November 15, 2011

Algia Hickenbotham, RN, BSN, MEd, manager of Nursing and Health Center Operations at the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS), received the American Public Health Association’s Lillian Wald Service Award at the group’s national meeting. The award, one of the most prestigious honors given by the association, recognizes outstanding work in nursing practice, service and advocacy.

Hickenbotham received praise for her leadership, commitment to the community and public health and dedication to addressing the needs of underserved populations in Houston. She has managed federal grants and multiple service areas such as maternity, family planning immunizations and child health since starting at HDHHS in 1989. 

Wald began the discipline of public health nursing in 1890 by visiting the poor and sick in the tenements of New York. Wald also created the discipline of school nursing when she persuaded the New York Board of Education to hire a nurse and soon all schools had a nurse on duty.