Lt. Governor Hall-Long Announces 2022 Lt. Governor’s Challenge  

April 5, 2022

DOVER, Delaware – Entries are now open for the 2022 Lt. Governor’s Challenge Wellness Leadership Award, through which the state of Delaware honors individuals, organizations, and institutions who contribute to the advancement of health in the First State.

The Lt. Governor’s Challenge is an annual competition honoring those who have gone above and beyond to make Delaware a healthier place. Winners demonstrate that they have inspired others by making healthy choices the easiest ones for their communities, ultimately helping elevate the well-being, productivity, and prosperity of our state. The entry deadline is May 16.

The competition, sponsored by Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, a registered nurse who holds a Ph.D. in health policy and nursing administration from George Mason University, has served as a fellow for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is a Professor of Nursing and Joint faculty Urban Affairs at the University of Delaware.

The Lt. Governor’s Challenge is more than just a recognition program. It offers entrants the opportunity to demonstrate that they are drivers of change among families, neighborhoods, workplaces, faith-based organizations and institutions, communities, or schools.

“Over the past two years, it’s become more evident than ever that we need to do everything we can to make living a healthy life easier and more accessible.,” Hall-Long says. “The Lt. Governor’s Challenge is designed to recognize those who have gone the extra mile to make Delaware a stronger and healthier state. Our hope is that our winners will inspire others to take the significant steps necessary to encourage healthy lifestyles in their lives and in their communities.”

How to participate in the Lt. Governor’s 2022 Challenge 

Individuals, organizations, and institutions are invited to nominate themselves, and members of their community. But whether you are nominating yourself or a group you find deserving of recognition, by sharing your nominees’ stories and outcomes you motivate them to continue to grow their initiatives while encouraging other Delawareans to examine how they can help build healthier communities.

An important criterion for winning the Lt. Governor’s Challenge is the inclusion of data that reflects how the nominee’s program positively affected the lives of Delawareans. The competition’s review committee wants to see how nominees drove the most effective results through policy, system, and environmental (PSE) changes – strategic and deliberate ways of addressing public health issues.

Instead of focusing only on behavioral change, as many community health programs do, programs that follow PSE changes create an environment where healthy choices are choices are encouraged through policy, supported by the system, and made easily available to the target community.

Entrants should detail how their PSE changes.

“It’s easy to say we want our communities to be healthier, but the Lt. Governor’s Challenge is about recognizing those who have put in the extra work to create real, tangible change and have the data to back it up,” Hall-Long says. “We look forward to this year’s nominees and evaluating the strides they’ve made in building a healthier Delaware.”

Challenge winners from previous years include:

• 2021 Brandywine Counseling and Community Services, for an employee program focusing on mindfulness and self-care
• 2021 Delaware Libraries, for new statewide telehealth support services
• Seaford School District, for an integrated and coordinated mental health and behavioral program for students
• 2021 Hispanic American Association of Delaware, for neighborhood-based health sessions
• 2020 Teacher Khayree Bey, for his program teaching students calming strategies and conflict resolution

Visit ltgovernorschallenge.org for more information and full entry rules and requirements.