FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2015
Contact: Margaret Cellucci, Director of Communications
National Association of School Nurses
mcellucci@nasn.org / 240-247-1628
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL NURSES TAPS
DELAWARE SCHOOL NURSE AS NEW PRESIDENT
AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE
School Nurses Build a Foundation for Student Health and Education
Better Health. Better Learning.
Silver Spring, MD (June 27, 2015) – At its 47th Annual Conference, NASN2015, in Philadelphia, PA (June 24-27), the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) announced Beth Mattey, MSN, RN, NCSN, of Wilmington, Delaware, its new President for the two-year term 2015-2017. Currently, Mattey is the school nurse at Mt. Pleasant High School (Brandywine (DE) School District).
As NASN’s new President, Beth will support NASN’s brand platform, School Nurses Build a Foundation for Student Health and Education. “School nurses make a difference for student health, working together with the student, the family, our partners in the school and the healthcare communities for better health, better learning,” said Mattey. “We want all children to have access to a full-time school nurse.”
For the past two years, Beth has been NASN’s President-Elect where she has been Co-Chair of the NASN Governance Strategic Planning Committee and an Executive Committee liaison member on the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on School Health and the National Board for Certification of School Nurses. She began her school nursing career in 1987 and has worked with elementary and high school students as well as with students with special needs. She has been a Nationally Board Certified School Nurse since 1990 and is an Instructor at the University of Delaware. She has authored a chapter in the award winning textbook, Selekman’s School Nursing: A Comprehensive Text, as well as written several articles for professional publications. She is a Past-President of the Delaware School Nurse Association and a Past Board Member of NASN. Beth graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Nursing.
In her remarks at NASN2015, Mattey said that school nursing is the foundation that is essential for health in school. “Every day brings new health care issues and school nurses provide student centered care,” said Mattey. “School nurses collaborate with students, the school community, families, the health care community, the community at large, and government agencies so that children are in school, healthy, safe, and ready to learn.”
Mattey added that she believes, “… we must care for all children, independent of their socioeconomic status, their citizenship, their heritage or their innate ability; that a child needs health care while in school; that children will be safe in school; that if we work together we will achieve the best outcomes for children; and that a professional school nurse is needed in every school to care for every child because school nursing is the foundation for student health.”
Additional election results for 2015-2017 include:
Nina Fekaris, MS, BSN, RN, NCSN, elected President-elect, a school nurse for 27 years, serving more than 4,000 of Oregon's students K-12.
Catherine Davis, BSN, RN, NCSN, elected Secretary/Treasurer, a school nurse for 22 years, Lead School Nurse for Opelika City Schools (Alabama).
NASN
The National Association of School Nurses is a non-profit specialty nursing organization, organized in 1968 and incorporated in 1977, representing school nurses exclusively. NASN has more than 15,000 members and 50 affiliates, including the District of Columbia and overseas. The mission of the NASN is to advance school nurse practice to keep students healthy, safe and ready to learn. To learn more about NASN, please visit us on the Web at www.nasn.org.
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