NURSE WINS ESSEX COUNTY ELECTION

New Jersey Nurse, Jan/Feb 2004

Dr. Muriel M. Shore, RN of Fairfield was elected in June 2003 to fill a vacancy on the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders (District IV). In November 2003 she was elected to remaining term of office which ends in 2005. There are 22 towns in Essex County and Freeholder Shore represents 11 of those towns (Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Livingston, Millburn/Short Hills, North Caldwell, Roseland, Verona, West Caldwell and West Orange).

Dr. Shore served on the Fairfield Municipal Council from 1993-1995, and was elected to three consecutive terms as Mayor, serving from 1995 until 2003. Freeholder Shore earned her BSN degree in Nursing, her MSN degree in Pediatric Primary Health Care Nursing, and her EdD degree in Higher Education from Seton Hall University. She is certified in Nursing Administration Advanced by ANCC.

Freeholder Shore is Dean and Professor of the Division of Nursing and Health Management at Felician College in Lodi, New Jersey. She is a member and Secretary/Treasurer of the New Jersey State Board of Nursing. She served as Director of the Essex County Department of Health and Rehabilitation from 1997-2000, and has held numerous administrative and teaching positions at hospitals, colleges, and universities in New Jersey and New York. Dr. Shore has published articles and presented widely on nursing and healthcare issues and holds many professional memberships, including the National Academies of Distinguished Practitioners, the New Jersey State Nurses Association/ American Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau National Nursing Honor Society, and the Seton Hall University College of Nursing Alumni Association.

Dr. Shore is a long-standing active member of the New Jersey State Nurses Association. She is a Past President, served several terms on the Board of Directors and is currently a Delegate. She was elected to the American Nurses Association Board of Directors for two terms and was elected to the ANA Cabinet on Education which she chaired.

"Serving in elected office is a natural position for a nurse," said Shore. "Government needs good people who are dedicated to making a difference in the lives of others. Nurses have good instincts and possess characteristics that make them an ideal public service advocate" she said.

Shore said her biggest priority is to streamline county government and to eliminate the waste and duplication of services at the county level. Essex County government is costly and most taxpayers question what services they receive in return. "I think that's a fair question and with three towns in Essex having voted to secede from Essex County this is an issue which needs immediate address.

Freeholder Shore participated as a guest speaker at the Eagleton Institute of Politics, Center for American Women and Politics, at Rutgers University. She told the audience that "government service is very rewarding but you must take the job seriously and be willing to spend the time and effort to get things done. Persistence is a key virtue," said Shore.