DePaul Community Health Centers (DCHC) announced that Sophia L. Thomas DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, PPCNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP, has been selected to be a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Thomas serves as DCHC’s patient experience officer and is also a family and pediatric nurse practitioner. Induction into the Academy is a significant milestone in a nurse leader’s career in which their accomplishments are honored by their colleagues within and outside the profession. Fellows are selected based on their contributions and impact to advance the public’s health.
The Academy is a policy organization and an honorific society that recognizes nursing's most accomplished leaders in policy, research, practice, administration, and academia to advance equitable solutions to the nation’s most complex health care challenges. Academy fellows, from over 40 countries, hold a wide variety of influential roles in health care. Induction into the fellowship represents more than recognition of one's accomplishments within the nursing profession. Fellows contribute their collective expertise to the Academy, engaging with health leaders globally to improve health and achieve health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation, and science.
“It is truly an honor to be recognized nationally as a nursing leader,” said Thomas. “This will be my third national fellowship, having been previously inducted in the National Academies of Practice in Nursing and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. I am truly excited and humbled to receive this great honor in recognition of my service to the nursing profession through my leadership, practice, policy work, publications, and years of history of volunteerism to promote the nursing profession as well as improving access to care for patients. Nationwide, few nurse practitioners hold all three fellowships, and I am pleased to be able to represent DCHC in this number.”
Thomas, who attended Northeast Louisiana University, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, and Loyola University New Orleans’ Schools of Nursing, has been a family and pediatric nurse practitioner (NP) for 27 years and has served in several elected, and appointed, NP leadership positions on the state and national level, most recently having served as the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) president as well as the AANP 2023 and 2024 National Conference Chair. Thomas has served as a consultant for Trump and Biden Administrations relative to COVID vaccinations and in July 2023, her international impact was realized as co-editor of the published textbook Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Anesthetists: The Evolution of the Global Roles. In 2020, Thomas was also chosen as one of Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare.
“Sophia Thomas has consistently risen to the occasion to provide the best compassionate care to those in the community since she began working at DePaul Community Health Centers in 2016,” said DCHC’s President and CEO Dr. Michael Griffin. “Sophia being selected as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing is a testament to her influence in the medical community and her diligence in ensuring all people receive excellent healthcare.”
Through a competitive, rigorous application process, the Academy’s Fellow Selection Committee reviewed nearly 400 applications to select the 2023 Fellows. The 2023 Fellows represent 40 states, the District of Columbia, and 13 countries.
Thomas and the 2023 inductees will be recognized for their substantial, sustained, and significant contributions to health and healthcare at the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference, taking place on Oct. 5 – 7, 2023 in Washington, DC during the Induction Ceremony on the evening of October 7. This is a historic year for the Academy as the organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Once the newest fellows are inducted, the Academy will comprise of more than 3,000 leaders who are experts in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia that champion health and wellness, locally and globally.