~courtesy of The Scranton Journal
Franklin Township resident Patricia Young was recently honored to receive a national award.
NASTAD* honored Iowa HIV and Hepatitis Prevention Program manager Patricia Young with the 2016 NASTAD Lifetime Achievement Award for her passion, leadership, and dedication in working to improve the lives of people living with HIV and hepatitis and for her tireless service and devotion to NASTAD.
Young has been engaged in HIV and viral hepatitis prevention and care services for nearly three decades – practically since the very earliest days of the response to the domestic HIV epidemic. She has held a wide range of roles in the Iowa Department of Health – across prevention, care, and community planning; and yet despite her many years of service, she remains tremendously and tirelessly passionate. She is genuinely energized by this work, and exudes an almost boundless and palpable hopefulness, which is inspiring to those around her.
“For a program to thrive in a low-incidence state, there has to be one or two really very dedicated individuals who spend long hours and oftentimes their own resources to ensure the success of that program. Patricia can keep an amazing number of balls in the air at once. But she impresses me most when those balls become too much and come crashing down, as they inevitably will,” said former NASTAD board chair and Iowa AIDS Director Randy Mayer. “During those times, she gathers up the balls again and one by one, puts them back in motion. It isn’t always easy, but she always gets it done. I am always thankful to have Pat on our staff at the Iowa Department of Public Health.”
“Patricia has a dedication, tirelessness, and impatience in leading the charge to improve the lives of people impacted by HIV and hepatitis and making sure her state has all the support it needs to get the job done. There’s no doubt in my mind that our community is that much better off because of people like Patricia,” said NASTAD executive cirector Murray Penner.
*About NASTAD: Founded in 1992, NASTAD (National Alliance of State & Territorial AIDS Directors) is a non-profit association that represents public health officials who administer HIV and hepatitis health care, prevention, education, and supportive service programs funded by state and federal governments in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Pacific Islands. NASTAD also supports partner governments in Africa, the Central America region, and the Caribbean region.
