Profile

Senator Patricia H. Vance, a professional nurse, is the only member of the House and Senate with a medical background. She has been a member of the body since 2005 after serving 14 years in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

In the Senate, she is chair of the Aging and Youth Committee, vice chair of the Public Health and Welfare, and a member of the Appropriations, Finance, Policy, and Law and Justice committees. She also serves on the Capitol Preservation Committee and Intra-Governmental Council on Long Term Care.

Since becoming a member of the Senate, she has authored six laws. These laws grant immunity to employers who respond in good faith with reference information on current or former employees; streamline foreign adoption procedures; require nurses to obtain 30 hours of continuing education every two years; blend the state's prescription drug program for low-income seniors with Medicare Part D; loosen barriers to routine dental care; and define and license assisted living facilities.

While a member of the House, she authored more than a dozen laws. These laws include creating a HMO bill of rights; prohibiting discrimination against domestic violence victims by insurance companies merely because they were the victims of abuse; expanding of the Commonwealth's prescription drug program for 100,000 low-income seniors; granting parents the authority to be involved in the drug and alcohol treatment decisions of their minor children; and requiring municipal zoning boards to send written notice to adjacent property owners stating proposed rezoning plans and to notify them of public hearing dates before any zoning changes are made.

She has received numerous awards for her legislative and community stewardship. These include the 2007 Government Leader of the Year Award from the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC, Distinguished Service to Families Award from the Mid-Atlantic Council on Family Relations, the Friend of Public Education Award from the Council on Public Education, and the Public Policy and Advocacy Achievement Award from the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. In addition, she was one of 30 women honored statewide as making domestic violence history by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence to mark its 30^th anniversary and was the 2006 Community Leader of the Year from the Cumberland Valley Eagle Foundation.

Vance continues to be active in her community as a member of several charitable, community and religious organizations, including as a board member of Stabler Foundation and Caring Place; and as a trustee of Harrisburg Area Community College.

She also serves on the Holy Spirit Hospital Capital Region Maternal Assistance Committee, Keystones of Public Health Steering Committee and United Cerebral Palsy Advisory Committee, and is a member of St. James Presbyterian Church.

She maintains a district office at 3806 Market St., Camp Hill, and at 59 West Louther Street, Carlisle.