BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Kim McClintic, MS, RD, LDN, of OSF St. Joseph Medical Center’s Center for Healthy Lifestyles has been chosen as the recipient of the McLean County Board of Health 2009 Public Health Award. The award is granted for furthering public health principles, practices and services in McLean County. In observance of National Public Health Week which takes place April 6-12, Board of Health President Dan Steadman presented the award at the board meeting on April 8.

Kim is being honored for educating a variety of audiences in McLean County about nutrition, wellness and disease prevention. She has spread her messages through local media and presentations to schools, businesses, community organizations, support groups and conferences. Nominations noted Kim’s expertise, passion and “can-do” attitude in teaching people the importance of healthy eating and living well.

Kim earned her bachelor’s degree in dietetics/nutrition from Iowa State University and her master’s degree in public health administration from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. She is a member of the American Dietetic Association and the Central Illinois Dietetic Association. Kim has been in practice since 1988 in a variety of areas in dietetics, primarily on an outpatient basis. Her special interest is in wellness and disease prevention. She has been published in the “Journal of the American Dietetic Association,” and various other trade journals and magazines, as well as being an advocate for health and wellness to the community on television and radio. Nationally, Kim is featured in an educational video through Learning Zone Express called “Obesity in a Bottle” and has done a series of video streams called “Win at Weight Loss” for State Farm’s Live Well Be Well corporate wellness program. Kim has worked for OSF St. Joseph Medical Center since 2000.

The McLean County Board of Health Public Health Award honors a McLean County resident, volunteer or employee who exhibits leadership in a public health-related activity and contributes to health promotion efforts within the county. The contribution can be professional or occupational, in a volunteer or paid capacity; in areas such as maternal-child health, environmental health, aging population, fitness and nutrition, employee wellness, individuals with disabilities, mental health, injury prevention or another health-related field.

The McLean County Board of Health solicits nominations for this award from area public health contacts in January. A selection committee of Health Department employees then uses a scoring system to score each nominee which leads to discussion, and then a final decision is made in early March. This is the 17th year for the award.