![\"IMG_5264\"](\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/IMG_5264.jpg\")
<\/a>However, Stovall points out, the role of a school nurse is so much more than access to the ice machine. On any given day, Stovall will see somewhere between 40-60 students.<\/p>\nShe set schedules for medications and treatments.<\/p>\n
She gives inhalers before PE.<\/p>\n
She handles allergy reactions.<\/p>\n
Some of her students require daily tube feedings, others need catheterization.<\/p>\n
And, then, there are the day-to-day bumps and bruises that come from PE or recess.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchool nurses play a large role in keeping kids healthy and in school,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re a valuable resource in the building. We support academic success by keeping them here.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a registered nurse in every school building here in Virginia Beach, which Stovall credits the city and School Board for making possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the country, as a whole, you don\u2019t find that,\u201d she said. \u201c(Other districts) are looking at positions they can get rid of, and I think they\u2019re making mistakes taking nurses out\u2026We\u2019re highly skilled professionals and we\u2019ve been doing this a long time. We support the teachers and remove barriers so (children) are able to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stovall has been a nurse at Shelton Park for 12 years, but this is her 29th<\/sup> year as a registered nurse. Her first seven years as a nurse, she worked in the post-surgery wing at Sentara Lee. Then, she spent a decade working in home healthcare. For Stovall, serving as a school nurse has the same foundation.<\/p>\n\u201cNursing is nursing wherever you go,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to be compassionate and caring. I just try to be a kind voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
That kind voice has resonated with many of Stovall\u2019s colleagues and students. She was named the 2015 Virginia PTA Nurse of the Year as well as the division\u2019s nurse of the year.<\/p>\n
“Mrs. Stovall does more than be a nurse to the staff and students at Shelton Elementary School, she is their friend. She takes care of families that move into the area and need help,” Shelton Park’s PTA wrote in their nomination about Stovall. “With a large amount of military families in the area, she often helps those families connect with new families and community needs in the area. She takes the time to learn every child’s name in the school which is a true personal endeavor for her but more importantly can help keep the students and staff safe by knowing names, allergies, concerns, and so much more. As one of her students said, ‘We hope Mrs. Stovall is always our nurse. We can always count on her.'”<\/p>\n
Because of her state PTA honor, Stovall was given a grant \u2013 worth more than $2,000 \u2013 to bring in depth vision checks for her students-in need at Shelton Park, which was one of the greatest perks of the honor: being able to help her kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just love working with children,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is what I do and why I do it. Who else gets to come to work and see all these smiling faces?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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