Saint Xavier University alum Janice Phillips”, PhD, Rn, CENP, FAAN, was recently appointed to the Illinois State Board of Health.
Phillips was give the title of Public Health Academician on the Illinois State Board of Health. When interviewed by the Saint Xavier University Alumni Association, she stated “[she] studied hypertension knowledge and behaviors among patients.”
According to Phillips, the appointment is, “…a nice honor, particularly for a nurse…being a part of those discussions, being a part of writing and amending things that might be of help to public health is an honor.”
She graduated in 1985 from Saint Xavier University earning a Masters Degree in Community Health. She has also earned the Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award and the Nursing Spectrum’s Advancing and Leading the Profession award.
Phillips has written over 100 publications, written a public health policy column, and has penned four textbooks. She currently resides at Rush University where she oversees nursing research and health equity.
Prior to the appointment to the Illinois State Board of Health, Phillips worked for the University of Maryland and the University of Chicago.According to Rush University, “[Phillips has also worked] in the office of Senator John D. Rockefeller IV.”
According to Phillips, “experience makes [her] a very positive candidate for the position [on the Illinois State Board of Health].”
She includes that her “portfolio is well rounded and that [her] work is incredibly rewarding.”
Phillips stated she had a “governmental appointment to the State Board of Health, and what that means is that the Governor [Pritzker] appoints individuals to serve in advisory capacities on committees and commissions for the state, [meaning the Illinois State Board of Health].”
According to Phillips, the “Board of Health works closely with the Illinois director of public health and [they] “serve in an advisory capacity.”
The Illinois Board of Health is divided into committees and subcommittees that “are appointed to provide and serve as an advisor to the director of the Department of Public Health…people that are appointed also serve on subcommittees” to serve the state.
According to the Illinois State Board of Health website, “The mission of the Illinois Department of Public Health is to protect the health and wellness of the people of Illinois through the prevention, health promotion, regulation, and the control of disease and injury.”
Phillips first meeting with the Illinois State Board of Health was February 27. The outcome of that meeting dictated her role within the State Board of Health.
At the end of the interview with The Xavierite, Phillips stated that in order to succeed as a recent graduate one must “Find what floats your boat” and to “figure out the networking opportunities to create something for yourself.”