Shane Darby: Founder of Black Mothers in Power, doula training program developer
Black Mothers in Power founder and Wilmington City Councilman Shane Darby continues to help Black parents across Delaware access the resources and services they need in reproductive health. The advocacy group helps train doulas to help during pregnancy, and Darby received training when she launched the program within Black Mothers in Power. The doula training program aims to increase the number of Black health care providers and close the gap in the prioritization of Black mothers in the state's health care system.
Delaware has a long history of high infant mortality rates, especially for black infants, a statistic that inspired the doula program. The nonprofit advocacy organization has trained about 20 doulas in New Castle County and works with the Wilmington Housing Authority to provide doula services to people living in the authority's public housing.
Carrie Casey: Manager, New Castle County Regional Development and Housing Authority
Carrie Casey operates and directs the New Castle County Hope Center, which provides temporary emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness. She spearheaded the effort to get the Hope Center up and running and is currently working on developing a sustainable plan to keep the Hope Center open in the future.
Leslie Palladino: Director, Harm Reduction and Outreach at Impact Life
Leslie Palladino is the director of Impact Life, a nonprofit organization focused on helping people struggling with addiction. Palladino regularly leads community outreach efforts to distribute harm reduction tools such as the drug naloxone, which helps reverse overdoses, and connect people to treatment. The organization recently opened a recovery farm in Seaford to serve pregnant and parenting women in recovery from addiction.
Josette Manning: Secretary, Delaware Department of Health and Human Services
Josette Manning is the Secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Human Services. She leads an umbrella agency that oversees all aspects of public health and wellness in Delaware, from disease prevention to homelessness, aging and animal welfare.
Brad's Reason: Bancroft Behavioral Health, Psychiatric Nurse
Blood Why is a private psychiatric nurse practice at Bancroft Behavioral Health in Miltown. In April, Mr. Why announced that Highmark Health Options, a subsidiary of Highmark Health and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, would provide full refunds to him and other pre-practice registered nurses. realized that it had stopped, and gathered a coalition of practicing nurses. He was ultimately instrumental in convincing Highmark Health to reverse its policy and reimburse advanced practice registered nurses at the same rates as physicians providing the same services.
Tiffany Chalke and Mona Lisa Hamlin: Well Women/Black Maternal and Child Health Committee Chairs
Tiffany Chalke and Mona Lisa Hamlin chair the Well Woman/Black Mother Health Committee, part of the Delaware Department of Public Health's DE Thrives program. The committee works to raise awareness and address health disparities impacting Black women and their infants. Recently, Chalk and Hamlin led efforts to improve access to perinatal resources and strengthen connections in nontraditional maternal and child health areas.
Ruth Lytle-Barnaby: Former Director of Family Planning Delaware
Ruth Lytle-Barnaby led the Delaware Family Planning System at a time of unprecedented need for reproductive services. Since the Roe v. Wade reversal, Delaware has seen an increase in people traveling from out of state to obtain abortions in areas where abortion is still legal.
Lieutenant Governor Bethany Halllong, Senator Brian Townsend, and Representative Paul Baumbach: Members of the State Retirement Health Benefits Advisory Subcommittee
In the wake of Delaware's difficult move to switch state retiree health insurance to Medicare Advantage, the State Health Benefits Advisory Subcommittee, led by Lieutenant Governor Bethany Halllong, Representative Paul Baumbach, and Senator Brian Townsend, The legislative establishment of the association was encouraged. The group was tasked with making recommendations to control health care prices in a transparent and public manner and held multiple public meetings to discuss options and final recommendations. Among the subcommittee's recommendations to the State Employee Benefits Commission was not to consider Medicare Advantage plans in a new request for retiree health insurance proposals. An earlier proposal to switch to Medicare Advantage took the state to court.
Sean Dwyer: Alzheimer's Association Delaware Valley Chapter
Sean Dwyer, Delaware State Government Affairs Director for the Alzheimer's Association Delaware Valley Chapter, promotes stronger training standards and adequate staffing in long-term care facilities through Senate Bill 150, which focuses on dementia care. He has led the association's efforts to The bill grew out of the Legislative Task Force, of which Dwyer was a member. The law specifically defines dementia and would require nursing homes and assisted living facilities that provide dementia care to have sufficient staffing to meet the “individual needs of each resident.”
Candice Esham and Lucilla Esham: Delaware families advocating for long-term care reform
Mother-daughter duo Lucilla and Candice Esham are Delaware elder care advocates calling for statewide long-term care reform after family matriarch Mary Claudia Jones Bartelme died in assisted living. formed a coalition. Ms. Barthelme, Lucilla's mother and Candace's grandmother, developed bedsores that became infected and led to her matriarch's hospitalization. She died two weeks later, and Candice Esham filed a complaint with the state Department of Health and Human Services about her grandmother's care during her stay at Dover Place. Through their coalition, the Eshams have pushed for legislative changes in the Delaware General Assembly, calling for transparency and accountability regarding nursing home operations and complaints.
Don and Jeanne Keister: atTAck Addiction Founders
After the death of their son, Don and Jeanne Keister founded atTAck Addiction, the state's first grassroots nonprofit to address addiction. Over the years, the nonprofit has expanded its reach and service offerings, recently opening a resource center in Glasgow's People's Plaza and starting offering a “mini food pantry” at the center in late January. . The organization also offers supportive housing, support groups, weekly NA meetings, and Narcan training. Beyond the services they provide, the Keisters continue to be key advocates for legal reform and reform for addiction treatment and recovery in Delaware.
Jennifer Staley: Suicide Awareness DMV Plate Supporter
A year after Jennifer Staley's brother-in-law, Jason, died by suicide in November 2020, Staley is looking for a way to honor his memory while also supporting those suffering and those bereaved by suicide. was. The Mary Dell resident and her husband purchased Jason's “cherished” truck and began working to establish a special license plate program for suicide prevention in Delaware, Staley said.
Mr. Staley helped pass legislation in 2022 that would provide the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention with special license plates to increase awareness and support for suicide prevention. He can purchase the plate for $50, of which he will donate $35 to the foundation. With the creation of this program, Delaware joins the only states in Indiana with American Foundation for Suicide Prevention license plates.
“My hope is that the plate will keep their memory alive and help others going through the same experience,” Staley said. “Let’s build a community where no one feels alone in their grief.”
Dr. Eric Johnson and Dr. Drew Brady: Delaware's first black adult orthopedic surgeons
Dr. Eric Johnson and Dr. Drew Brady joined First State Orthopedics, becoming the first black orthopedic surgeons in Delaware. Doctors say the specialty has struggled to diversify.
Johnson graduated from Penn State Milton Hershey School of Medicine and completed an orthopedic trauma fellowship in New Jersey before settling in Wilmington, where he received his first “fellowship training,” according to First State Orthopedics. He became an orthopedic trauma surgeon. He has one trauma center at Christiana Care.
Brady is a Wilmington native and graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Medical School. He also attended the University of Pittsburgh's orthopedic surgery residency program, which First State Orthopedics says is known for its versatility. Brady served as First State's Physician Chairman and currently serves as Director of Orthopedic Trauma at ChristianaCare.
