Posted: March 18th, 2009 - 3:37pm by Doug Powell

Jersey represent.

Barfblogger and Franklin Township Health Department health officer Michele Samarya-Timm (right, not exactly as shown) has been crowned handwashing queen and Health Educator of the Year by the New Jersey Society for Public Health Education.

Patti Elliot, acting director for the Franklin Township Health Department said,

"Michele's enthusiasm for the field of public health is surpassed by no one.”

Samarya-Timm is the only health educator to receive the professional distinction of Diplomate in the American Academy of Sanitarians and has been recognized as an emerging public health leader by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

In Franklin, Samarya-Timm established a model of the CDC's "It's a SNAP!" handwashing program, created a youth-based pandemic preparedness/handwashing program, and a handwashing/hygiene and illness reporting program for food handlers.

On a national level, Samarya-Timm works with the Food and Drug Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, the CDC and other agencies on establishing timely food safety and food outbreak information to consumers.