CATTARAUGUS - Debra Nichols, a lifelong village of Cattaraugus resident, has been receiving some richly deserved recognition in recent months. This indefatigable 'ball of fire' with the no-nonsense haircut and the fiery blue eyes, works as a public health educator for the Cattaraugus County Health Department, and in 2008, was named to the Health Department's Honor Roll in acknowledgement of her leadership and enthusiasm in furthering local health initiatives. Still, the remark you'll hear from her most often is a vehement, "It isn't about me."
So successful has Ms Nichols been in sharing her passion for improving community health, that she was selected this year as one of only five presenters nationwide at the 20th National Conference on Chronic Disease Prevention and Control in Washington, D.C. While there, she spoke about a grant program called ACHIEVE (Action Communities for Health, Innovation & EnVironmental changE), and how she and her team implemented it in the small Cattaraugus County city of Salamanca, N.Y.
"When I first wrote this application," said Nichols, "I had pretty low expectations. "We were one of hundreds applying, mostly big citiesAlbuquerque, Clevelandplaces like that. Besides, there were going to be only ten (grants) awarded throughout the whole country." Her application must have been persuasive, because 'little Salamanca' turned out to be one of those ten recipients.
Initially, explained Nichols, the Salamanca ACHIEVE program had two goals: to make the city more pedestrian-and-bicyclist-friendly, and to reduce (and hopefully eliminate) young people's tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke. Given that Salamanca is located on the Seneca Nation reservation, and therefore subject to both city and tribal law, it's all the more noteworthy that its ACHIEVE program has moved steadily forward since its inception about a year ago.
Smoke-free zones have been posted wherever children congregate and play. A new city ordinance permits authorities to confiscate tobacco products from underage tobacco-users. Preliminary surveys have also been made in reference to making the city more pedestrian and bicycle friendly, with plans progressing to improve crosswalks, curbs and other impediments.
Spin-offs from the project continue to proliferate. For instance, the Pennsy Trail has been rehabilitated, and was reopened to the public at the Pennsy Trail Reclamation Event on May 9. As is usual with ACHIEVE, a number of local organizations and individuals involved themselves in the effort. Great care has been taken to make it safer and more inviting. "A valuable green space has been put back to work," Nichols commented.
Ms Nichols said she attributes all of ACHIEVE's progress, not to her own efforts, but instead to the diverse character of the Community Health Action Response Team that was set up to implement it. "All the key stakeholders were represented," she explained, "the tribal council, tribal health officials, business people, law enforcement, the mayor's office, city and county councils, media, schools, the youth bureau and rural health people, all had a say."
This type of cooperation, according to Nichols, generated broad public support for the undertaking. "That's why we were able to effect policy change," she said.
"I feel it was a tremendous honor to represent Salamanca, my county and my state at the Capitol," said Ms Nichols. "The others at the conference took to calling us the 'overachievers' because our community was so small, and yet we'd accomplished so much."
Both she and the city have every right to take pride in the national recognition gained in Washington. As Division Director of the Center for Disease Control Wayne Giles put it, "Salamanca ACHIEVE's project is the gold standard of excellence as a model community."
Said the still-awed Nichols, "I've been on cloud nine ever since the trip."
Since then, Salamanca's ACHIEVE program has become the subject of national attention. There've been a flurry of honors and invitations for the hard-working Nichols, including an invitation to speak at the Center for Disease Control's national headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Later, she and the other two ACHIEVE coaches, Ms Ann Marie Wright and Ms Kate O'Stricker will be traveling to Indianapolis, Indiana to share their success story with other rural health educators there.
In late April, Nichols was one of three persons honored at the first annual 'Salamanca Applauds' community recognition banquet held at Elkdale Country Club. There, she was introduced as Salamanca's 'adopted daughter' and presented with the Hand in Hand Award for her work with ACHIEVE "as an outstanding community builder, creating relationships between the community and its businesses, and working to remove barriers for the growth and benefit of the Salamanca Area."
Predictably, in her acceptance speech, Nichols said, "It's not about me. I'm just one of the coaches--a facilitator. ACHIEVE is all about collaboration and working together. It's all of you who are the players."
Is it any wonder this woman gets things done?
PHOTO CAPTION: THE COACH. Cattaraugus County Health Educator Debra Nichols has a zany sense of humor, rapid-fire speech patterns, and a no-nonsense approach to "getting the job done." She'll repeatedly tell you, "It's not about me," but she always seems nearby when things start happening. One good example: the Salamanca ACHIEVE program that has brought that small city to national attention in recent months. "It's all about working together," she insists.