BUCYRUS—At the January 19, 2022 Crawford County Board of Health meeting, the Board unanimously voted to recognize and award both the Bucyrus Public Library and the Crestline Public Library as the 2021 Public Health Partner of the Year at each of their respective February Board meetings. The Board of Health annually reviews collaborative activities Crawford County Public Health conducted with community partners during the previous calendar year to select a Public Health Partner of the Year.
Kate Siefert, Health Commissioner, shared with the Board of Health the collaboration provided by both libraries during the past year. “In February of 2021, the Ohio Department of Health announced they would provide free COVID-19 at-home test kits for the public that local health departments could distribute. We were in the midst of providing daily vaccine clinics and we knew we needed help with this task. Within minutes of reaching out to the libraries to inquire if they would be interested in being the point of distribution in our county, both libraries excitedly responded they would love to help. I worried that I might have gotten them into a much bigger task than they initially agreed to accept, but over the next ten months, the libraries collectively graciously passed out 14,766 test kits while constantly thanking me for the opportunity to help serve their communities.”
At the February 10th Crestline Public Library Board meeting, Commissioner Siefert and Board of Health member Sis Love presented their award and thanked the library staff and board members for their efforts. Library Director Cheryl Swihart shared her enthusiasm for helping in the distribution of the at-home test kits. “We are grateful we could provide this service to our community during the pandemic. Supporting local public health efforts and serving the Crestline and New Washington communities with a needed resource was an amazing opportunity for our library.”
Bucyrus Public Library Director Stephanie Buchanan echoed similar gratitude when Commissioner Siefert and Board of Health member Sis Love presented their award at the February 15th Bucyrus Public Library Board meeting. Buchanan expressed, “Bucyrus Public Library was honored to be the very first library in Ohio to distribute the test kits. We are proud of the recognition it brought to Bucyrus from the Governor’s office, the Ohio Library Council and even some national library journals. Within weeks of the health department proposing this collaboration, we were part of a webinar spotlighting our efforts and procedures to help other libraries participate in distributing test kits in their communities.”
Siefert, the daughter of a retired librarian, shared that she isn’t surprised by how successful the library directors were at distributing the test kits. “Public libraries have repeatedly demonstrated how well they can adapt and evolve as the needs of a community change. They are a “go-to” partner any time information or a resource needs to get out into a community.”
This is the fourth year of honoring a community partner for their efforts that help Crawford County Public Health fulfill its mission to educate, empower, and improve the quality of life for the Crawford County Community. Previous recognition has been awarded to Sheriff Scott Kent (2018), Avita Health System (2019) and Crawford County EMA (2020).