Congratulations to Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Patsy Stinchfield on being selected by the National Meningitis Association (NMA) Board of Directors as this year’s recipient of NMA’s Nancy Ford Springer Health Achievement Award! Patsy specializes in vaccinology and is the Senior Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Children’s Minnesota. Patsy was a speaker and moderator of a panel discussion about the power of story-telling in vaccine advocacy where the awards presentation was held at Columbia University School of Nursing, New York City, on Nov. 4.
The award honors the memory of Nancy Ford Springer, a founder of NMA. Nancy was the mother of Nick, a meningitis survivor. Both Nancy and Nick became tireless in their efforts to develop NMA, educate public and policy makers and help countless individuals and families affected by disease.
Patsy is the first nurse to receive this award and does so for her long-standing commitment to NMA and her national advocacy for vaccination across the spectrum from childhood and teen vaccines to flu shots for healthcare professionals.