Page 16 - Healthcare Heores 2021

HEALTHCARE HEROES OF WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
COMMUNITY HEALTH
Richard Johnson
Counseling and Testing Prevention and Education Program Director,
New North Citizens Council Inc.
He Has Made a Career of Being There for People Who Need Help, Direction
RBy George O’Brien
ichard Johnson has a simple and laudable philosophy
when it comes to those seeking help. And it goes a long way to explaining why he’s a Healthcare Hero for 2021 in the always-competitive Community Health category.
“When people who are in need find the fortitude to step out of themselves and ask for assistance, there should be somebody to respond,” he said. “That’s because it takes a lot sometimes for many people to ask for help. And so, I like to make sure that, if I’m able, I can be that person to respond.”
For more than two decades now, during a lengthy career
in public health, most recently as Counseling and Testing Prevention and Education Program director for the New North Citizens Council Inc., Johnson has been able — and ready — to respond and provide that help, in the many forms it can take.
His title is a mouthful, and there is a lot that goes into it.
Indeed, from his office at the Deborah Hunt Prevention and Education Drop-in Center, Johnson helps those in the Mason Square area of Springfield and beyond cope with issues ranging from HIV and sexually transmitted diseases to opioid and other addictions; from sickle-cell anemia awareness to treatment for mental-health issues.
And with the arrival of COVID-19, that list has only grown, with new responsibilities including everything from securing PPE for those in need to educating residents about the importance of vaccination. In short, he and his team have been helping people live with everything else going on in their lives and COVID.
“We wanted to provide an education for these individuals so they could limit or at least mitigate some of their risk factors for contracting COVID and other things,” he explained. “So 2020 became COVID-intense. Our focus changed; our priority was educating people on how communicable this disease was, and saying to them, ‘yes, I understand that you have addiction challenges and housing challenges, but you really need to pay attention to how to prevent contracting COVID, and then we can work on some of the other things.’”
A day in the life for Johnson takes him to the drop-in center, but also to the neighborhoods beyond for off-site presentations and testing at various facilities on subjects ranging from
Leah Martin Photography
“When people who are in need find the fortitude to step out
of themselves and ask for assistance, there should be somebody to respond. That’s because it takes a lot sometimes for many people to ask for help. And so, I like to make sure that, if
I’m able, I can be that
person to respond.
”
A16 OCTOBER 2021
2021 HEALTHCARE HEROES