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The National Hemophilia Foundation selected Brenda Nielsen, MSN, RN-BC, as Nurse of the Year at its annual awards ceremony during this year’s NHF Bleeding Disorders Conference.


Each year, the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) honors those who have made significant contributions to the inheritable blood and bleeding disorders (IBD) community at its annual Awards of Excellence program. Honorees are nominated by their peers for their outstanding dedication and service to the community. After careful deliberation, the NHF selected this year’s winners and announced them at the NHF Bleeding Disorders Conference Houston, Texas.

Brenda Nielsen, MSN, RN-BC, was selected as the NHF Nurse of the Year, for her 30 years of service to the IBD community marked by a wide and inimitable range of accomplishments, in her role as nurse consultant at the University of North Carolina Hemophilia Treatment Center; helping to establish camp for people with bleeding disorders at Camp Carefree in North Carolina, and spearheading child advocacy legislation in North Carolina. This legacy has manifested itself in the quality of life experienced by her patients and the growing awareness of bleeding disorders among her colleagues and future health care professionals.

Nielsen has been a nurse consultant at the UNC Hemophilia Center since 1992. She received both her bachelor’s degree and her master’s degree in nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She especially enjoys getting to know and working with children, families, and adults with bleeding disorders and watching them develop into independent hemophilia or von Willebrand experts. As an adjunct assistant instructor at the School of Nursing at UNC-Chapel Hill, she serves as a resource for nursing students and faculty about bleeding disorders. She is a member of the Medical Board of Camp Carefree in Stokesdale, NC, and she is an advocate for providing a camp experience for all kids.

The NHF Nursing Working Group, said, “Brenda is an amazing nurse who is more than deserving of this award. Because of her commitment and care, her patients have been able to thrive throughout their lives.”

Read about the other recipients of NHF honors and awards.