Hometown Health Heroes honored by Michigan Public Health Week Partnership

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March 18, 2026

LANSING, Mich. – As part of Public Health Week in Michigan, 10 individuals and organizations were presented with the 2026 Hometown Health Hero Award for their contributions to protecting and improving the health of Michigan residents. The Michigan Public Health Week Partnership, a collaboration of state and local health agencies, universities and organizations dedicated to advancing public health, presents the awards each spring. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is a founding member of this partnership.

“Michigan Public Health Week is an opportunity to recognize the individuals and organizations that go above and beyond to protect and improve the health of their communities,” said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director. “The Hometown Health Heroes we honor today demonstrate the dedication, innovation and collaboration that strengthen public health across our state. Their work helps ensure that all Michigan residents have the opportunity to live healthier, safer lives.”

2026 Hometown Health Heroes Award Winners

The awardees were honored at a ceremony in the State House Office Building Wednesday, March 18. More information about the awards can be found on the MDHHS website.

Joe Hammontree

Joe Hammontree’s work as director of food access and support with the Shiawassee YMCA has expanded access to resources for residents across Shiawassee County, where more than 10,000 people seek food assistance annually. Since 2024, Hammontree’s work with the county’s Food Access Workgroup has improved coordination of food pantries, expanded fresh food distribution, launched home delivery to hard-to-reach rural areas and created new emergency food options. Hammontree also played a central role in establishing and operating a community Warming Center, providing warmth, nutritious meals and wraparound services during winter months. Through extensive volunteer hours beyond his paid role, Hammontree’s leadership has strengthened community resilience, improved health outcomes and ensured dignity for Shiawassee County’s most vulnerable residents.

Kersten Kimmerly

Kersten Kimmerly is the founder of the Capital Area Perinatal Wellness Coalition (CAPW), which supports the mental health and well-being of pregnant, postpartum and birthing individuals and their families across Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties. Kimmerly brought together therapists, doulas, physicians, nurses and other providers, and in 2017 formally established CAPW and its centralized website offering resources on perinatal mental health, grief, crisis support, infertility, trauma and more. Through a coordinated phone tree of trained clinicians, families are quickly connected to qualified providers without repeated outreach. Kimmerly invests her own time and resources, hosts community women’s health events, serves on the Postpartum Support International Michigan board, mentors Master of Social Work students and is widely recognized for strengthening perinatal mental health support in the region.

Dr. D’Angela Pitts

Dr. D’Angela Pitts is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Henry Ford Health whose leadership has advanced health outcomes for mothers and infants across southeast Michigan since 2021. Under her direction, the health system achieved a 37% reduction in persistent severe hypertension and reached 100% compliance with postpartum hemorrhage risk assessments. Pitts has led systemwide improvements across four of Henry Ford Health’s birthing hospitals through community-based blood pressure monitoring, care coordination and follow-up programs that reduced readmissions and improved continuity of care for families. She secured more than $100,000 in grant funding, expanded access to home blood pressure cuffs, nutritional support and safe sleep resources, and launched Michigan’s first hospital-based doula program. Through innovative, equity-focused leadership beyond her clinical role, Pitts has helped reduce racial disparities and strengthened maternal and infant health outcomes across the region.

Loretta Bush

Loretta Bush is the CEO of Authority Health and the visionary behind the Healthy and Resilient Communities Initiative, a program to improve nutrition access for low-income residents in Detroit and Wayne County. Launched in 2024 with state support, the initiative places affordable, ready-to-eat healthy meals in nontraditional retail locations such as gas stations, liquor stores and community centers in Detroit neighborhoods identified as “food swamps,” or areas where an abundance of unhealthy food options overwhelms access to nutritious foods. During the past year, more than 8,000 nutritious grab-and-go meals have been distributed, increasing access to healthier options and encouraging positive dietary behavior change. The initiative has also expanded community engagement through nutrition education and health outreach events. Through hands-on leadership beyond her executive role, Bush helped create an innovative, community-centered solution that strengthens health equity and resilience in Detroit’s more underserved neighborhoods.

Stanley Stinson

Stanley Stinson leads Street Outreach Teams, providing essential medical care to individuals unable to access traditional health services in Detroit. Since 2019, the teams have delivered medicine to unhoused individuals, people impacted by substance use disorder and those affected by human trafficking, offering care in all weather conditions and high-risk environments. In 2024 alone, the program recorded thousands of encounters, distributed food, hygiene supplies, harm reduction kits, naloxone and basic medical care, and connected clients to housing, prenatal care, HIV and sexually transmitted infection treatment and emergency services. Stinson and his volunteer team have reversed overdoses, trained community members in lifesaving skills and helped link vulnerable individuals to ongoing care. In addition to his outreach work, Stinson serves as an emergency department nurse at Corewell Health in Farmington Hills, demonstrating a sustained commitment to reaching Detroit’s marginalized residents.

Melvenna Fant-Jones

Melvenna Fant-Jones is the founder of The Phoenix Project, a trauma-informed program serving survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and homelessness across Macomb, Wayne and Oakland Counties. The program provides wraparound services that help survivors move from crisis to safety and long-term stability through housing support, advocacy, mental health resources and safety planning. Fant-Jones responds to emergencies beyond standard hours and collaborates across courts, shelters, hospitals and community partners. Her leadership has improved safety, mental health and stability for thousands of individuals and families across southeast Michigan.

Joseph Warne

Joseph Warne is the president of Neighbors United, a nonprofit organization that provides direct assistance to firefighting families in need, and the organizer of Walk for the Red, an initiative supporting Michigan firefighters and their families facing cancer, serious illness, injury or catastrophic loss. Since 2019, Walk for the Red has provided direct financial assistance that helps reduce stress, remove barriers to medical care and allow firefighters to focus on treatment and recovery. The effort also raises awareness of occupational cancer risks in fire service, encouraging early detection and preventive health practices. Organized entirely outside of his duty hours as a Macomb Township firefighter, Warne’s voluntary leadership, fundraising and advocacy have strengthened the physical and emotional well-being of firefighters across Michigan.

Washtenaw County Medical Examiner Bereavement Support Program

The Washtenaw County Medical Examiner Bereavement Support Program provides support to individuals and families impacted by the sudden, unexpected and often traumatic death of a loved one. Through a partnership with the Michigan Medicine Office of Decedent Affairs, the program offers acute and follow-up bereavement support led by a certified social worker in collaboration with medical examiners and staff. Services include opportunities to view the decedent in a comforting space, counseling, assessments and referrals in addition to memory-making items presented in a Memory Box. Families with children are connected to the Giving Library, which offers books and tools to support conversations about grief. The program helps reduce isolation, stigma and the risk of prolonged grief, and is widely valued by the families it serves.

Cameron Bullock

Cameron Bullock is the chief executive officer of Pivotal, formerly known as Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services of St. Joseph County. He led the agency through its transition to a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic to expand access to mental health and substance use services for all county residents. Since 2021, Bullock has overseen significant growth in eligible clients and expanded Pivotal to three countywide sites. Under his leadership, the agency launched St. Joseph County’s first behavioral-health urgent care center, as well as mobile crisis teams, jail diversion programs, integrated primary care, medication-assisted treatment and specialized services including Dialectical Behavior Therapy and veteran navigation. Bullock’s efforts removed barriers to care related to time, location and payment, strengthened crisis response and increased community outreach, ensuring residents of all ages and circumstances can access high-quality behavioral health services that improve individual and community well-being.

Ashley Ochoa

Ashley Ochoa is the creator of Fuel for Recovery, a program launched in April 2025 at the Cowell Family Cancer Center in Traverse City to support cancer patients undergoing extended infusion treatments. Serving patients from across rural northern Michigan, the program reduces food insecurity and treatment-related stress by providing nutrient-dense meals during long infusion sessions and coordinating personalized grocery support with oncology dietitians. Through partnerships with Oryana Community Co-op and the Cowell Family Cancer Center’s Sprout Café, patients receive convenient, cancer-appropriate meals that support strength, energy and recovery. Developed beyond her normal job responsibilities as coordinator with the business team at Munson Healthcare, Ochoa secured funding, built cross-department partnerships and designed a sustainable model now serving hundreds of meals. Her leadership has improved equity, quality of life and continuity of care for patients facing significant geographic and economic barriers.

About the Michigan Public Health Week Partnership

In addition to MDHHS, the Michigan Public Health Week Partnership consists of the following organizations: Central Michigan University Public Health Programs, Eastern Michigan University Master of Public Health Education, Grand Valley State University Master of Public Health Program, Michigan Association of Counties, Michigan Association for Local Public Health, Michigan Association of Medical Examiners, Michigan Health & Hospital Association, Michigan Public Health Association, The Michigan Public Health Institute, Michigan State University Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, The University of Michigan School of Public Health and Wayne State University Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences.

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Department of Health & Human Services MI Newswire Department of Health & Human Services 03 - March Press Release Media Contact:

Laina Stebbins

517-241-2112

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