Susan Cooper, MSN, RN, Commissioner

Tennessee Nurse, Fall, 2008

Susan Cooper, MSN, RN, Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Health, and Ann Peterson Duncan, MPH, RN, Executive Director, Tennessee Center for Nursing, were recently honored in the Nashville Business Journal's second annual Health Care Heroes salute to the innovators, strategists and pioneers whose work is helping to grow the region's health care industry and reinforcing Nashville as the health care capital of the nation. Honorees in 10 categories included professionals working in medicine, research, insurance, finance, law, real estate, construction and other fields serving the health care industry.

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Susan Cooper received the Health Care Heroes 2008 Community Leader Award. Cooper, the first nurse to serve as the Commissioner of Health, has an extensive background in health policy, health care regulation, and evidence-based practice. Cooper first came to the state level in 2005, as a special policy and health advisor to the Governor. She was charged with developing Tennessee's Health Care Safety Net program for citizens facing dis-enrollment from TennCare. Cooper later assumed leadership of Project Diabetes, a program the Governor created to address the threat of Type 2 diabetes facing young people in Tennessee. In addition, she helped facilitate the creation of the Governor's GetFitTN initiative.

Ann Duncan received the Nashville Business Journal's Health Care Heroes 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award. Duncan became Executive Director of Tennessee Center for Nursing (TCN) in 2002. She has a rich work history in public heath starting in 1965 and most recently served as the Deputy Commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Health before joining TCN. She also served as the Director of Public Health Nursing for the Metro Davidson County Health Department for eight years and previous to that served as the Director of Public Health Nursing for the Tennessee Department of Health & Environment for four years.

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