Karen Daley (SPH ’88) to Receive Massachusetts Health Council Award.

 American Nurses Association (ANA) President Karen A. Daley will be honored by the Massachusetts Health Council (MHC) for outstanding contributions to improving and protecting the health of Massachusetts residents. Daley and fellow awardees will be recognized during the council’s Awards Dinner Gala on Oct. 17.

Daley told Nursingworld.org that she was honored to be recognized because “At ANA, we strive to improve the health of patients, nurses, and the broader community. This award celebrates that work, and for that I’m extremely grateful.”

Daley, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, is a past president of the Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses and the Massachusetts Center for Nursing. She will be recognized for her work as an advocate for legislation mandating the use of safer needle devices in health care practice settings, in part due to her personal experience with the issue.

In 1998, Daley contracted Hepatitis C and the HIV/AIDS virus after suffering an accidental needlestick injury while working in the emergency department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Since then, Daley has traveled the world to raise awareness about the importance of needlestick prevention.