Las Vegas, NV October 19, 2021
Chris Jacobson, a health facilities inspector with the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), has been selected as the September 2021 Nevada Veteran Employee of the Month for his outstanding contributions and service to the State of Nevada.
Jacobson joined the U.S. Navy at age 19 and served 20 years in various roles around the country. He started on the USS New Jersey and was trained to become a preventive medicine technician. While stationed in Long Beach, Calif., he worked at the Naval hospital and inspected restaurants, child care and other facilities. He was commissioned as an officer in 1991 and later was selected by the Navy to attend Baylor University in Texas where he earned a Master’s degree in Health Care Administration.
After retiring from the Navy as a lieutenant in 2001, Jacobson returned to his hometown of Las Vegas with his family and started with the Nevada Cancer Registry, a program of DHHS, where he spent several years as a health resource analyst. Over the next 10 years he worked both State and private jobs in health care; he has been a health facilities inspector for the last few years and will retire from the state in January 2022.
“I just wouldn’t change a thing,” Jacobson said of his journey serving his country and state as a health care professional. “There are times I really miss the military, I really loved it, and I’ve also enjoyed working with the State — every experience whether there’s been positive or negative. I’ve met a lot of great people.”
“Chris’ work as an inspector in our health facilities has gone above and beyond expectations when conducting important infection control surveys,” Terri Henwood, Jacobson’s supervisor, said in her nomination. “Chris treats co-workers and community providers with respect and explains tough subjects with ease, which is very difficult to do in this field of work. Chris has always displayed flexibility when being assigned special projects or last-minute inspections. He is always on the front-line to pitch in and is an asset to our team.”
The Veteran Employee of the Month award initiative was launched in January 2021 by the Nevada Department of Administration to recognize State employees who have served in the U.S. armed forces.