HEALTH: Exploring the lives of school nurses

By Nicole Coleman<br><a href="mailto:colemann@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Nicole</a>
The Journal-Register

May 07, 2008 11:54 am

— Today recognizes school nurses and the role they play as a necessary piece of the educational puzzle.
They’re not always the most popular staff members, but they sure are indispensable in an emergency.
They were there when you skinned your knee in kindergarten. When you became ill in front of the entire class in elementary school. And when you needed to pass your sports physical in high school.
They have an uncanny ability to recognize problems before they occur and their room is always open. To educate, to listen — and to send you back to class.
For all they do, they often remain in the shadows, requiring little thanks.
Niagara-Orleans BOCES
The Board of Cooperative Educational Services is where Alexis Strickland first fell in love with nursing as a Lyndonville High School student.
So she jumped at the chance to become the BOCES staff registered nurse in 1982 — and has never left.
With retirement around the corner this December, Strickland says it has been a career she wouldn’t trade for any other. And if not for the BOCES nurse’s aide program, it may never have been.
“I hadn’t really considered it,” she said. “I thought I was going to be a librarian because I loved books.”
“The school placed me (in the program) because they thought I would do well, and it stuck. It just ended up being something I liked more than I thought I would.”
Strickland stayed on at BOCES after high school to earn her licensed practical nurse degree before going on to Genesee Community College to become an R.N.. Now a resident of Kenyonville, she has two sons and 10 grand-children.
The juniors and seniors who walk through her room often need first aid or emergency care: Cosmetology girls who have nicked their fingers with scissors or students who injured themselves with a saw, drill or hot welding utensil. In extreme situations, she has been thankful Medina Memorial Health Care System is only minutes away.
There are times also when students may not have eaten or slept enough and are angry or upset. She allows them a few minutes in the rocking chair in her room to cool off before returning to their studies. Those who need more than a chat are redirected to the school social worker, Kara Kirk.
“The issues they have to deal with now are so different from what I had to deal with,” Strickland said. “They’re being put under so much more pressure.”
She maintains that the vocational Niagara-Orleans BOCES is one of the “best-kept secrets in Orleans County.” In the traditional school setting, her grandson was often in trouble and at risk of dropping out. His teachers recommended BOCES and it was the perfect fit. Now he is working at Trek with a successful job.
“If I had to work in a school, this is the one I would want to be in. I feel like they’re making a tremendous difference in the lives of these kids,” she said. “They just need someone who really cares about them that is going to help them channel their energy.”

Lyndonville Central School District
As the registered nurse for the entire Lyndonville district, Mary Kurz is responsible for the health of approximately 760 students in pre-school through 12th grade. Mondays are always the worst, she jokes.
Kurz grew up in Brooklyn and moved to the area to attend D’Youville College. She has two daughters, one son, a step-daughter and two grandchildren.
She earned her bachelors of science in nursing and took jobs in the cardiac care unit at Millard Fillmore and the medical/surgical unit at Medina Hospital.
There, she dealt with physiological symptoms with an identifiable treatment. Here, it’s a no man’s land of sorts. Students often arrive at her office complaining of mysterious stomach ailments or headaches with no known cause — more emotional, than physical — and she must figure out what is really going on.
Children, especially at the elementary school level, are unlike adults in that they have little medical background about how their tiny bodies work, she said. When they’re hurt, they have the tendency to become scared.
“You’re observing a lot,” Kurz said. “It’s like an auto mechanic when you bring your car in — you hear things that others don’t. ... You have to know them.”
Like most school nurses, her core duties include annual vision, hearing, head lice and scoliosis checks, keeping track of immunizations and childhood diseases, and conducting mandated physicals. She administers medications, coordinating with the parents, teachers and doctors to ensure they are given at the proper time, and watches for any changes in behavior. She sneaks in educating students about important health habits one-on-one — everything from the importance of hand washing to sexually transmitted diseases. Rising obesity rates in children have led her to focus on simple wellness, encouraging students to eat well and play outside.
She notes that candies, baked goods and high-fat foods such as pizza are no longer a special treat for young ones once a week; many consume, and expect them, on a daily basis. The bad habits continue into adulthood. While the older generations enjoy milk or water with dinner, many youth drink high-calorie sodas or juices.
It is why she is taking action to promote health in the community. The Parent Teacher’s Association will host a health fair and carnival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 31 in the gym. She also makes sure there are good food choices in the school cafeteria as part of the nutrition and wellness committee.
“You want the children to be at optimal health so they can learn,” she said. “A lot of TLC goes into it.”

Medina High School
The students know that they won’t be able to pull anything over Eunice Arendt. After 15 years working at the school, she knows every excuse in the book.
Her primary hope for students is that they take control of their own health.
“I am looked upon, generally by the kids, as a bad guy because I don’t let them go home,” Arendt said. “They test you. They give you a run for your money, big time.”
“I don’t coddle the kids. I don’t make them babies. I don’t let them use illness as a crutch. ... It’s growth, that’s what we’re all about.”
A graduate of Royalton-Hartland High School and Niagara Community College, Arendt has three daughters and seven grand-children. She lives in Gasport.
Students who show up in her office with complaints day after day — the “frequent flyers,” as she calls them — usually have something they want to talk about. After a while, they feel comfortable enough to open up. In some instances, it is a case of bullying. A few years ago, there was a student who revealed that he had been abused.
While the number of elementary and middle school children taking medications for ADHD and other conditions has generally increased, there are very few at the high school level, she said. With maturity, many learn to cope using behavioral management techniques.
By her observations, the teen pregnancy rate in the district has stayed about the same. And on more than one occasion, there have been students many months pregnant without realizing it.
Other changes are difficult to deal with: Respect for adult authority and parental supervision has changed for the worse.
“If I’m thanked, it’s by a senior,” Arendt said. “That’s all I need — even if it’s one or two a year.”
Contact reporter Nicole Colemanat 798-1400, ext. 2227.

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