Rhode Island College Director, Lynn Wachtel, Chosen for ACHA's New Professional Award

Lynn Wachtel, MS, RNP, Director of Health Services at Rhode Island College in Providence, was chosen to receive ACHA's 2003 New Professional Award. ACHA honored Lynn and other award winners at a special dinner at their Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 29, 2003. Congratulations Lynn!

Editors Note: In the short time that Lynn has been involved in college health, she has touched the lives of many beyond RIC, around Little Rhody, and most recently as a co-presenter at the NECHA '03 Spring Summit. Nomination letters came from veteran NECHA members including Karen O'Brien from RISD, Betty Cotter (Bryant College), Salve Regina University's Mary Kay Connell, as well as a lovely letter from her staff.

The following is Lynn's citation:

As an independent practitioner and director, you have transformed the Health Services at Rhode Island College into a holistic environment delighting students, staff, and administration. Your varied background in health care prepared you for the challenges of college health. Your enthusiasm and dedication have been infectious as you set about to improve the quality and quantity of health care offered in the college community.

The transformation has included active staff participation in enhancing services through development and implementation of a women's health program, a sexually transmitted infection testing program, pre-employment physical examination program, a low cost immunization program, and initiation of a laboratory and ambulance services for the campus. You have actively partnered with colleagues to provide psychotropic medications with the Counseling Center, nutrition analysis and support for eating disordered students, and a smoking cessation program as you move to a smoke-free campus.

Your creative ability fostered a grant from the Rhode Island Cancer Council that includes free patches for participants in the program. Your business acumen resulted in improved health insurance coverage at reduced cost as you advocated for the students in negotiations with the insurance company. Most noteworthy is your ability to research both clinical and administrative matters and develop workable clinical guidelines, processes, and procedures that allow staff to function effectively while complying with standards.

Your quiet dignity, warmth, wit, caring, and compassion for your patients and your staff have been shared with the Tri-State College Health Consortium and colleagues throughout New England. The American College Health Association joins the New England College Health Association in naming you their Affiliate New Professional Award winner for 2003.