The MV Nurse’s Office has proven to be a crucial place within the school, especially in the last year with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This [COVID-19] has been a learning process for our office with added hours at times, but it has been worth keeping our students in school,” said MV Nurse Tara Heinzmann.

The nursing staff here at MV have been working tirelessly to maintain a safe environment for students.

“We have been able to add evaluation and testing programs to allow our students with no symptoms to stay in person, and for our symptomatic students to return earlier,” added Nurse Heinzmann.

Amongst all of the mayhem, new practices have been introduced to maintain order and communication within the school.

Nurse Heinzmann stated, “Several monitoring systems have been created this year that have not existed in the past, and they have allowed us to keep our students, parents, and staff informed.  Communication with families and documentation is essential with the high number of students we see on a day to day basis.”

As we all know, the Nurse’s Office has been around longer than the pandemic, so balancing new challenges as well as the original tasks the office oversaw has proven to be important.

“Although it has been difficult to balance, the district has been very supportive and provided us with the help we have needed.  The faculty and staff were amazing to work with and offered assistance in any way they could.”

Nurse Heinzmann also shed light on some of the goals she has for the office.

“We want to make it possible for our students to receive the care and support they need emotionally, physically, and mentally with the least amount of disruption to their education.  We provide the care and resources needed to do so,” the nurse stated.

Mrs. Kela Johnston serves as the Nurse’s office assistant, and provides critical support for everything Nurse Heinzmann is responsible for completing.

The Nurse’s Office has a lot of initiatives that they participate in to benefit the student population here at MV.

“Aside from maintaining regular medicine schedules among students we also provide first aid and initial emergency response support is available to students and staff.  I believe our office plays a large role in community health and disease prevention as well.  We provide education for healthy nutrition, sleep, and exercise.  We also treat each student as an individual with circumstances unique to them,” remarked Nurse Heinzmann.

Although clearly a highly functioning unit, ideally students can stay healthy and out of the office.  Nurse Heinzmann shared some tips for students to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

She encourages students to, “Eat breakfast and drink water!”  She stated that, “Staying hydrated and giving your body proper nutrition is essential for the body and the mind. Practice good hygiene and stay home when you feel ill.  Be proactive with your own health and educate yourself,” she added.

Nurse Heinzmann expressed her support for MV, along with the rest of the nursing staff.

“We hope that our students use the resources that are being made available to them, so that they can lead healthy lives in the future.  We are here to support them.  This is truly a fantastic job and we want to watch our students grow and succeed.

The Nurse’s Office is located in room B110 of the campus.  More information on our MV nursing facilities may be obtained by clicking the  “Nurse’s Office” tab on the MV school’s website.