Joycelyn Warren, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, was presented with the Lillian D. Wald Public Health Nursing Award at the 2022 GPHA Annual Meeting and Conference on Jekyll Island.

The Lillian D. Wald Public Health Nursing Leadership Award honors the memory of Lillian Wald, the founder of American Community Nursing.  She was known as an advocate for the poor and a human rights activist who founded the Henry Street Settlement in New York City in 1893, which changed the model for public health care delivery in New York.  She advocated for nurses in public schools and coined the term “public health nurse” to describe nurses whose work is integrated into the public community.

The purpose of this award is to recognize demonstrated initiative and resourcefulness in developing efforts to improve the health of the public through advocacy by way of political, legislative, professional or interdisciplinary collaboration. 

Warren is the nurse manager and nurse practitioner for Twiggs County Health Department. Warren graduated from Southern Adventist University in 2016 with her BSN. She started her nursing career as an RN for Twiggs County Health Department right after graduation. She applied for and was granted a full scholarship to Georgia College and State University through the ANEW grant. She graduated with her MSN in 2019. Warren hopes that with this degree she will be able to provide much needed health care to the residents of Twiggs County.