Christina Boyland, MSN, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P, an alumna and lecturer in Oakland University’s School of Nursing, has been named a 2025 Health Care Hero by Crain’s Detroit Business. 

Crain’s Health Care Heroes recognizes “leaders who exemplify innovation, exceptional leadership, compassion and dedication” in five Hero categories: Corporate Achievement, Administrator, Physician, Allied Health and Advancements in Care. Boyland is being recognized in the category of Allied Health Hero. 

Boyland is a faculty member in Oakland University’s forensic nursing graduate program, Michigan’s first and only graduate forensic nursing program. She teaches on the topic of strangulation and facilitates clinical skills labs, which include training for strangulation exams.

Boyland obtained a Master of Science in Nursing, with a focus in forensic nursing, from Oakland University in 2018. She is also an active member of the Academy of Forensic Nursing and the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN), where she previously served on the Board of the Michigan Chapter.

In addition to her role as an OU faculty member, Boyland is administrator of clinical forensic nursing services for Turning Point, a Mount Clemens-based agency in its 45th year of service for survivors of sexual violence, domestic violence and human trafficking. At Turing Point, Boyland oversees a staff of approximately 30 forensic nurses, first response advocates and hotline advocates who are available 24/7, including holidays and weekends. 

Among her many accomplishments, Boyland is a preeminent national leader in non-fatal strangulation education and research. Strangulation is one of the most lethal and terrorizing forms of abuse – patterns of abuse that include strangulation, even once, increases a woman’s risk of being murdered by her partner by 750% - but it is widely misunderstood among the medical field, law enforcement, and community at large. Boyland works daily to change that.

Boyland has also expanded Turning Point’s outreach and training programs to provide critical information on non-fatal strangulation to area hospitals, EMS/EMT, Child Protective Services, foster care workers and law enforcement. She is published in the Journal of Emergency Nursing on the forensic nurse hospital role, which includes caring for patients who experience trauma, violence and maltreatment, including strangulation. She has also contributed to ongoing research on intimate partner strangulation and risk factors for women with disabilities, which has been published in the Journal on Violence Against Women. 

Turning Point President and CEO Sharman Davenport has high praise for Boyland’s many accomplishments in her field of forensic nursing.

“We are proud to celebrate Christina Boyland’s well-deserved recognition,” Davenport shared. “Her expertise in forensic nursing and non-fatal strangulation has transformed the quality of care survivors receive across the country. Christina’s leadership, research and training efforts are saving lives and strengthening our community’s response to violence.”