The Sunnyvale School is fortunate to have such a passionate Health Services team that consists of 3 full-time Nurses and 6 Health Assistants who take care of our students with medical needs every day – helping all of our students stay healthy and ready to learn.
Our nurses coordinate health services for the schools. In conjunction with parents and doctors, they implement individual health care plans or emergency plans for our students with chronic illnesses; train school staff to appropriately follow the plans so the individual health care need of each student is met; perform vision and hearing testing and supervise and coordinate medication administration for students. As members of the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, the nurses interpret medical records and perform health and developmental assessments. They are experts on medical issues and available for health education or consultation to staff, students and parents. Our nurses have access to a lot of resources for families in need, such as a program for free eye glasses and helping students and families get connected with insurance and health care providers.
Dagmar Paul, our most senior nurse, is a Registered Nurse as well as a Public Health Nurse with a Masters of Science Degree in Nursing from San Jose State University and works at Bishop, Cherry Chase, Columbia Middle School and the Preschools. Dagmar has been a nurse for 20 years and with the District for the past 14 years.
Frances Combe has been with our District for the past 5 years. Fran is not only a Registered Nurse, she is also a Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner with a Masters of Science Degree in Nursing from Yale University and has worked more than 20 years in Pediatric Health care in school settings as a Nurse Practitioner. Fran works at Ellis, San Miguel and Sunnyvale Middle School.
Britta Van Andel is our newest school nurse. She joined the District 2 years ago. Britta is a Registered Nurse as well as a Public Health Nurse and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from San Jose State University. Britta works at Cumberland, Fairwood, Lakewood and Vargas Elementary Schools.
The District also has a very dedicated group of Health Assistants who support our nurses in the very busy school health offices. Our health assistants manage the health office at their schools, provide first aid and lots of TLC to students who are not feeling well, administer medications, monitor and update health and immunization records for students to make sure that everyone is up to date on school health requirements; enter data into our student information system; assist with our vision, hearing and oral health screening program and help with outreach to families in need.
Kathleen Bullene (camera shy) has been with the district for 20 years. She has worked at several schools as an Administrative Assistant and she currently works at the Sunnyvale Middle School Health office and will be retiring at the end of December. The Sunnyvale School District will miss her!
Irene Macres has been with us for 14 years and is currently working at Columbia Middle School.
Natalia Salcido supports Bishop and Lakewood Elementary Schools and has been with our district for the past 9 years. Before that, she held different positions in Mountain View-Whisman School District, including Community Outreach worker and Health Aide.
Sheena Kinney has been with us for 6 years. She supports Cumberland and Vargas Elementary Schools.
Erica Marcos who supports Ellis and San Miguel Elementary Schools has been with our district for 5 years. She graduated from the Medical Assistant Program at De Anza College and previously worked as a Medical Assistant for Camino Medical Group.
Yvette Jones-Tran is the newest addition to our team. She has been with us since last school year and works at Cherry Chase and Fairwood Elementary Schools.
Sunnyvale School District was able to hire both Fran and Britta, and some of our health assistant staff, through a generous grant from El Camino Hospital Healthcare District and we are grateful for El Camino Hospital’s continued support.
Our team wishes everyone Happy Holidays and a successful and healthy rest of the school year!
Article by Dagmar Paul, RN, MSN/District Nurse
