Congratulations to MASN Award Honorees!

School Nurse of the Year -- Katherine Park, MSN RN NCSN

Ms. Park is an outstanding school nurse who is highly respected by her colleagues. She has made numerous valuable contributions to her school, community, district, and state. Nurse Park has been a leader in the development of safe practices in schools for taking care of students with diabetes. In obtaining her master’s degree in public health/school health from the University of Missouri, she focused her studies on developing a toolkit to train unlicensed personnel on the care of students with type 1 diabetes. As a result of this toolkit, countless school nurses and unlicensed school staff have been educated in her school district, the St. Louis Suburban area, and throughout Missouri. Ms. Park is currently continuing her graduate education as a DNP student at the University of Missouri where she continues to demonstrate her passion in diabetes education with her  involvement in creating dialogue for edutainment training, Diabetes Educational Module for MO School Nurses, 2017.   Katherine Park is a committed and talented school nurse who embodies the value of being a life-long learner and is a valued school nurse contributor on the local, state and national levels.

Outstanding Service of a School Nurse -- Julie Burke, RN

In describing Julie Burke, Marge Cole refers to a term “Servant Leader” from an essay by Robert Greenleaf published in 1970.  His description, "servant first", has the distinguishing quality that the person wants to serve first with the highest priority of serving the needs of people, and then leads by creating opportunities for individuals, which in turn inspires more servant leaders.  A servant leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of the communities to which they belong.

Julie Burke has shown her “Servant Leadership” through her leadership in the Enhancing School Health Services through Training, Education, Advocacy, Mentorship and Services (TEAMS) project, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics. With her leadership and coordination, she improved communication with medical providers and pharmacists in their community to provide resources to students with asthma.  She also provided professional development on asthma not only to her school nurses,  but to the physical education department and other team members to help them recognize and understand and provide effective care to students with asthma.  She has also been instrumental in helping children access much needed health care services as Mississippi County (Charleston R-I School District’s home county) does not have a hospital or a Federally Qualified Health Center.

Julie’s dedication to school health, to the children and families in her community, to the medical providers, her school nursing staff, and the entire district staff is evident everyday in the Charleston School district.

MASN Rising Star-- Carolyn Kluttz, BSN RN

Carolyn Kluttz has made tremendous strides towards improving the health for her school community, both students and staff during her 2 years as a school nurse. A perfect example is how she addressed the school staff during her first month on the job in Parkway to educate them on when it is appropriate to send a student to the nurse's office. This education of staff cut the nurse visits by more than 50%, all but eliminated unnecessary student visits, which allowed Carolyn to spend more time with students whose severe or chronic health needs required more assistance.

Robin Wallin, Director for Health services for Parkway School District, writes “Carolyn is an extremely compassionate and skilled school nurse who has shown a keen ability to work collaboratively with parents, students and staff to support complex medical needs of students.

Carolyn’s Principal Dr. Kevin Martin writes,  Carolyn is calm, efficient, a team player, and always a positive person. To be honest, she is AWESOME.  Carolyn helps all kids feel safe so they can learn their best each and every day. She is always available to listen and is truly an amazing school nurse that goes above and beyond to provide an environment that cultivates capable, curious, confident, and caring learners to address the ever-changing society.

Friend of School Nursing -- Deb Funk, RN

Ms. Funk began her role at the State Board of Nursing in 2006. She quickly recognized the unique role school nurses have in the school setting and reached out to the Department of Health and Senior Services to better understand school nursing practice.  She even applied for membership in MASN at one time (only to learn she was not eligible).

Deb has been a long-time partner in the programs to orient new school nurses and health office staff, reviewing the Missouri Nurse Practice Act and describing the application, particularly the principles of delegation of care in the school setting.   She actively participated with the Department in explaining CADES Law that delegates care of students with diabetes to others in the school setting after training by the school nurse.   Deb has presented at the annual MASN conference at least three times and is always present to answer questions and offer updates at the annual Lead School Nurse meeting.

As an advocate for best practice in nursing, Deb worked with the school health program (DHSS) to create and present training and support for developing a school nursing portfolio.  Recognizing the unique practice of school nursing, she is always willing to team with together to identify resources and implement tools to document and support our practice following the established Scope and Standards of School Nursing Practice.

Deb serves as the Board of Nursing Reviewer for all school nursing guidelines developed by the school health program and is often part of discussions related to health policy with MSBA related to nursing practice.  Deb is the person Marge Cole and Barb Spaw consult with when school nurses call about a practice issue.  She is always willing to speak with a school nurse by phone or answer questions by email.

Friends of School Nursing -- Missouri Association of Rural Education (MARE)

The ongoing commitment of MARE proves their leadership understands and supports the role of the school nurse. Both Ray Patrick, past Executive Director and Kevin Sandlin, Executive Director, have demonstrated they are true Friends of School Nursing.

Ray Patrick and Kevin Sandlin have supported school nurses for several years. In 2013, Dr. Patrick reached out to Marjorie Cole looking for ways to offer education and training to school nurses.  Through this initiative, MARE offered and continues to provide both financial support and coordination in the development of what became known as Health Office Orientation (HOO). When Dr. Patrick retired from MARE, Kevin Sandlin continued MARE's support for HOO. MARE promotes HOO by sharing  information about HOO with superintendents across Missouri and opens the orientation yearly with a welcome from the Executive Director.  With approximately 90 new health office staff attending each year of what is now a 2 1/2 day training, HOO has become an excellent resource for school nurses.

Additionally, MARE has been a long time member of the Coordinated School Health Coalition where it supports school health.