Denise Garlick Receives Massachusetts Nurses Association Endorsement
Affirms expertise and commitment to Health Care.
Needham - The Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), the largest professional health care organization in the Commonwealth, has unanimously endorsed Denise Garlick, RN for State Representative of the Thirteenth Norfolk District which includes Needham, Dover and Medfield.
Garlick is an active member of the MNA, serving as its past-president. “Denise is a strong and energetic leader. She helped transform our organization to best represent the needs of nurses and their patients in the evolving world of health care, and has been a passionate advocate for the safety of hospital patients through implementation of safe staffing standards. Denise is smart, hard working and knows how to get things done,” said Donna Kelly-Williams, RN, president of the MNA in a release.
“Having worked as a Registered Nurse for over two decades I have a depth and breadth of direct care and policy experience to take with me to Beacon Hill. While Massachusetts has led the charge for health care reform, my goal as Representative is to improve cost containment ensuring access and quality of care and preserving our community hospitals.” Garlick said. She currently serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Needham Board of Selectmen. Previously, she served as the Chairman of the Needham Board of Health.
Garlick has been a Registered Nurse since 1975, she has cared for veterans (VA Hospital in West Roxbury), patients in our community hospital (Glover Hospital, now BID Needham) children in our schools (substitute school nurse in Needham) individuals with mental illness (McLean Hospital) and individuals with developmental disabilities who are medically fragile (Health Supervisor; Charles River Arc). For more than 13 years Garlick was a nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital caring for acutely ill patients in the Surgical ICU and Cardiac intermediate Unit. She is currently the Community Outreach Nurse Educator at Wellesley College where she serves as the liaison between Health Services and the community campus for health education, promotion and wellness. Additionally, she is the liaison beyond the campus walls to local, regional and state organizations and agencies.
“Garlick’s work in the area of health care on behalf of our most vulnerable populations; those with developmental disabilities and those with mental illness is a critical asset as changes to the health care system continue to take center stage,” said Kelly-Williams. “Denise also has an interest in the preservation of public health and school health services for our children, understanding that a healthy child is a child ready to learn.”
Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest professional health care organization and the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
Garlick has previously received the endorsement of the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
The Democratic Primary will take place on September 14th.
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