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Local nurse excels in school environment

Dec 1, 2009

Charlene Hill has worked as a nurse for 31 years now, but the most fulfilling part of her career has occurred within the past 13 years.
That’s how long Hill has served as a school nurse in the Jones County School District.
“I was a nurse at the Westridge Clinic (in Laurel) before I became a school nurse,” said Hill. “I enjoyed working the clinic and working with the doctors there, but kids are my heart.”
Hill serves as nurse at West Jones and South Jones middle and high schools. Like other school nurses in Mississippi, her duties include:
• Coordinating health services programs and providing nursing care;
• Providing health education to students;
• Implementing activities to promote health and prevent tobacco, alcohol and substance use and abuse;
• Identifying health and safety concerns in the school environment and promoting a nurturing social environment;
• Administering medications and helping students manage their health problems;
• Supporting healthy food services programs;
• Promoting healthy physical education, sports polices and practices;
• Promoting dropout prevention programs; and
• Participating in allied health programs to introduce students to health careers.
“I’ve done some work in the schools with the American Cancer Society, as well as the American Red Cross,” said Hill. “This is something I enjoy doing because I wanted to make sure these kids live healthier and better lives.”
Nurses have been a part of the school setting since the late 1800s when they provided student inspections to identify those with communicable diseases who needed treatment. Although students today have very different health needs than those in earlier days, school nurses are still critically important to ensure that the students’ health needs are met.
Since she is working with mostly teenagers, Hill considers her work critical to their growth and development.
“They are at a point in their lives where their hormones are flying,” she said. “Now is the time to reach out to them and teach them about living happier and healthier lives.
“I’ve built a relationship with the students and I am able to talk to them, reach them and make them think,” Hill added. “It’s great being here in this environment because they make me feel like a kid. I may be getting older, but in my brain I feel like a teenager.”

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