SACRAMENTO — Yolo County Supervisor Helen Thomson recently was awarded the first-ever Excellence in Leadership Award from the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis as part of the school's Dedication and Inaugural Welcoming Ceremony.

The award celebrates and recognizes nursing leaders who exemplify the values of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing and serve as role models for the enactment of the school's vision. This award will be presented annually.

"From the bedside to the boardroom, leadership is a core expression of professional nursing," said Heather M. Young, associate vice chancellor for nursing and dean of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. "Nurses are essential health-care leaders advancing new policies, managing complex health organizations and researching the urgent issues that our society faces. Whether contributing to a team of care providers, conducting nursing research, or serving as a faculty member, nurses will advance a new paradigm in American health care."

Young said it's for those reasons that leadership is a core value for the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.
"We honor the nurses who came before us, demonstrating leadership and forging the way for those who follow. These are the leaders who built the strong foundations for the nursing profession and continue to be advocates for health," she said.

Thomson was selected as the first recipient of the award because of her numerous contributions as a nurse leader. Serving as a public servant at a variety of levels, she is committed to improving health policy, especially early mental health care, and expanded health insurance for children.

"I wish more nurses would get involved in the political arena," Thomson said. "Nurses are very good advocates for people, not just in health care, but for all of their needs, because nurses work closely with people at so many ages and levels."

As a nursing student, Thomson worked at McLean Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in the greater Boston area. She also attended nursing school at Boston University and at Royal Edinburgh University in Scotland, where she helped start a psychiatric rotation.

Thomson began her public-service career in 1974 when she was elected as a member of the Davis Joint Unified School District Board of Education. She was elected to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors in 1986 and re-elected in 1990 and 1994.

In 1996 she won the 8th District seat in the California State Assembly, where she served three terms. In the Assembly, Thomson chaired both the Health Committee and the Select Committee on Mental Health. Additionally, she served on five other Assembly standing committees, the leadership teams of four Speakers and other leadership roles. She authored 81 bills signed into law by both Democratic and Republican governors. Most notably was AB 88, the mental health parity bill, which ended the discrimination in insurance benefits for those who suffer from mental illness.

In 2002, when her assembly term ended, Thomson was elected again to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors and re-elected without opposition in June 2006.

Thomson serves as chair on a variety of local and statewide boards, including the First Five Commission, the Future of the Safety Net and the Children's Alliance of Yolo County. She served as president of the California Women Lead (formerly called California Elected Women's Association) and as first vice president of the California State Association of Counties. She remains active in both and is currently a member of the California State Association of Counties Health and Human Services Committee.

She also serves as a member of the California Health Policy Forum and the California Coalition of Compassionate Care Steering Committee where she chairs the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment Taskforce.

Thomson has served in a number of roles in support of UC Davis as well. She was a member of the search committee for the associate vice chancellor for nursing and dean of Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis, and the committee to recommend a school of public health be established at UC Davis. She secured $50 million for UC Davis MIND Institute while in the Legislature. She is a member of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing National Advisory Council, providing valuable guidance and support.

Of continuing importance to Thomson is the Children's Health Initiative, which provides health coverage for children of all ages without health insurance, the Yolo Indigent Health Medical Services Program and Yolo County's alcohol, drug and mental health programs. She supported the adoption of the 2030 General Plan in 2009 and continues to advance Yolo County's historic preservation of agricultural lands, natural resources and open space while creating opportunities for strategic economic development.

"Helen has been a strong supporter from our school from the outset, serving as an advisor to our leadership and friend to nursing. We are privileged to have her as our partner," Young said.

About the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis: For 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matters to California and to transform the world. The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis was established in March 2009, UC Davis' first major initiative to address society's most pressing health-care problems in its second century of service. The school was launched through a $100 million commitment from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the nation's largest grant for nursing education. The vision of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing is to transform health care through nursing education and research. Through nursing leadership, the school will discover knowledge to advance health, improve quality of care and health outcomes, and inform health policy. The school's first programs, a doctoral and a master's degree program, opened in fall 2010. Additional students and programs will be phased in over the next decade. The Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing is part of the UC Davis Health System, an integrated, academic health system encompassing UC Davis School of Medicine, the 613-bed-acute-care hospital and clinical services of UC Davis Medical Center and the 800-member physician group known as the UC Davis Medical Group.