2011 School Nurse of the Year
2011 School Nurse of the Year Julie Hanson
The South Dakota School Nurses Association is proud to announce the 2011 School Nurse of the Year! Julie Hanson was surprised at an all school assembly by the students and staff of her entire building, Terry Redlin Elementary in Sioux Falls. Students in every classroom presented her with cards and flowers, showering her with appreciation and honor.
Nurse Julie shares the following about her history and career experiences. She became interested in nursing as a senior in high school as a natural extension of her love of science and biology. After graduating from the University of Iowa she worked as a surgical nurse, and then took some time off to raise her four children.
Nurse Julie went back to work for a developmental program operated by the Association for Retarded Citizens in Fort Dodge, Iowa. She did everything from giving medication, to physical therapy, to setting up special diets. When the law changed, Julie went to work for Arrowhead Area Education out of Fort Dodge, serving 9 counties. Because this was a new program, much time was spent writing and implementing policies and procedures.
Nurse Julie came to work for the Sioux Falls School District 29 years ago. She has worked in eleven different schools, and currently serves full time at the elementary level. Her biggest love is early childhood because that is where she first started.
Ask her what she loves about school nursing and the first thing she says is that no two days are exactly the same, she learns something new every day, and that, in the end, she really does make a difference in children’s and families’ lives.
What does Nurse Julie like the least about school nursing? Keeping track of the paperwork! Having electronic records has made tracking information easier, but someone still needs to enter it.
Nurse Julie plans on continuing to work as long as she remains in good health and continues to love each day. When she retires she hopes to work as a mentor for English Language Learners.
When asked for any final thoughts, Nurse Julie states, “School nursing is a wonderful opportunity to help children become knowledgeable about their own health and be able to make important life choices to live a more healthy life. Sometimes this happens as a planned lesson and sometimes one child at a time.”
Nurse Julie Hanson is a wonderful representative of our South Dakota School Nurses Association.
Do you know someone who is an outstanding school nurse? Applications are being taken on line for next year’s School Nurse of the Year. Winners will have their registration fee paid for to the National Association of School Nurses annual meeting in the summer of 2013.
Photo Roundup – Summer Convention
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- SDSNA Board members meet for Summer meeting.
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- Sandy Delak Past President of NASN gave a great presentation on School Nursing issues that effect SD and the power of numbers at the National level, also talked about the importance of making connections and partnerships to strengthen your nursing programs.
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- SDSNA members take an opportunity to visit with our vendors during a break. The vendors provided lots of valuable information and freebies to take back to our schools
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- Sheila Freed SDSNA Past President presented on “Being a Medical Island in a Sea of Education.” She gave ideas to market and support School Nursing in our SD schools even during the toughest of economic times. Ideas were shared on how to market to administrators, board members, and community members to note the importance of our school nurse profession and of our presence in the School Community. She stressed that “A child needs YOU to be part of the Crew” by being a team player, showing initiative, going to staff meetings, go the extra mile, and ask for what you need. Sheila stressed that having a year end report was also a very important part of being a leader, keeping track of everything you do during the year and have that report with you when you visit with thoses people in your district that are influential in making changes in your school district.
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- Julie Hanson from Sioux Falls School District was chosen for SD School Nurse of the Year and will have her registration to the National Convention in 2012 paid for as part of earning this award. Also pictured is Marcia Potts, current SDSNA President.
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- LaVonne Walker, School Nurse from McLaughlin, SD has been our Historian for many many years. As a board we voted to eliminate this position as most pictures and information will be available digitally and on our website. LaVonne has kept up scrap books of all of our past years as an assoication and those scrapbooks will be kept by the secretary. LaVonne will be continuing to work with our Board as she is active with the Fundraising Committee. Thanks go out to LaVonne for all her hard work in doing these scrapbooks, she has preserved a lot of memories.
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- Dr. Bob Eldredge, the Aberdeen School District School Psychologist, gave a wonderful presentation on ADHD. Other speakers included Crystal Hanson from the SD Division of Mental Health, with a topic of Suicide Prevention and other upfront mental health issues in our schools. Medtronic Diabetic company had a certified pump trainer who presented an overview of Insulin Pumps and how they can be helpful to our diabetic student population. The conference ended with our annual meeting and then a Motivational Speech by Linda Marchand who sent us away from the convention with uplifted spirits and on how to take some humor and fun into our workplace to ease stress and improve morale.
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- The Silent Auction is always a fun way to raise some funds for our assoication. The auction was open throughout the convention and ended on the last day, with many members taking home some fun prizes.
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- Beth Gustafson and Sandy Tucholke were the Co-Chairpersons for our Summer Convention in Aberdeen. They worked very hard to make this convention a success. They organized the location, meals, breaks and vendors. These ladies also arranged knowledgeable speakers to bring valuable School Health topics to the attendees. These ladies were recognized by the Board and some plants were given in appreciation of their hard work.
Annual Meeting 2012
2012 SDSNA Annual Conference will be held in Sioux Falls on July 16-17, 2011. Watch for more information to follow.