2009 Big Voice for Children Awards
School Nurse, Coordinator and GASN State Director Jeannie Edwards, R.N. receives one of the 2009 Big Voices for Children Awards.
Dawson County School Nurse Coordinator, Jeannie Edwards received a Big Voice for Children’s Award from Voices for
Edwards stated “Now more than ever during tough economic times, the single most important thing legislators could do to improve the health and well being of children is to ensure that all children have access to a school nurse. School Nurses are the link to community health resources and ensure that our children are health and ready to learn.”
She is past president of the Georgia School Nurse Association and present serves as State Director to the National Association of School Nurses. Her volunteer activities over the past twenty years include serving with the Family Connection Partnership and Prevent Child Abuse Dawson. Recently, Governor Perdue named her to the Governor’s Working Group on Abuse in the Educational Setting. In Georgia and Washington D.C. she successfully lobbied for investments in school nurses and school health. Edwards was a key leader in ensuring that $30,000,000 for school nurses remained in the Georgia state budget for 2009-2010.
“Nurse Jeannie,” as Edwards is known throughout the community, began twenty years ago as the first school in Dawson County. Since then she has worked tirelessly to ensure that each of the six schools of Dawson County has a fully trained nurse. Edwards understands that for too many children, the school nurse is the only healthcare professional they encounter throughout the year.
Voices for
Submitted by LeighAnn Bagley R.N. BSN
Black’s Mill Elementary School Nurse
GASN Secretary
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