Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 28, 1995 TAG: 9510300070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A short letter from a pupil at Lincoln Terrace Elementary School helps explain why Sandy Moore has been chosen Virginia's School Nurse of the Year.
It reads: "Dear Mrs. Moore: Thank you for the glasses. They help me when I read and I thank you for everything you do for me. Love, Kim."
Moore, 46, is supervisor of Roanoke's school nurses. In her job, she helped establish a program of free eye exams and free or reduced-cost eyeglasses for needy children.
Moore said that's one of the main reasons she loves being a school nurse: helping meet children's health needs and working with them to develop healthy lifestyles.
The eyeglass program is one of more than half a dozen that were pioneered by Moore and helped her win the recognition by the Virginia Association of School Nurses.
She led a move to expand the city's school health services and increase the number of nurses from two to 19. She also helped establish teen health centers in several schools.
Moore, a quiet and unassuming person, has been a statewide advocate for more school health nurses. She helped lobby for a school health bill's passage in the General Assembly.
The bill established goals for school nurses and asks localities to strive to meet them. School systems are urged to hire at least one nurse for every 1,000 students within five years, but are not required to do so. The state provides some funds for school nurses, but not enough to meet the goals.
Using local funds, Roanoke is close to the goal: It has the equivalent of 11.4 full-time nurses for 13,000 children. Some of its nurses work part time.
"She provides essential leadership, not only to the nurses ... she supervises, but also to the school and community personnel so that Roanoke city has now become a community that values school nurses," said Dr. Molly Rutledge, director of the Alleghany and Roanoke health districts.
That feeling is shared by nurses on Moore's staff.
"Sandy is truly the glue that holds us together," said Vicki Morgan, a nurse at Forest Park Elementary. "She is a caring, sincere person who treats everyone with respect."
Linda Snead said Moore is always supportive on difficult issues. "My mother's intuition and varied adult nursing background did not include lice, scabies and family planning for teens," said Snead, a nurse at Jackson Middle School. "With Sandy Moore's help, I soon felt like the expert she told me I would be."
"She is always there with a smile on her face and a word of encouragement," said Kerin Wallace, a nurse at Fishburn Park Elementary. "She is definitely the backbone of the Roanoke city nurse program."
Moore, a Rustburg native, has worked as a school nurse or supervisor for nearly 18 years. She began as a school nurse in Beaufort, S.C., in 1977 after working several years as a hospital and occupational nurse.
Moore became a staff nurse for the Roanoke Health Department in 1980 and worked in the schools. She was a nurse for Roanoke schools' federally funded Chapter I program for disadvantaged children from 1985 to 1989 before becoming the nurse supervisor.
No longer do school nurses just hand out Band-Aids, she said.
Nurses help identify health problems, screen children for medical conditions and teach about nutrition, personal hygiene and other health issues, Moore said. They dispense medications to some students, make referrals to health agencies and make home visits. They also become links to medical resources in the community.
"Every day is different for the school nurse," she said. "The health needs for children are changing and complex. We have to deal with teen pregnancy, depression, child abuse, aggressive behavior and other serious issues."
Many children do not have family doctors or pediatricians, Moore said. Some have never been to a dentist, and others have medical problems that have gone untreated.
As a school nurse, Moore said she finds it easy to work with parents because she has two daughters: Sara, a junior at Lord Botetourt High School; and Ashley, a sophomore at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C.
Her husband, Tom, is clerk of Botetourt County Circuit Court.
Moore decided to become a nurse when she was attending James Madison University. She said she always had thought about being a teacher, but decided to enter nursing. She transferred to the University of Virginia, where she got a bachelor's degree in nursing.
"Now I have the best of both worlds. I can be a nurse while still associating with children and helping them."
by CNB