Emily Adkins Blood Clot Awareness Month

10/14/25 @ 11:00 a.m. - At the Monday, October 13, 2025 meeting, the Board of County Commissioners approved a Proclamation proclaiming October 2025 as Emily Adkins Blood Clot Awareness Month, in honor of Emily Adkins, daughter of Supervisor of Elections Janet Adkins and her husband Doug, who passed away unexpectedly in 2022 from a pulmonary embolism caused by a preventable blood clot. 

According to the National Blood Clot Alliance, there are an estimated 900,000 Americans affected by blood clots each year, with 100,000 lives lost annually.  Blood clots can strike anyone at any age with risk factors including surgery, pregnancy, and cancer treatment, killing more Americans than car accidents, AIDs, and breast cancer combined.  

The non-profit Emily's Promise works with medical professionals and the public to educate Floridians about the life-threatening risks associated with blood clots.  Advocacy efforts by the Adkins family have led to the enactment of the Emily Adkins Family Protection Act which now requires hospitals and certain health care providers to screen patients for blood risk clot, train staff to recognize warning signs, and report cases to statewide registry, marking the first law of its kind in the nation.  

Doug Adkins addressed the Commission stating, "You may not think a Proclamation is that important but it is. It's very important for your local community to take a stand. When you go to the ER ask them, "Am I going to get the Emily Adkins Family Protection Act Screening?" They are required to have policy and are required to train their staff. This is a family bill, the first of its kind in the nation, and other states are looking to copy what we've done here in Florida. Thank you for being heroes. What you do makes a difference everyday and we're thankful for your sacrifice."

The Board urges all health care professionals, community leaders, and the public to dedicate efforts to spread awareness, educate on prevention, and recognize the serious threat blood clots pose to lives across Nassau County and beyond.