Judy Rauppius Named 2022 Health Professional of the Year

ROCK HILL, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – NAMI South Carolina names Judy Rauppius of NAMI Piedmont Tri-County (NAMI PTC) as the 2022 Health Professional of the Year from the South Carolina Association for the Advancement of Health Education.

See below for full release:

COLUMBIA, SC — In November, NAMI South Carolina staff member Judy Rauppius was designated as the 2022 Health Professional of the Year award recipient from the South Carolina Association for the Advancement of Health Education. SCAAHE is a state-wide membership Association that provides opportunities for networking, professional development and assistance to Health Ed Professions.

Judy Rauppius has been working with the National Alliance on Mental Illness of South Carolina (NAMI SC) and NAMI Piedmont Tri-County (NAMI PTC) for nearly eight years to bring mental health, mental illness, and suicide prevention education to middle school, high school, and college students in South Carolina. As a Regional Program Coordinator with NAMI SC, she focuses on eliminating the stigma
related to mental illness, improving access to mental health care, and educating young people about the warning signs and actions to take related to suicide.
Judy coaches volunteer presenters, who each manage a mental illness, to develop presentation skills and prepare them to provide mental health and suicide prevention education programs to students. She has developed strong school relationships across several counties including York, Chester, Lancaster, Union,
Cherokee, and Fairfield. Her former supervisor says, “We know she and her volunteers are changing and saving lives.” At the onset of COVID, Judy worked diligently with teachers and district officials to develop a virtual model for the NAMI programs bringing the program speakers virtually into classrooms and to
students at home. At a time when SC students needed this information the most, Judy was passionate
about reaching them. She is an amazing health educator and an active advocate for her son, who lives
with autism and other co-occurring illnesses.
South Carolina Association for the Advancement of Health Education provides membership
benefits such as:
● Statewide professional development and networking opportunities
● Technical assistance for the application process for CHES and training opportunities to receive
CHES credit
● SCAAHE member email LISTSERV and website page that includes health education resources
● A forum in which to communicate the role of health education and the profession in improving the
health of South Carolinians
● Bi-annual newsletter
● Legislative alerts and updates

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