PYLUSD health services team selected to receive Champion of the Year Award by American Academy of Pediatrics

Congratulations are in order for our Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD) school nurses and health clerks! They were recently honored by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) with the 2022 Orange County Chapter Community Champion of the Year Award as part of the Orange County School Nurse Organization. 

The AAP Orange County Chapter Board of Directors recognized the amazing support and guidance that Orange County school nurses have provided their staff and students since the start of the pandemic. 

The district’s school nurses have worked tirelessly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that students, staff, and community members could stay healthy and feel cared for. It was more than common for the school nurses to bring their work home on evenings, weekends, and even holidays to perform investigation, contact trace, and report on each new COVID-19 case for all 34 campuses. Over 4,300 districtwide positive COVID-19 cases have been reported and traced by school nurses just in this school year alone, of which 3,588 are student cases alongside 717 staff cases. 

The hardworking team of school nurses at PYLUSD includes Lori Bultsma, Michelle DeHaven, Carol Edkins, Nataly Garcia, Amy Kliner, Jennifer Lopez, Patti Nitzel, Whitney Norrbom, Gina Santangelo, Elise Saylors, and Edith Sperling. 

On top of the unexpected overtime hours, our school nurses still had to fulfill their usual responsibilities of managing chronic health conditions and creating Individualized Health Plans to ensure that student health needs are met at school. Our school nurses make it a priority to consistently provide services that help to keep students healthy and in school. 

In addition, our school nurses worked alongside Richard McAlindin, Assistant Superintendent of Executive Services, to continuously update the district on proper health and safety protocols to best prevent the spread of cases among staff, students, and their families. 

School nurses have had to wear a multitude of hats and tackle a heavier workload than ever in these past two years. To help provide individualized support, our health clerks fulfilled the crucial task of managing student illnesses directly at each of our school sites while assisting nurses in their duties. 

Prior to this achievement, Lead School Nurse and Orange County School Nurse Organization president, Michelle DeHaven was honored in February with the Southern Section Excellence in School Nursing Administrator Award from the California School Nurses Organization. DeHaven was selected for notably leading her colleagues through the obstacles of the past two years while helping to guide the PYLUSD community.

“It’s been an honor to work with my team and receive this support,” DeHaven shared. “The biggest lesson that I learned over the past few years is that having a supportive team is essential. I am fortunate in my district to have a supportive administrative staff and a very supportive school nursing staff.” 

Orange County school nurses will be celebrated by the American Academy of Pediatrics at the 8th Annual Cards for Kids Gala and Fundraiser on April 23 at Pretend City Children’s Museum.