Welcome to the new webpage for North Carolina Association of Public Health Nurse Administrators

PURPOSE

To improve the quality, quantity, comprehensiveness, and continuity of public health nursing care provided by the local health departments in concert with current health care trends and public health nursing practice

GOALS

  1. To meet annually to provide members with continuing education and peer exchange.
  2. To establish effective communication between local public health agencies, DEHNR, Health Directors’ Association, academic, and other agencies promoting health.
  3. To appraise the membership of legal, legislative, and professional actions pertaining to public health nurses.
  4. To actively support the professional status of public health nurses in North Carolina.

2025 President’s Address

News

Public Health Nursing Leader Seeks RN-at-large Position on the NC Board of Nursing

North Carolina is unique in that we are the only state in the nation that elects the majority of its members to our own governing body—we elect the nurses that serve on the North Carolina Board of Nursing.

That means we have the unique ability to select nurses that not only reflect our professional values, but also represent leadership in our PHN specialty. Our Board of Nursing does not have a dedicated seat for public health nurses. However, I think most of us would agree that the public health nursing specialty needs its own voice in rooms where healthcare decisions are being made.

I am delighted to announce that a member of my team, Dr. Lindsay Novacek, the Director of Nursing Continuing Education at DPH, will be pursuing the RN-at-large position on the NCBON beginning January 2026. Elections will occur July through August of 2025.

Lindsay has over a decade of public health nursing experience in North Carolina, and has worked across the spectrum of state and local public health, including clinical services, care management, home health, correctional healthcare, consulting and continuing education. She currently manages the NCCPHN program in the Office of the Chief Public Health Nurse.

She plans to use her seat at the NCBON to highlight the perspective of NC PHNs, and plans to keep us all informed about key decisions at NCBON.

Let’s get a public health nurse back on the board!

Susan Haynes Little