2008 Elaine Vassar Olivera RN, BSN, NCSN Region 20

Robin L. Harvel has

This year Robin has been named:

Texas School Nurse of the Year by Texas School Nurses Organization

Health Educator of the Year by the American School Health Association

Robin L. Harvel has a BS in Nursing from the Texas Women's University and an additional 32 post graduate hours. Her thirty-year career includes experience in hospitals, doctor's offices, retirement homes, camps and occupational health. She has worked with people of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds, including extensive experience with military personnel and their dependents.

Serving as a School Nurse for over 23 years has taken her to many parts of the world and provided her with a global view of school-based health education and the positive impact it can have on the school community. She is currently at Fort Sam Houston ISD in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to that, Ms. Harvel has been a School Nurse and taught in three school districts in Texas as well as the Department of Defense Dependents Schools in Germany. 

Over the years, Ms. Harvel's professional commitment is unsurpassed as shown by the many hours spent preparing lessons for students, implementing new programs, reaching out to the community and dedicating time to her own professional development. She is an active member of numerous professional organizations and has collaborated with and received support from local, state and national health organizations. She has been a prime player in developing coordinated health education and prevention programs including childhood obesity, diabetes, nutrition, safety and growth and development. She has received seven grants for health education programs she has created, developed, taught and documented. Most recently, she created and taught a School Health Helper program that teaches students self care and first aid skills that they implement as her assistant in the classroom.  Ms. Harvel has readily shared her programs as a frequent conference presenter.  

She has been an active volunteer for numerous organizations. The American Red Cross has benefited from her leadership in multiple roles for over 40 years. She was certified as a disaster nurse for the organization in the late 80's and recently assisted survivors of Katrina and Rita. She also frequently volunteers for parent/student activities and has extensive community service.   

This past year alone she received the Texas Department of State Health Services Excellence Award for her School Health Helper program, Governor Perry appointed her to serve on the Texas School Health Advisory Committee and local TV news featured her in a school diabetes segment.  TSNO named her as Chairperson of their Committee for Student's with Special Situations and she serves as treasurer of Texas School Health Association and as one of ten area nurses on Region 20 Nurse Advisory Committee.  In May 2007, she was recognized as the TSNO Region 20, School Nurse of the Year.

She is currently active in the following professional associations: National Association of School Nurses, Texas School Nurse Administrator Association, Texas School Nurse Organization (TSNO) and TSNO Region 20, Texas School Health Association (lifetime member and past President), American School Health Association and PTO. Her community involvement is with Chi Omega Alumni as Fisher House Wounded Soldiers chair and American Red Cross Disaster Services.

    2006 NANCY HAEGELE     REGION 19  

Nancy has been a School Nurse for 9 years; she currently serves 1200 students in grades 6, 7 and 8.
With a background in Critical Care and having cared for adults suffering from diseases that could have been prevented with different life style choices, she went into school nursing because she wanted to make a difference in children�s health. Another of her goals is to make sure that students are given information to help them make wise choices.  Out of the 1500 teens who gave birth in El Paso in 2004 only 38% finished high school.  Her skills on the computer have helped her to pick up on trends and get information to parents and students quickly.
Nancy has successfully run a wellness program for the past 6 years.  She arranges for health screenings and services at work for employees.  She has organized and participated in 7 health fairs, coordinates United Blood Services drives, and was Employee of the Month December 2005.

Nancy has served on peer review committee, is a Pediatric Advanced Life Support Instructor, and Student Nurse Mentor for UTEP.
Her Favorite theorist is Dorothea Orem whose model is self care.  Her mission is to empower all students to become successful members of a global community.
She has a Master of Nursing with a Minor in Business Administration.  She has practiced in the United States and Canada.

   2005  KATHY ZIMMERMAN  REGION  20  

Our winner for 2005 is Katherine Zimmerman from Poth, Texas. Katherine practices school nursing in a rural community where she has been the only school nurse for 19 years. She serves as a major resource and referral source for health issues in the entire community. Her junior high students enjoy their annual lesson dissecting cow eyes. A local meat market donates the eyes for the project, an optometrist brings razor blades and explains the parts of the eyes to the student while they both supervise the dissection.

In her spare time, Katherine has served her colleagues in her region in various leadership roles roles. She continually gives to the community serving on the School Health Advisory Committee, as a CPR instructor, volunteer for the American Cancer Society and serves on the county�s Disaster Preparedness team to name a few things.

Besides all these accomplishments, what made Ms. Zimmerman shine above others was in two particular areas that sometimes school nurses have a weakness � publication and the legislative process. Katherine has served as a volunteer at the grass roots level and met with legislators both at school and in their Austin offices to discuss how legislation will affect the children. She was involved in reviewing and developing the KIDS, TEENS AND TYPE 2 DIABETES: What You Need to Know 2000 reference for school nurses as well as collaborating with a doctoral candidate on a menstruation study of junior high and high school students to be published next year.

   2004 MICHELE FERNANDEZ REGION 19   

Michele has been a school nurse for nine years in an elementary school with a student population of 420 students. The school grades are pre-kinder to fifth grade. Before becoming a school nurse, she was the Health Coordinator for Region 19 Education Service Center Head Start Program in El Paso, Texas.

She coordinates health fairs for the staff, faculty, and parents at her school. Her wellness program includes access to a mammogram van each school year. She is in charge of the Coordinated Approach to Children's Heath (CATCH) program on her campus. Through this program she has promoted nutritional education, exercise programs and anti tobacco education for her students.

Her involvement on the Campus Improvement Team at her school has helped in resolving the safety and health issues of students in her school. Michele is also on the Compliance Review Team Committee for the El Paso School District Health Services. This committee reviews and revises nursing health policies for the school district.

   2003 KATHY POWELL REGION   
 
Kathy has been a school nurse for 17 years for Richardson ISD and currently serves 2000 students in grades 9-12 as well as being the team leader for 12 nurses and 2 health aides.  She holds a Masters degree in Community Health Administration and iscertified by the National Board for Certification of School Nursing.. She sponsors Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU). In this program she trains high school students to enter 5^th grade classrooms and present a program to decrease the incidence of smoking.   Her favorite thing is to get into the classrooms and teach.  She has programs she presents for the pregnant and parenting teens (junior high and high school), sports nutrition, blood pressure, first aid, and preventing heat �related illness to name a few.  She conducted a two year study on lost educational time due to menstrual cramps at her high school comparing heating pad use vs. ThermaCare heat patches and was able to cut educational time loss almost 80% while giving comfort and relief to students.