John “Jay” Byrnes has won the 7th Annual Mary “Penny” Mortensen Public Health Award.

Jay is a current member of the Ashland Board of Health and was nominated by residents of the community who know of his work with the Remote Area Medical (RAM) Clinic and his success in bringing the RAM Clinic to the MetroWest area in 2023 (plans are underway for a RAM Clinic 2024). Jay’s fellow board members agreed with the nomination and voted their approval.Organizing a free medical clinic of this scale is a great undertaking. Jay began preparations well over a year in advance of the 2023 Clinic which served over 300 uninsured or underinsured people, with free medical, dental and vision services, over the two-day period.

The Board of Health honored Jay during its April 2, 2024, meeting with the presentation of a Proclamation, and  Jay’s name was added to the plaque located on the second floor of Town Hall. 

The Mary Mortensen Public Health Award was established in 2018 and was named in honor of Mary “Penny” Mortensen, a long-serving member of the Ashland Board of Health and devoted medical professional who used her nursing skills during many vaccine clinics over the years, and her extensive experience to help create regulations and public health initiatives to keep the residents of Ashland healthy and safe.   

Past recipients of the Mary Mortensen Public Health Award include Ed Hart, Janet Gamache, Decisions at Every Turn, Ed Burman, the Covid Response Team (Police, Fire and School Nurses), and Marie Kane.

Source: www.ashlandmass.com/178/Health