04/10/06

School nurse loves job

Dedication earns her support employee of the year

After nearly 20 years Sherlithia "Ann" Chestnut still loves her job.

The school nurse who is considered a beloved fixture at Meadow Park Elementary School spends her week bandaging little knees and elbows, soothing upset bellies and tending to pint-sized diabetics.

Over the years -- 18 in all -- Chestnut has endeared herself to countless students and staff as a caretaker, team player and friend.

"She never says it's not part of my job," said Margie Shier, a paraprofessional.

This positive attitude apparently drew the attention of school district officials who named her Support Employee of the Year.

She was honored with a plaque and $1,000 check at the annual Teacher and Support Employee of the Year Celebration on Monday night. Sally Lutz, a Lemon Bay High School reading teacher, won Teacher of the Year.

The humble nurse just shakes her head in a sense of disbelief, when thinking about the award.

"I was overwhelmed just to be a part of (other award winner and finalists)," she said. "It's indeed an honor."

But Chestnut never chose school nursing for glory or accolades. On the contrary, the Orlando native attended and graduated from the Charlotte Tech Center in 1986 so she could have a job with hours that coincided with her then-school age daughter, Renae.

She is one of the seven nurses first hired in the school district. At first she worked at Meadow Park in the mornings and spent the rest of the day at L.A. Ainger Middle School.

"My intentions were not to stay as long," she said with a chuckle.

But fate had other plans for Chestnut. A few years later she and her husband turned down an opportunity to leave the area, because Chestnut had grown attached to her job.

"I love the kids," she said. "The staff is wonderful."

On any given day, Chestnut's tiny office, tucked at the back of the main office, becomes a waiting room for the school's ill and injured.

"It's a constant influx of stomachaches and headaches," she said.

Chestnut said she sees about 60 students a day.

No matter what happens, Chestnut, 49, keeps her cool and her warm, toasty smile.

Last Thursday morning, about four students filed into Chestnut's office. With sore stomachs and other minor ailments, they sat in chairs waiting for assistance while Chestnut attended to two diabetic students.

One young boy's sugar level surged high enough to warrant a call home.

"This is the doctor's office between the doctor's office," she said.

For many of the students who are without health insurance, Chestnut is as close as they get to medical care.

The veteran nurse has seen a number of students come to her office still sick or injured from the weekend. She does the best she can to patch them up and, if need, refer or send them out for medical intervention.

Chestnut has had to deal with crises among students and staff. Playground injuries seem to be the most common and most dangerous injuries, she said. She has even had to get help for a paraprofessional who suffered a heart attack.

Staff often come in for ailments and just to see a friendly face.

"She can be swamped and you never feel she's going to bite your head off," Shier said.

Nobody knows this better than Michele Sleitweiler, the nurse at Peace River Elementary School. The two nurses worked together after the hurricanes when both schools doubled up at Meadow Park.

"She is really worthy of the award," she said.

When Chestnut, a mother of two adult children, isn't working at Meadow Park she is putting in part-time hours at the Crossroads Wilderness Institute. The nonprofit juvenile facility is in east Charlotte County.

On her off time, she spends time at her Punta Gorda church, the First Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church.

Chestnut said she plans to stay at the school and keep tending to the children and staff until she retires.

"They're my family," she said. "They're everything to me."

By ELLA NAYOR 

http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/041006/ew2.htm?date=041006&story=ew2.htm