Emily Poland from the Maine Department of Education (DOE) was recently awarded the Outstanding State School Nurse Consultant Achievement Award. This award is given by the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants (NASSNC) to recognize individuals making incredible contributions to the organization and to their profession.
The NASSNC presents this award to State School Nurse Consultants based on their involvement in research impacting the delivery of quality healthcare service in schools and their involvement in the development and passage of important legislation, policies, standards, or regulations relevant to school nursing. The awardee also serves as a resource expert and catalyst from the state level for the development and implementation of policies and school health programs that promote and maintain the well-being of students.
Emily has received this award for her outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the NASSNC organization and her dedication to the school nursing practice and programs. She has proudly served as a member of the NASSNC including serving on the Advisory Board and as the current Past-President along with chairing the Bylaws Subcommittee. She consistently provides leadership and guidance at the state and national levels, elevating school nursing practice and positively impacting thousands of staff, students, and families every year. She serves with grace and dedication as an expert in school health and works to expand infrastructure that supports school administrative units’ health services programs.
One example of Emily’s work is her collaboration with the Governor’s Opioid Task Force to pass legislation for the supply and use of Naloxone in a school setting. She has also helped improve the quality of school health screening programs by securing funding to support national certification for vision screening. She worked on upscaling supports to meet the needs of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. This included the expansion of access to school nursing services through telehealth in areas with limited school healthcare resources.
Emily continues to advocate for policies and programs to improve the delivery of health services in Maine schools while also providing individual support to school nurses throughout the state.
Emily was presented with her award on June 29th at the Summer NASSNC Membership meeting in Orlando, Florida. The Maine DOE is extremely proud of Emily and excited that her incredible work is being recognized and awarded.