RUTH OTA NAMED RECIPIENT OF 2008 AAP CHILD HEALTH ADVOCATE AWARD

In April, the American Academy of Pediatrics named Ruth Ota, RN the winner of the 2008 AAP Child Health Advocate Award.

The AAP Child Health Advocate Award acknowledges the significant accomplishments of advocates and government officials who have served as a voice for children in the state and local government arenas. Ms Ota was nominated by the AAP Hawaii Chapter, selected by the Committee on State Government Affairs, and approved by the Academy's Executive Committee.

Ruth Ota's persistent search for excellence has resulted in improved health care and health status for children of Hawaii. As a public health nurse with the Hawaii State Department of Health for 37 years and Chief of the Public Health Nursing Branch for 14 years, Ms Ota has been instrumental in identifying gaps in services to populations with special needs including young children. To address these gaps in services to children, Ms Ota has developed many statewide committees that focus on concerns such as early intervention for children from 0 to 5, school health issues, and vaccine preventable illnesses.

In 1998, Ms Ota established the Hawaii AAP-Public Health Nursing-Department of Education Partnership (HAAP-PHN-DOE) to address public health issues in schools. Among her other notable collaborative accomplishments, she counts the creation of a statewide Child Death Review Committee, a requirement for routine vaccinations for child care entry, and the development of the public health response to natural disasters and bioterrorism emergencies.

Ruth Ota joins 28 other distinguished recipients who have been presented the AAP Child Health Advocate Award since 1991.