Biography
Helen M. French RN, BSN:

Helen has been an active member of AORN until 2006, i.e. the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, and since 1974 had served on many district committees including the Board of Directors and Nominating Committee and various local AORN chapter seats. She was appointed by AORN National to serve as the National Virginia Legislative Coordinator for Virginia from 2001-2002 and 2002-2003, served as President for her AORN District twice as well as serving as the local chapter's Legislative Chairman since 1991-2006. Helen has received three AORN National Legislative awards.

Helen has served as the Virginia Nurses Association's Director at Large and has held various chapter VNA positions in the past. As a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society, she has also been listed several times in their "Media Guides" as an expert in "Hospital Medical Waste Management", a topic she has presented on at the National Institute of Health, Healthcare Without Harm", and EPA conferences. Helen participated on a Federal EPA Task Force on Medical Waste Minimization for over three years. The task force formulated a national MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) on waste management issues in hospitals. Sigma Theta Tau published her University of Virginia MERCI article (Medical Equipment Recovery of Clean Inventory) in fall of 2004.

Helen founded and coordinated the University of Virginia Health System MERCI Program (Medical Equipment Recovery of Clean Inventory) since August of 1991 to December 2007. The program had captured and diverted over 500 tons of clean medical supplies from the hospital (valued at over $108 million dollars from 8/1992 to 12/2007) to missions who then shipped the supplies all over the world. Additional tons of clean medical supplies were diverted to UVA research labs and to those serving on short mission trips with the UVA School of Medicine, the UVA School of Nursing, and to many other humanitarian groups. Additional tons of donated medical supplies were procured via phone, and internet and also diverted to humanitarian groups.

The MERCI Program is a safe, replicable, and no cost program which promotes actions for a cleaner environment, serves as an educational program / tool for university students and for volunteers who have helped sort supplies, and most importantly, has benefited humanity by aiding the less fortunate. MERCI has been recognized by the State of Virginia House Joint Resolution #739 and by a Virginia DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) award. Helen has planted many MERCI "seeds" such as the one in Hershey, Pennsylvania at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and to others through meetings and through emails. Helen received a Volunteer Award by the UVA School of Nursing Alumni Association and an award from the University of Virginia Health System Community Service Award for "Extraordinary Dedication and Excellence in Volunteerism and Health-Related Outreach". MERCI is honored to be included in The Luminary Project: Nurses Lighting the Way to Environmental Health. Helen's MERCI Program is also honored to be included in the new edition of the Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul Second Dose book in 2007.

As a RN, BSN, Clinician #3 / staff nurse, at the University of Virginia Health System, she was a generalist in the Operating Room i.e. "floating" between all the specialties, Member of the UVA Hazardous Waste Sub-Committee, and participating on many perioperative committees at the "U" for over 19 years. Helen French received her RN Associate Degree from Piedmont Community College, Charlottesville, Virginia in 1974 and her BSN from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville School of Nursing. She was nationally certified in perioperative nursing until 2007.