Nassau County honors Emily Adkins with Blood Clot Awareness Month

The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners proclaimed October 2026 as Emily Adkins Blood Clot Awareness Month at its Monday meeting, honoring a Fernandina Beach High School graduate whose death at 23 from a preventable condition led her family to launch a statewide campaign that resulted in new Florida law.

Emily's parents, Nassau County Supervisor of Elections Janet Adkins and Doug Adkins, accepted the proclamation. The recognition comes four years after Emily died from a pulmonary embolism in 2022 and one year after the Emily Adkins Family Protection Act became Florida law in 2025.

What happened

Emily Adkins grew up in Nassau County and graduated from Fernandina Beach High School before earning a degree from the University of North Florida. She was building a career in health care when she died from a pulmonary embolism at age 23 in 2022.

Following her death, her family founded Emily's Promise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about blood clots and preventing similar tragedies. The organization's advocacy helped advance the Emily Adkins Family Protection Act, which Florida Governor signed into law in 2025.

The new state law establishes blood clot screening, education, and reporting requirements across Florida. The proclamation was presented at the Board of County Commissioners meeting on Monday, October 28, 2026, with Commissioner Jeff Gray participating in the presentation.

Why blood clot awareness matters to Northeast Florida residents

Pulmonary embolism—a blood clot that travels to the lungs—can strike young, otherwise healthy adults without warning, making public awareness of symptoms a critical prevention tool. The condition often originates as deep vein thrombosis in the legs before the clot breaks free and travels to the lungs, where it can be fatal.

According to the county's announcement, warning signs include leg pain or swelling, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. These symptoms can appear suddenly and escalate quickly, leaving little time for intervention if individuals and their families don't recognize the danger.

The Emily Adkins Family Protection Act signed in 2025 now requires specific screening, education, and reporting protocols statewide, meaning health care providers, schools, and other institutions in Nassau County and across Florida must follow new guidelines designed to catch at-risk individuals earlier. The law's education component aims to ensure that young adults, parents, and health care workers understand risk factors such as prolonged immobility, hormonal birth control, recent surgery, and family history of clotting disorders.

For Nassau County residents, particularly families with young adults in college or starting careers, the law represents a concrete change in how blood clot risk is assessed and communicated. Under Florida's new requirements, conversations about clotting risk that might not have happened routinely in a doctor's office or campus health center are now mandated.

The local connection and community impact

Emily Adkins' story resonates deeply in Nassau County because she was a homegrown success—a graduate of the county's own Fernandina Beach High School who went on to UNF, a regional university that draws heavily from Northeast Florida counties. Her trajectory mirrored that of thousands of local students: public school, state university, entry into the workforce.

Her death underscored a risk that many families simply don't consider when their children are young and healthy. The Adkins family's decision to channel their grief into systemic change reflects a pattern seen across Florida and the nation, where personal tragedy drives parents to become legislative advocates.

Janet Adkins, as Nassau County Supervisor of Elections, is a familiar public figure in the community, which has amplified the reach of Emily's Promise locally. The family's visibility has helped ensure that blood clot awareness remains part of the public conversation in Nassau County, from school health offices to primary care clinics.

The proclamation itself is largely ceremonial—county governments frequently issue proclamations recognizing awareness months, memorial causes, and community milestones. But in this case, the proclamation serves as a public reminder of a legislative victory that has concrete, enforceable effects on health care delivery across the state.

What residents should know about blood clot risk

Blood clots can form in anyone, but certain factors elevate risk. Prolonged sitting—common on long car trips or flights—restricts circulation in the legs and increases the likelihood of clot formation. Young women on hormonal contraceptives face higher risk, as do individuals recovering from surgery or injury that limits mobility.

Family history matters, too. Genetic clotting disorders often go undiagnosed until a clot occurs, which is why the screening requirements in the Emily Adkins Family Protection Act are designed to prompt earlier conversations between patients and providers about family medical history.

The county's announcement urges residents to talk with their health care providers about personal risk factors and to seek emergency care immediately if they experience symptoms that could indicate a pulmonary embolism. Early recognition and rapid treatment—typically blood thinners and, in severe cases, clot-dissolving drugs or surgical intervention—can be lifesaving.

Nassau County residents can access more information and educational resources through Emily's Promise, the nonprofit founded by the Adkins family. The organization's website offers details on warning signs, risk factors, and how to advocate for screening in medical settings.

How the law changes health care in Florida

The Emily Adkins Family Protection Act represents a shift in how Florida's health care system addresses a condition that claims tens of thousands of lives nationally each year. By mandating screening, education, and reporting, the 2025 law moves blood clot prevention from optional best practices to required protocol.

Screening requirements mean that health care providers must actively assess patients for clotting risk factors during routine visits and before procedures that increase risk, such as surgery or prescribing hormonal birth control. Education mandates ensure that patients receive information about symptoms and when to seek emergency care.

Reporting requirements create a data trail that public health officials can use to track incidence, identify trends, and target interventions. In practice, this means that hospitals, clinics, and other health care facilities across Nassau County and Florida must document blood clot cases and risk assessments in ways that feed into statewide health surveillance systems.

For families like the Adkinses, the law represents a form of legacy—a way to ensure that Emily's death leads to systemic changes that protect others. For the broader community, it's a reminder that local tragedies can drive statewide policy when families channel grief into advocacy.

The broader context in Northeast Florida

Nassau County's recognition of Emily Adkins Blood Clot Awareness Month fits within a larger pattern of health-focused proclamations and community-driven public health campaigns across Northeast Florida. Local governments in Duval, St. Johns, and Clay counties routinely issue similar recognitions for conditions ranging from rare childhood diseases to common chronic illnesses.

These proclamations serve multiple purposes: they honor individuals and families, raise public awareness, and signal official support for advocacy efforts. In Nassau County, where community ties are strong and public officials often have deep local roots, such recognitions carry particular weight.

The fact that the Adkins family was able to turn personal loss into state legislation within three years speaks to both their persistence and the receptiveness of Florida lawmakers to bills with clear, concrete goals and cross-government appeal. Health and safety measures, particularly those named for individuals who died preventably, often move through legislatures more smoothly than more contentious policy proposals.

Nassau County's proclamation ensures that Emily's story remains visible locally, even as the statewide law continues its implementation. Public awareness campaigns work best when they are sustained over time, and official recognition from county government helps keep the issue in front of residents, health care providers, and educators year after year.

The Adkins family's work through Emily's Promise also illustrates how Northeast Florida families increasingly use nonprofit structures and digital platforms to drive change. The organization's website serves as a hub for information, advocacy tools, and ways for others to get involved—a model that other families facing similar losses may look to as they consider their own responses to preventable tragedies.