Florida Veteran Health Heroes

Page 6 MAJOR MAUREEN DANIELS-TREMEL Maureen Tremel joined the U.S. Air Force (USAF) after graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Seton Hall University following the Vietnam War in 1976. Having grown up in a patriotic household with a father who was a World War II veteran, Maureen felt a strong desire to serve her country. She began her military career as a clinical nurse on the Gynecology unit at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. While serving in the USAF and the USAF Reserve, she earned an OB/Gyn Nurse Practitioner Certification and a Flight Nurse Certification. Currently, Maureen is studying to earn a PhD in Nursing at the University of Central Florida. After serving on active duty in the USAF, Maureen settled in Florida and has been a nursing educator for the past 29 years. She is currently a fulltime nursing professor and Leader of Experiential Learning/Simulation for the Nursing Program at Seminole State College in Altamonte Springs. She is also a member of the planning team for the Altamonte Springs Campus expansion with plans to include a simulation hospital for nursing students. In 2014, Maureen was one of sixteen educators worldwide to first be recognized as Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator- Advanced (CHSE-A) by the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. Her innovative teaching strategies and sustained commitment to nursing education led to her being named a Fellow of the National League for Nursing’s (NLN) Academy of Nursing Education. In addition to a robust teaching career, Maureen is a contributing author for several publications, conducts research to advance the nursing educational field, and has presented at over 60 national and international conferences. Maureen actively works to make positive gains to providing health care to veterans with a focus on training future health care providers. Currently, she is working on a grant funded project called “Advancing Care Excellence for Florida’s Veterans: Using Simulation to Educate Future and Current Nurses and Other Healthcare Professionals,” sponsored by the Florida Blue Foundation. “ Our military veterans are well-trained and hardworking. They have demonstrated a willingness to serve and have been indispensable to both our military and our state.” - John Armstrong, MD, F.A.C.S. State Surgeon General and Secretary