2019 MaAOHN Nurse Excellence Award Winner: Janice Allen MS, RN, CS

2019 MaAOHN Nurse Excellence Award: Janice Allen MS, RN, CS

By Donna C. Ferreira ANP, MS, COHN-S/CS, FAAOHN
7/22/19

I have known Janice Allen since 1990 when we both entered the field of occupational health nursing. She is a nurse practitioner, occupational health professional, and outstanding individual in the highest. Janice has both extraordinary people skills in handling patients in need as well as a keen business savvy with corporate management skills.

Janice has worked for Waters and Millipore Corporation, Holy Cross student health, Bigen Idec Inc and now for 11 years at Raytheon Corporate Headquarters. Janice is the Chair of the Medical Surveillance Advisory Team overseeing Raytheon policies and response to required OSHA and NIOSH regulations and recommendations for a host of exposures including HazMat, Hydroflouric Acid, Bloodborne Pathogens, Lead for example. She oversees the AED program for Raytheon’s 63,000 employee population with sites all across the world. She provides Nurse Practitioner expertise for the workers at Raytheon’s Corporate Headquarters in Waltham including responding to onsite medial emergencies. She is very instrumental in supporting Medical Evacuations for international employee travelers. She ensures quality care, medevac, and family support for those injured and ill while deployed for work.

Janice is on call 24/7 for international case management and medevac. She mobilizes crisis support for medical emergencies, pandemics, of natural disasters such as the tsunami in Japan. Janice provides clear and important guidance to employees in need who are out of their normal environment. She is a key connection between families and their ill/injured loved ones oversees. She converses with out of country physicians, employees, managers and family members. She encounters challenges of security, language and culture barriers, geography, locations of war and secrecy with grace, seriousness, and swiftness. Her rapid response, outstanding rapport with her employee/patients, and her passion for helping makes her a candidate for the nurse excellence award.

Janice has shared her expertise with occupational nurses and physicians as a presenter at the New England College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine conference as well as in Central Massachusetts (5/17) for the MaAOHN organization.

As a volunteer for the American Corporate Partners, Janice Allen mentors veterans as they transition from active duty to civilian employment. She assists with 1:1 counseling on resume composition, cover letter writing, college applications and the profession of nursing. She assisted a Medic in the Army to seek a career in nursing and an LPN to apply to nurse colleges. Janice assisted a Ph.D. veteran to transition from a profession in research to one in the biotechnical field. Janice shares her expertise from Bigen Idec, Inc for this one. She has volunteered since 2016 and finds these activities of giving back rewarding.

Janice is extremely intelligent and analytical, moves at the speed of light, and is one of the most professional nurse practitioners with the integrity of the highest degree that I know. Her passion and compassion for nursing and helping others is unparalleled. When someone encounters challenges, Janice is there with a “How can I help? Anything you need.” She is an amazing person. She is an unsung super hero in the occupational health nursing field.

Let us recognize Janice Allen for her excellence in occupational health, caring demeanor, and for the many employees lives she has touched.