2011 REGIONAL HERO
Washington Burns
Executive Director, Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement
For his tireless efforts to strengthen and revitalize the West Oakland community and enhance the lives of its residents
In 1995, a few years away from retiring from a long and distinguished medical career, Washington Burns, M.D., was asked by his brother, Fr. Charles Burns, to help found the Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement. Little did he realize that it was to be his next personal and career challenge. Determined to bring a rich and supportive art and culture experience, education programs and computer training to the people of West Oakland, he has converted a used convent into a vibrant community center. Today, under Dr. Burns’s volunteer leadership, the West Oakland center’s services include a food pantry, activities for youth and families, and programs in health and wellness, arts and culture, and education and training.
The Prescott-Joseph Center has become a regional center on the issue of asthma, which plagues a disproportionate number of West Oakland residents, particularly children. The center’s mobile asthma clinic, the Breathmobile®, visits schools in the Bay Area evaluating, treating and educating children and their parents how to manage their asthma. This includes helping them to understand their condition, learn to use medications and devices, develop asthma action plans, and build skills to prevent asthma attacks, such as reducing exposure to asthma triggers. The center also serves as the lead agency for the West Oakland Asthma Coalition, which provides school-based education, school staff training, and in-home education and environment assessments.
In addition, the center aids clients in navigating the health care system, collaborates with Alameda County Public Health nurses to operate an immunization clinic, and serves as the lead agency for the West Oakland Education Brain Trust’s efforts on school reform in West Oakland.
Award Presenter
Dr. Anthony B. Iton, Senior Vice President, Healthy Communities, The California Endowment
