Door County Public Health nurse Mary Ellen Smith has been awarded the distinguished service in public health Cornelia Van Kooy Award. The Wisconsin Public Health Association, public health section, sponsored the 11th annual Public Health Nursing Awards. The purpose of the award is to recognize contributions to public health nursing practice within an agency, community, region, state, nation or globally by providing leadership in professional organizations, demonstrating outstanding public health nursing performance or other accomplishments relating to population health. Only one recipient is honored with the Cornelia Van Kooy Award each year. Van Kooy is known as the matriacrch of public health nursing in Wisconsin. Mary Ellen Smith began her public health nursing career in the 1980’s and can still be found contributing her knowledge and expertise at the Door County Public Health Department. She was a key contributor in the establishment of a community clinic, a hispanic resource center, and a dental clinic in Door County. Smith received the distinguished service in public health award at the annual public health nursing conference in Stevens Point on August 5th.
