The nation is celebrating nurses during this #NationalNursesWeek. Even more special to the DMPS community is Wednesday, May 10, as we honor our school nurses on #SchoolNurseDay. 

Health Services Supervisor Melissa Abbott wrote a letter of appreciation to her nursing staff over the weekend, expressing how we all feel about the special people who watch over our students every school day, and sharing some impressive health engagement statistics. Thank you, School Nurses!

Melissa Abbott, Health Services Supervisor

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I want to take a moment to express my gratitude and admiration for the exceptional work you do every day at school. Your expertise, dedication, and compassion make a tremendous difference in the lives of our students, in our 60+ preschools, elementary, middle, and high schools.

As a school nurse, you are the leader that bridges healthcare and education. Student health is the foundation of learning as good health promotes regular school attendance, which leads to healthy childhood development and academic success.

You are the first line of defense for our students’ health and well-being. Whether it’s administering medication or tube feedings, providing first aid, managing chronic health conditions, offering mental health support, coordinating care for field trips and extracurricular activities, or educating students on healthy habits, you go above and beyond to ensure that our students are healthy and safe.

To date, there have been just under 208,000 student encounters logged and almost 14,500 student health conditions that have required assessment, interventions, and evaluation from you.

The impact of your work extends far beyond the immediate needs of our students. Your assessment and interventions help identify underlying health concerns that may impact a student’s ability to learn and overall well-being. Your collaboration with families, teachers, support staff, and other healthcare providers is essential to ensuring that our students receive comprehensive and integrated care.

You bring a unique set of skills and expertise to the school environment. Your ability to build rapport with students, assess and triage health concerns, and provide age-appropriate health education with compassion and empathy is critical to students’ growth and development.

As we celebrate National Nurses Week and National School Nurse Day on Wednesday, May 10, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the extraordinary work you do every day. Your dedication to our students and their health is deeply appreciated, and I am honored to work alongside such a talented and committed group of professionals.

Sincerely,

Melissa Abbott
DMPS Health Services Supervisor

Photo Album: Celebrating School Nurses