Year Honored: 2004
Birth: 1922
Born in: Virginia
Biography
Edith Pamelia Vincent was best known for her work as a Delaware School Nurse. She received a nursing diploma from Union Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Baltimore (1943) and continued her education at Vanderbilt University. She received a bachelor’s in 1954 and a master’s in 1957. During World War II, Vincent joined the Red Cross and served in the Army Nurse Corps as first lieutenant.
In 1947, she was hired as the first school nurse in Delaware at Delmar school. She also worked as a journalism teacher and the basketball and hockey coach. Vincent was hired as the first Supervisor of School Health Services for the State, and “with the health and well-being of children being paramount, she worked tirelessly with lawmakers and policymakers to establish guidelines and standards of care.” Some of her accomplishments include creating instructional materials to help teachers educate children on the importance of preventing disease; successfully advocated for each Delaware School to have their own registered nurse; helped develop the framework for Delaware’s first school-based health center; created the Keen Cat Program to promote health and fitness in elementary schools; and worked on the health education and drug free school/communities’ program. After retiring in 1998, Vincent wrote a book titled, ‘The Influence of School Nurses on Delaware’s School Health Services,’ and served as the first woman commander of the Greenwood Memorial VFW Post #7478.
Vincent had two scholarship funds named for her – the ‘Edith Vincent Delaware State Health Scholarship’ and the ‘Delaware School Nurse Association Edith P. Vincent Scholarship.’ Both “allow others to pursue higher education in the fields of health and wellness.” She has been awarded the Emily P. Bissell Service Award; Northeast Regional Center for Drug-Free Schools Recognition Award; a special citation from the Medical Society of Delaware; recognition from the CDC; is a member of the Delaware Association for Childhood Education Hall of Excellence; is listed among the ‘Who’s Who of Health Educators; and Nemours Health and Prevention Services named a ‘Healthy Schools Award’ in her honor.
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Sources and Additional Readings
Edith Pamelia Vincent Obituary (2013) Delaware State News. Legacy.com. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newszapde/name/edith-vincent-obituary?pid=166637736
