Meade School District nurse Randi Oviatt has been recognized for her excellence in school nursing by being named the 2010 South Dakota School Nurse of the Year by the the SDSNA state association. Nurse Randi Oviatt has worked for the school district for 20 years and currently serves students in sixth through eighth grades at Sturgis Williams Middle School, kindergarten through sixth grade at Whitewood Elementary School, and grades four and five at Sturgis Elementary. She also visits the rural schools at least annually.

Those who know her say the honor is well deserved. “Mrs. Oviatt is the epitome of a world class school nurse who has dedicated her life to good health and children,” said Chrissy Peterson, director of special services for the school district. “This is such an honor for me,” said Randi. “I’ve worked with other nurses who have won the award and I greatly respect them.” She added she couldn’t do her job without the help of the students, staff and parents. “They are the best to work with,” she said. Randi takes great care to assure that each child’s medical needs are met with love and expertise, treating each as if he or she were her only patient of the day.

From her first days as a school nurse when she would dispense Band-Aids, hugs and a therapeutic dose of cheerfulness, to the present, dealing with student medical needs as diverse as diabetes, asthma, ADHD, mental health issues, drug abuse and terminal conditions – Randi does it all in a compassionate yet professional manner. Under her leadership, a medical trust fund was established so that Meade School District students, whose families can’t afford it, receive medical and dental care, get prescriptions filled and new clothes and food for the family. She has also been instrumental in implementing a Migrant Health Program in the district and in developing an employee wellness program.

“Randi constantly looks for new opportunities to improve our school health services,” said co-worker and nurse Marcia Potts. “Randi is a resource for staff, families and students as she is familiar with the services available throughout the state. She is also the nurse the other nurses call when they are stumped on a diagnosis. Her experience makes her invaluable,” added Marcia. Former Meade School District nurse Colleen Ohrtman commented, “Randi is quick with a smile and a kind word. She is school nurse of the year, everyday, to her students, friends and colleagues.”

As leaders around the US respond to First Lady Michelle Obama’s call to end childhood obesity in a generation and Congress prepares to take up the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, five high school students from Chicago will bring a healthy school lunch they created to Congress.

Please join the students in speaking up for better school food by taking action in three simple ways.

The Chicago public high school students from Tilden Community Career Academy who created the winning school lunch in HSC’s Cooking up Change healthy cooking contest will present their meal at a Capitol Hill briefing on the future of school food on March 2. At the briefing, Cooking up Change National Honorary Co-Chairs Karen Duncan and Christie Vilsack will speak along with the student chefs and HSC’s Rochelle Davis.

The great-tasting lunch of chicken-vegetable jambalaya with jalapeno cornbread and cucumber salad will also be served in the House of Representatives cafeteria for those who are unable to attend the briefing. The meal exceeds current school food nutrition standards and was created on a very tight budget. Last month, it was served in high schools across Chicago

Please take a moment to urge your Congressional leaders to join us for school lunch on Capitol Hill on March 2 and support a strong, well-funded reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, making healthy meals a priority every day.

HSC is raising the funds necessary to bring this healthy, student-designed lunch to Congress. Can you help make this possible by contributing to the trip? Even a small donation will help support a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students and send a powerful message to policy-makers about the need for fresh, healthy school food.

Thank you for joining this effort to change the future of school food!

We heard updates from the Department of Social Services as well as the Department of Health.  A tour of the Capitol followed as well as an orientation and advocacy session where we learned how a bill becomes a law, effective lobbying strategies and how to testify before a legislative committee.  Later in the evening we had an Hors D’Oeuvres session with the legislators in which we were able to discuss nursing issues on a one to one basis.

On Tuesday morning we had a booth in the Rotunda where we discussed that School Nursing is more than “Band Aids and Butterflies”.  At the booth, we were able to hand out water with the School Nurse label and share about the role of the school nurse.  We talked to nursing students as well as legislators.

It was a great chance to learn how our government works and the more we learn our legislators the better we can advocate for the health of the school children in our state.

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