Health Equity Awards

The Heartland Conference on Health Equity and Patient Centered Care has been recognizing the outstanding health equity champions in our community for the past 8 years. Awards are given to individuals in our region, which includes Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa.

Awardees are champions in health equity, patient centered care, and members of our communities. They are Community Health Workers, public health professionals, researchers, leaders in public health and health care, and sometimes individuals who are outside of the traditional health realm but have contributed to the advancement of health equity.

SUBMIT A NOMINATION

Nomination Deadline: July 31, 2025

Health Equity Award Categories

Regional Health Equity Champion

egional Health Equity Champions are individuals who strive for health equity in all places in health care, public health, community health, and educating our future health and public health professionals to name a few places you may find them. Health Equity Champions do not need to hold professional degrees. They do not need to be employed by top organizations. We can find Health Equity Champions in any and all areas of life. The key attribute is their dedication to health equity.

Regional Community Health Worker Champion

Community Health Worker Champions are those who embody the very definition of a CHW. They advocate tirelessly for their clients and community. They are the CHWs others turn to for support, mentorship, advice, and assistance. They know where to go, how to get there, and exactly who to ask for. Community Health Worker Champions can be found doing the work of a CHW everywhere. Sometimes these champions do not have the title of CHW, may not have formal training, and can be found in every neighborhood, every community, and throughout our region. Community Health Worker Champions may go by the name of Promotoras or Promatores, Navigator, or no name at all. The qualities they all share are advocacy, capacity building, equity focused, serving all everywhere regardless of background.

Jae Edgar Bennett Health Renegade Award

Spring of 2021 brought many changes and challenges to our region. Among those changes was the loss of a true renegade and a longtime support of this conference, Jae Edgar Bennett. Jae believed that health happed everywhere. Jae not only believed in Health for All, he embodied it. Jae dedicated his second act to tackling an often- abandoned community, one that he had first-hand experience with, the unhoused, the hard sleepers, and the communities most neglected. While his methods were unorthodox and at times controversial, and pushed elected officials to action, he just got it done regardless of the personal consequences. Jae lived and breathed health equity, action, and community solidarity.

The Heartland Conference on Health Equity and Patient Centered Care created the Jae Edgar Bennett Health Renegade Award to honor those who break the rules, who break the box everyone else thinks in, who work to break the system in order to fix it.

Jae Edgar Bennett Health Renegade Awardees are those who do what ever it takes to improve the lives of their communities, regardless of how unpopular it is, how unorthodox the intervention or path they take to get there, they just get it done.

Broderick Crawford Community, Faith, and Fortitude Award

In the fall of 2022 we lost a true legend. A man unlike anything this region has seen. Broderick Crawford was affectionately known as "The Mayor" within his professional and faith communities, and his stomping grounds, the Kansas City region. Broderick was an eternal community optimist, always believed that if your trust and believe in your community, they will prevail. Broderick believed our communities are strong and thriving. He choose to put his reputation and profession on the line to say the things that need to be said. He believed our communities do not get the choice, and their livelihoods are on the line every day. Broderick Crawford embodied all of this and more.

The Heartland Conference on Health Equity and Patient Centered Care created the Broderick Crawford Community, Faith and Fortitude Award in honor of Broderick and his commitment "make good trouble" everywhere he went.

The Broderick Crawford Community, Faith and Fortitude award is given to those who have faith in people and their communities. This includes people who are health equity champions, change-makers, activists, community leaders, co-conspirators, and your neighbors. Awardees can be renegades or serve passively in their dedication to community, what sets them apart from others is an unwavering commitment to dedicate their lives' work to their communities.

Capt. Shary Jones Federal & Government Service Award

New in 2024, the Heartland Conference established this award to honor federal employees and their commitment to health equity in Region VII.
This award goes to those who exemplify a strong and steadfast relationship to the community and the region. While we seek to honor those doing the day-in and day-out work in the community, we also seek to recognize the hard, and diplomatic work, of those in formal government roles that can help formalize policies and programs, broker relationships and funding among decision-makers, and negotiate with representatives on our behalf.