huge
difference in a world that can sometimes be hostile and dangerous for
people like me."
Dr. Stern also
loves to teach future healthcare providers, including physicians, physician
assistants, and nurse practitioners, by creating an optimal learning
environment at NCFHC. In fact, NCFHC gained two new healthcare providers as a result of Dr. Stern's guidance and mentorship while
they were in training with him. As one student explained, "I was lucky
enough to spend nine weeks under Dr. Stern's supervision. I feel more
prepared to start my career knowing that I learned from one of the best
family practice physicians in the area." (From Dr. Stern's
nomination by Joey Marie Horton, CEO, North Country Family Health Center)
Rebecca
Paté-Johnson
Rebecca isn't the type to sit on the sidelines. If she sees something that
needs to be done, she typically is the one to jump in. Her enthusiasm and
motivation inspire others to get involved and contribute to solutions. This
quality makes her a stand-out both in her career and in her numerous
volunteer roles.
In her nine years
at Head Start, she ensures that children receive medical, dental, hearing,
vision, and nutrition screenings. Through collaboration with other
community-based organizations, such as North Country Prenatal/Perinatal
Council and Cornell Cooperative Extension, she links families to necessary
resources to ensure their needs are being met. One of her accomplishments
was to start a garden at Head Start in Carthage, where vegetables from the
garden are used in children's meals at school. She created a gardening
handbook for families to detail how nutritious plants can be grown in any
space and how they can be used in meals.
Rebecca's
volunteer engagements include Safe Schools Endeavor (SSE), Beaver River
Central School's (BRCS) Safety Committee, and Adirondack Foothills Cycling
Club (AFCC). She is a committee member of SSE, whose mission is to
strengthen school safety through projects, programs, and grants, including
funding anti-bullying programs, mindful space projects, trainings for
school personnel, and the physical safety and security of students and
staff. She volunteers her time and resources to help write grants for funding
and acts as a liaison between schools that receive grants to answer
questions and offer guidance. As an extension of SSE, she is a member of
BRCS' Safety Committee. In this role, she advocated for change in
pickup/drop-off procedures and the elimination of unsupervised school
access during the school day.
Rebecca is also a
founding member of the AFCC, for which she helps coordinate cycling events
to encourage individuals of all ages to engage in this happy and healthy
activity. She chaired a committee to partner with the Mennonite Meat Canner
Lewis County Project to grow their biking event and is also collaborating
with Encompass Recreation to bring an inclusive "All Kids Bike"
program to the area. (From Rebecca's nomination by Joe Paté,
Director of Healthy Families, North Country Prenatal/Perinatal Council)
Jayme Smith, PsyD
Jayme has worked tirelessly to elevate the quality of behavioral health
services offered in St. Lawrence County. She has strategically planned and
put in motion efforts to expand substance use disorder and behavioral
health services for children, adults, and families. In 2022, St. Lawrence
Health Behavioral Health Services cared for over 2,600 patients, completing
over 22,000 outpatient visits and 298 patients in inpatient drug and
alcohol rehabilitation programs. Northern Tier Providers Coalition recently
presented Jayme with the Nichole Baily Achievement Award as an employee who
exemplifies high standards and expectations, while demonstrating loyalty,
compassion, and patience.
Jayme is
frequently called upon during times of crisis to assist with post-traumatic
counseling services for community-based organizations that have faced
difficult situations, including schools, emergency departments, and EMS
providers. She is a member of the Bridge to Wellness Coalition and recently
became a Crisis Intervention Trainer (CIT) for our local law enforcement
agencies. Jayme also serves on the St. Lawrence County Community Services
Board. (From Jayme's nomination by Katherine Schleider, Interim
Associate Chief Operating Officer/Senior Vice President, Special Projects,
Gouverneur Hospital)
For more about National Rural Health Day, visit https://nosorh.org/nrhd/.
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PHOTO: 2023 North
Country Community Health Heroes (L to R): Jayme Smith, PsyD; Scott Stern,
MD; Rebecca Paté-Johnson
About the Fort
Drum Regional Health Planning Organization
FDRHPO works to
strengthen the system for health for the integrated Fort Drum and
civilian community through analysis, identification of needs and leveraging
of resources to fill gaps through innovation and collaboration. For more
about FDRHPO, visit www.fdrhpo.org.
About the North
Country Health Compass Partners
The North Country
Health Compass Partners is a collaborative of local hospitals, public
health agencies, behavioral healthcare providers, prevention councils, and
community-based organizations that meets monthly to discuss and review the
community’s population health priorities. It also serves as the steering
committee for ncnyhealthcompass.org, a regional health data website,
maintained by FDRHPO, that contains interactive charts, graphs, and
dashboards for all the region’s population health priority areas.
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