TESS NACELEWICZ Staff Writer --
Portland Press Herald (Maine)
11-30-2007
'She's like the ultimate' ; Freeport's Brenda White has earned a lofty honor by winning the trust of teachers, parents and students.
Byline: TESS NACELEWICZ Staff Writer --
Edition: Final
Section: Local & State
Type: News
FREEPORT --
Brenda White said that when she started working as a nurse in Freeport schools 23 years ago, the most useful medicines in her office were cough drops and a spray to treat sore throats.
Today, school nurses care for students with a wide range of medical conditions. While medical advances have let children once considered too ill to attend school be productive students, White said, there has been a dramatic increase in such chronic childhood illnesses as asthma.
Her typical day includes monitoring children with potential breathing difficulties, diabetes, seizure disorders and, sometimes, cancer. But White, who works with about 250 students at Freeport's Mast Landing and Morse Street elementary schools, said she often finds that her most potent treatments remain simple: 'Soap and water, Band-Aids and ice, and time to talk.'
It's that down-to-earth, personable approach that has earned White the title of Maine School Nurse of the Year 2007-2008. White won the award from the Maine Association of School Nurses at a conference this month.
Lois Kilby-Chesley, a teacher at Mast Landing who nominated White, said, 'She's like the ultimate in what a school nurse could possibly be.'
White, 57, who grew up in Howland and graduated from the University of Southern Maine, said her heart has been in community nursing since she became a nurse in 1972. She started out in home health care.
White, who is married and has two adult sons, got the job in Freeport when her youngest boy started kindergarten.
Seeing the petite, auburn-haired White stride through the halls on Thursday to a classroom to check on the blood sugar level of a student with diabetes, one could mistake her for a teacher. She was dressed in a green sweater and black slacks, and said she hasn't worn her nurse's cap in decades - except when she needs a Halloween costume.
But the caring way she interacts with students as she discusses their health problems reveals her nursing expertise.
White helps students with problems that range from runny noses to serious illnesses, and works closely with parents to help them ensure that their children stay healthy, Kilby-Chesley said. White also helps teach students about health and nutrition, and even looks out for the well-being of staff members, sending them home if they're sick.
'We're very lucky to have her,' Kilby-Chesley said.
Holly Couturier, a teaching principal at Mast Landing, praised White for knowing each child by name. 'Students are her number one priority,' she said.
Colleen Drew, a fourth-grader, sat on a bed in White's office Thursday because she wasn't feeling well. 'She's so good with all the kids,' Colleen said of the nurse.
White also has a way with parents, according to Colleen's mother, Kim Drew, who arrived at the school to take her 9-year-old daughter home. 'Oh, I love this woman,' Drew said, giving White a hug.
The quarter of an hour that White spent chatting with Drew and her daughter about her health and emotions helped show why.
The three talked about Colleen's headache and upset stomach, as well as her feelings about school and a possible eyesight problem. White promised to follow up with an eye exam for Colleen next week.
She sent the girl home with the advice: 'School nurse and mom are going to say the same thing: Get some extra rest.'
White gives even minor problems plenty of attention.
For example, a fifth-grader arrived in her office with a bloody back molar that had wiggled loose while a new one came in to replace it. He left smiling a short time later, with the tooth in a plastic bag that he planned to put under his pillow for the tooth fairy.
White said she pays attention when students show up with frequent headaches and stomachaches, which can be signs that children are experiencing emotional difficulties.
Caroline Thorne-Lyman, a social worker at Mast Landing School, said that stress in children can often manifest itself first as a physical ailment. She said she appreciates the work that White does alerting her to children who may need her help.
'She's an incredible school nurse,' Thorne-Lyman said.
Staff Writer Tess Nacelewicz can be contacted at 791-6367 or at:
tnacelewicz@pressherald.com
Illustrations/Photos:
Caption: Photos by Jack Milton/Staff Photographer Brenda White, in
her office at Freeport's Mast Landing School, is Maine's School
Nurse of the Year - capping a career spanning 23 years. Brenda White
says her most potent treatments still remain simple: 'Soap and
water, Band-aids and ice and time to talk.' Thursday she talked with
fourth-grader Colleen Drew, 9, who wasn't feeling well.
Copyright 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Portland Press Herald (Maine)
11-30-2007
'She's like the ultimate' ; Freeport's Brenda White has earned a lofty honor by winning the trust of teachers, parents and students.
Byline: TESS NACELEWICZ Staff Writer --
Edition: Final
Section: Local & State
Type: News
FREEPORT --
Brenda White said that when she started working as a nurse in Freeport schools 23 years ago, the most useful medicines in her office were cough drops and a spray to treat sore throats.
Today, school nurses care for students with a wide range of medical conditions. While medical advances have let children once considered too ill to attend school be productive students, White said, there has been a dramatic increase in such chronic childhood illnesses as asthma.
Her typical day includes monitoring children with potential breathing difficulties, diabetes, seizure disorders and, sometimes, cancer. But White, who works with about 250 students at Freeport's Mast Landing and Morse Street elementary schools, said she often finds that her most potent treatments remain simple: 'Soap and water, Band-Aids and ice, and time to talk.'
It's that down-to-earth, personable approach that has earned White the title of Maine School Nurse of the Year 2007-2008. White won the award from the Maine Association of School Nurses at a conference this month.
Lois Kilby-Chesley, a teacher at Mast Landing who nominated White, said, 'She's like the ultimate in what a school nurse could possibly be.'
White, 57, who grew up in Howland and graduated from the University of Southern Maine, said her heart has been in community nursing since she became a nurse in 1972. She started out in home health care.
White, who is married and has two adult sons, got the job in Freeport when her youngest boy started kindergarten.
Seeing the petite, auburn-haired White stride through the halls on Thursday to a classroom to check on the blood sugar level of a student with diabetes, one could mistake her for a teacher. She was dressed in a green sweater and black slacks, and said she hasn't worn her nurse's cap in decades - except when she needs a Halloween costume.
But the caring way she interacts with students as she discusses their health problems reveals her nursing expertise.
White helps students with problems that range from runny noses to serious illnesses, and works closely with parents to help them ensure that their children stay healthy, Kilby-Chesley said. White also helps teach students about health and nutrition, and even looks out for the well-being of staff members, sending them home if they're sick.
'We're very lucky to have her,' Kilby-Chesley said.
Holly Couturier, a teaching principal at Mast Landing, praised White for knowing each child by name. 'Students are her number one priority,' she said.
Colleen Drew, a fourth-grader, sat on a bed in White's office Thursday because she wasn't feeling well. 'She's so good with all the kids,' Colleen said of the nurse.
White also has a way with parents, according to Colleen's mother, Kim Drew, who arrived at the school to take her 9-year-old daughter home. 'Oh, I love this woman,' Drew said, giving White a hug.
The quarter of an hour that White spent chatting with Drew and her daughter about her health and emotions helped show why.
The three talked about Colleen's headache and upset stomach, as well as her feelings about school and a possible eyesight problem. White promised to follow up with an eye exam for Colleen next week.
She sent the girl home with the advice: 'School nurse and mom are going to say the same thing: Get some extra rest.'
White gives even minor problems plenty of attention.
For example, a fifth-grader arrived in her office with a bloody back molar that had wiggled loose while a new one came in to replace it. He left smiling a short time later, with the tooth in a plastic bag that he planned to put under his pillow for the tooth fairy.
White said she pays attention when students show up with frequent headaches and stomachaches, which can be signs that children are experiencing emotional difficulties.
Caroline Thorne-Lyman, a social worker at Mast Landing School, said that stress in children can often manifest itself first as a physical ailment. She said she appreciates the work that White does alerting her to children who may need her help.
'She's an incredible school nurse,' Thorne-Lyman said.
Staff Writer Tess Nacelewicz can be contacted at 791-6367 or at:
tnacelewicz@pressherald.com
Illustrations/Photos:
Caption: Photos by Jack Milton/Staff Photographer Brenda White, in
her office at Freeport's Mast Landing School, is Maine's School
Nurse of the Year - capping a career spanning 23 years. Brenda White
says her most potent treatments still remain simple: 'Soap and
water, Band-aids and ice and time to talk.' Thursday she talked with
fourth-grader Colleen Drew, 9, who wasn't feeling well.
Copyright 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
