Drew school nurse honored by peers

Perry L. Drew Elementary School Nurse Cathy Fernandez was named the Mercer County School Nurse of the Year.

By: Marisa Maldonado
   EAST WINDSOR — Cathy Fernandez has six students waiting for her attention in the school nurse office the afternoon of April 29 at Perry L. Drew Elementary School.
   A boy with green gunk in his hair — it’s Crazy Hair Day at the school — lies on a bed, his hurt knee the casualty of a recess accident. Two boys come in 20 minutes after the end of the play period with sore knees.
   "It’s half an hour after recess, and the kids are just starting to remember they have injuries," says Ms. Fernandez. But she was named Mercer County School Nurse of the Year for a reason, and she helps the students within minutes.
   Ms. Fernandez, a 61-year-old resident of Monroe, has been Drew’s nurse since 1984 and has been involved with the Mercer County School Nurses Association since then. The organization honored her with its countywide award in recognition of her longtime service to her school and the county group.
   "She’s probably served every office you can serve," said Mary Ann Brungart, president of the Mercer County chapter.
   Ms. Fernandez is a former president of the organization and currently serves as a liaison to the state government, tracking legislation that could have an impact on school nurses.
   The district must constantly change its policies to keep pace with students’ needs and trends, Ms. Fernandez says. She has been involved in writing several new policies for the district, including the creation of a table in each school where no-nut products are allowed for students who are allergic to nuts.
   Being a school nurse means wearing a lot of hats, as Ms. Fernandez’ duties range from screening new students and running health education classes to remaining abreast of state legislation that could affect her practice.
   Ms. Fernandez first became interested in nursing as a teenager, when she helped her family care for an aunt who was terminally ill with cancer. She later worked as a geriatric nurse before beginning her school nursing career at Drew.
   She notes the similarities between working with children and the elderly — both groups express a sometimes-stubborn attitude on their medical care.
   "They have their ideas on what they want to do," she says.
   The basics of nursing may change little between disciplines, but the way you treat children varies greatly depending on the situation, she said. Special needs children, for example, require more explicit instruction to complete basic things.
   "You can’t just stand there and say, ‘shake a leg,’ meaning hurry up," Ms. Fernandez says, "because they’re going to stand there and shake that leg."
   Sometimes, she says, the instructions might seem silly — such as the ones she is about to give the two boys who hurt their knees playing soccer.
   "Let me see you march," she says to the two boys with sore knees, who follow her instructions.
   "They can have some ice," she says to Wendy Demko, her clerk.
   She’s seen stranger reasons than playing soccer for a student having a sore knee. Many years ago, a student came in with a sore knee, and she later discovered that a pencil was stuck completely under his skin after he had knelt on the object.
   "Life is very interesting at school," she said. "Children always have some reason (for their injuries)."
   Ms. Demko, who started working at Drew last fall, said she learns something new from Ms. Fernandez every day — from how to handle a splinter to her manner in assessing students’ problems.
   "She not only is a nurse to these students," Ms. Demko said, "she’s a friend, she’s a counselor."
   Ms. Fernandez agrees that she gets to know many of the students well through their repeated visits over the years. But sometimes there are too many coming in for her to keep track of the time, as she finds out late this afternoon.
   The next thing she knows, some of the students in her asthma club — designed to show its about 85 members the causes of their asthma and how to manage the condition — have walked through the door.
   "Oh my goodness," she says. "Where does the day go?"