Governor
James E. McGreevey appointed Col. Maria Morgan Deputy Adjutant General
of New Jersey on Mar. 1. She previously served as the 108th Medical
Squadron Commander, McGuire Air Force Base.
The colonel was born in Trenton and graduated from Hamilton High School West. She attended The College of New Jersey where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1975. She earned a Master of Arts in Administration from Central Michigan University in 1982, and her certification in Community Health Nursing from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 1990.
Col. Morgan began her military career in 1980 when she was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the 108th Tactical Fighter Wing. She received her Senior Nurse Badge in 1984. In 1993, Col. Morgan became the Chief Nurse Executive, received her Chief Nurse Badge and was part of the senior management team in the newly merged 108th Medical Squadron. In 1997, she was appointed to the position of Air Transportable Hospital Commander and in 1998, assumed command of the 108th Air Refueling Wing Medical Squadron. Col. Morgan has participated in numerous overseas deployments.
Col. Morgan started her nursing career in medical surgical nursing at Rancocas Valley Hospital, moving quickly into home health care at Community Nursing Services in Burlington County. In 1979, she joined the New Jersey State Department of Health where her positions over an 18-year career varied from Director of Maternal and Child Health to Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Health Care Systems Analysis.
She is a member of the American Association of Healthcare Consultants, the New Jersey State Nurses Association, the Association of Air National Guard Nurses, the Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S. (AMSUS), Sigma Theta Tau, Inc. (International Honor Society of Nursing) and the American Public Health Association. Col. Morgan is a frequent lecturer at the state and national level on various health issues such as bioterrorism, health care reform, healthcare policy development, restructuring maternal and child health services, hospital reimbursement and charity care, strategic planning for New Jersey hospitals, and certificate of need reform in New Jersey. She has participated in a variety of panel presentations including the Annual Meeting of the New Jersey State Nurses Association and the Association of Air National Guard Nurses. She has also made numerous presentations on Bio-Terrorism, Nursing Administration, Immunizations, Nursing Staff Development, Standardized Medical Readiness Training Systems, and Managing Health Care in a Deployed Field Location (Fuertos Caminos/Joint Task Force Rushmore, Panama).
Col. Morgan is a primary author of Healthy New Jersey 2000, Update: Healthy New Jersey 2000 and has published several articles in New Jersey Medicine primarily on anthrax and bio-terrorism. She initiated annual participation of the 108th Medical Squadron in Operation Stand Down for homeless veterans in 1993 and in 1996 she organized the Careforce Trauma Training Program at two New Jersey Level I Regional Trauma Centers. In 1997, Col. Morgan was selected as the Outstanding Air National Guard Nurse Corps Officer.