HOPKINTON — Town Manager Elaine Lazarus and Health Director Shaun McAuliffe are proud to announce that Hopkinton’s Public Health Nurse Simone Carter has been awarded the Presidential Award from the Massachusetts Association of Public Health Nurses (MAPHN).
“Simply put, Simone Carter is invaluable,” said McAuliffe. “This recognition is well deserved.”
Carter stepped into her role as public health nurse in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has more than 30 years of nursing experience.
The Town of Hopkinton was fortunate enough to have been awarded grants to hire per diem nurses to support Carter’s work in the community.
“We were one of the first municipal departments to have been awarded the COVID vaccine from the state,” said McAuliffe. “Our vaccination rates were above 95% across all age groups and races. Our success gave the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) the confidence to allow us to open a municipal clinic with the health departments in Northborough, Southborough, Holliston, Westborough and West Boylston.”
Throughout her service for the Town of Hopkinton, Carter has spearheaded successful senior outreach programs.
“She has helped seniors with no hope find recovery,” said McAuliffe.
And her outreach touched the opposite end of the age spectrum as well.
Carter has trained many of the local school nurses in the region on Narcan administration, and several of those nurses have subsequently saved lives.
During the interview process, McAuliffe immediately saw something special in Carter.
“Simone and I have a world of lived experience and talent,” said McAuliffe. “She started her nursing career outside of New Orleans before Katrina. She worked in private practice and became a Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) nurse upon moving to Massachusetts. Through the interview process, I saw that she was innovative, caring and vested in making a difference. As such, I gave her the license to flourish, and she has.”
Carter not only won the MAPHN Presidential Award but has also been elected President of the MAPHN.
Carter and the Town of Hopkinton’s previous nurse, Kasey Mauro, were the first public health nurses in the Commonwealth to be certified in Functional Health. The pair went on to launch a Healthy Brain initiative that received national recognition.
The MetroWest Health Foundation awarded the Town of Hopkinton’s Health Department funding to launch a vaccine equity campaign. At the same time, they received a local grant from the Friends of the Seniors to increase Hopkinton’s senior health efforts.
“I’m grateful that the Town continues to support the Health Department, including an increase in the budget that will fund new per diem nurses, one of whom starts next week,” said McAuliffe.
“The Town of Hopkinton is very fortunate to have Simone Carter on our team,” said Town Manager Lazarus. “Our residents deserve the best public health opportunities we can possibly provide. Finding and hiring Simone Carter, from the beginning, has been a giant step toward fulfilling that goal.”
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