Former state Rep. Jan Polizzi has been appointed to the American Nurses Association’s Political Action Committee Board of Trustees for the 2012-2014 term.

“I am honored to be appointed in this historic time, and I know the advances in health care reform have been a result of ANA’s activism on Capitol Hill. I will work to increase the already thousands of nurses involved in grassroots political activism to increase victories in the federal arena,” Polizzi, a registered nurse, stated in a news release.

The Board of Trustees is comprised of 11 members representing all geographic areas.

The American Nurses Association’s Political Action Committee is the only PAC representing the interests of the 3 million RNs in the United States.

The PAC’s goal is to increase member participation through empowerment in advocating for public policy.

The ANA’s PAC is an unincorporated committee of the American Nurses Association’s Board of Directors and a segregated fund with the purpose of supporting candidates for federal office, according to the release.

Polizzi, of south county, is retired from the Nurses for Newborns Foundation.

She has a master’s degree in community health nursing from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, a bachelor of science degree in nursing from St. Louis University and an associate degree from Maryville University.