UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Paula Milone-Nuzzo, dean of the Penn State College of Nursing, received the 2016 Honorary Member Award from the Student Nurses’ Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) at its annual state convention Nov. 18 in Lancaster.
Honorary membership, the highest recognition awarded by SNAP, is conferred annually to individuals who have impacted the organization through their dedication and support. As chair of the advisory board for the Pennsylvania Action Coalition, an arm of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Future of Nursing Campaign for Action, Milone-Nuzzo engaged with SNAP to learn their thoughts about how to address the future of nursing and health care across the Commonwealth.
“Dr. Milone-Nuzzo came to Pennsylvania at a strategic time,” said Marcus Henderson, president of the SNAP board of directors. “She is a pioneer in nursing education, practice and research in Pennsylvania.”
Milone-Nuzzo also committed to engage Penn State students in SNAP as part of their preprofessional education, Henderson noted.
“As a strong supporter and advocate for student nurses across the state, Dean Milone-Nuzzo is an inspiration to all nursing students and SNAP members,” Henderson said.
Also at this year’s convention, Penn State’s SNAP chapter won the Chapter Excellence Award for the second consecutive year. The award is presented annually to chapters that demonstrate excellence in member participation at events, community projects and fundraising activities, as well as member recruitment and retention. With about 200 active members, the SNAP chapter at University Park is involved with THON, raising more than $100,000 in 2016. For the past three years, the chapter has won the Blood Cup from the Penn State Red Cross Club for its efforts to recruit donors during the Penn State-Michigan State Blood Drive Challenge. This year, SNAP at Penn State co-sponsored a bone marrow registry drive to encourage campus and community members to register for the Be The Match national marrow donor registry.