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05/01/2024 08:30 AMSpanning more than two decades of school nurse service, Kathleen Dilella, or “Nurse Kathy” to students and families, exemplifies excellence and caring in a critical role. On Wednesday, May 8, Branford Public Schools (BPS) will celebrate the district’s school nurses, including Kathy, in recognition of national School Nurse Day.
"Kathy has been working for BPS since 2001 and has cared for thousands of Branford's children,“ says Pamela Neleber, the BPS director of health services. ”Currently, Kathy works at Indian Neck School, which houses several different educational programs for preschool aged children and young adults up to age 22. She offers a wealth of community support resources to new families just entering the school system and offers nursing services for those with medical needs."
Kathy started off with BPS as a substitute nurse in 1999, working in different buildings. In 2001, she became the full-time school nurse for Murphy Elementary School. Kathy assisted students and families at Murphy until three years ago, when she moved to her current role.
An RN, Kathy earned her BSN at Mount St. Mary College in New York and served as a nurse under the Hamden Department of Public Health prior to linking up with BPS. She started her nursing career as a pediatric nurse with St. Raphael Hospital and also provided pediatric home care.
Kathy says she found her niche when her interest in pediatric nursing converged with becoming a school nurse.
“I love working in a school system because you’re working with so many different disciplines,” she says.
School nurses are gatekeepers for each student and family under their care, Kathy explains.
“They’re meeting the family first. They’re getting the paperwork, and they’re contacting the pediatrician’s office if the paperwork’s not complete. I’ll be calling families back if they mention an allergy or that they’ve seen an eye specialist, and I don’t see it on their child’s physical,” says Kathy. “There are a lot of little things school nurses pick up on.”
Kathy has also put her nursing skills to work as a volunteer, including as a former chapter member of the American Red Cross board, in addition to parish nursing and by helping Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts earn first aid-related merit badges.
“There’s just so much you can do in nursing. I love it,” says Kathy.
One of the most vital roles a school nurse plays is that of a first responder in situations when an injury, allergic response, or other critical health issue arises.
“It could be anything,” Kathy says. “It could be a child having a reaction to a bee sting in the middle [of] Field Day.”
On-site triage and working with personnel and teams as the situation unfolds is a part of the orchestrated teamwork which starts with school nurses to lead to a positive outcome.
“There’s nothing more rewarding than going to a nurse’s, or teacher’s, or secretary’s retirement party because we’ve worked with them through the highs and the lows together,” says Kathy.
Kathy holds the distinction of currently being the longest-tenured school nurse among the BPS district staff of eight school nurses. In addition to having the support of a supervisor and the school health clinics, Kathy says BPS school nurses are always there to support one another.
“We have a wonderful collaboration among the nurses,” says Kathy.
Working at Indian Neck School, Kathy’s school nurse work ranges from assisting children in the preschool programs to older students in BPS Access. Access is a post-graduate transition program designed for students aged 18 to 22 with disabilities who are in need of additional training and skill development in areas such as employment, independent living, and post-secondary education upon completion of high school.
Kathy enjoys working with healthcare professionals in occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech pathology, and other disciplines who come to her building to assist students in her care.
“It is wonderful to work with the different disciplines so closely and to be a part of that team.”
Even as the end of the school year approaches, the work of a school nurse never really slows down.
“I would say it’s always busy! In this school, you start working with birth to 3, and there’s meetings and planning and transitioning that goes on between the disciplines. In the other schools, you have all the screenings and the documentation and the follow-up to the screenings and the follow-up with immunizations. It’s pretty cyclic,” says Kathy. “Not a day goes by if we’re not working directly with a child that we’re not getting our statistics up or doing many behind-the-scenes reports.”
In addition to completing state-mandated reports, BPS school nurses also work collaboratively with the East Shore District Health Department and do in-services with both Neleber and BPS Medical Director, Dr. Richard Young, MD. Visiting physicians also participate to provide school nurses with guidance in specialized areas of care and health.
A Branford resident since 1999, Kathy not only enjoys serving her community as a school nurse, but she also likes seeing her students and families out in the community, including those who are now young adults launching their own careers.
“I’ll see them in town or at an event on the green at the grocery store or working here and there, and they’ll say ‘...are you Nurse Kathy?’ And I love when they tell me they’re going to nursing school and what they’re doing,” Kathy says.
Kathy says her school nurse peers receive the same appreciation from the families and students they serve. She notes that some of her BPS school nurse peers have been supporting the district for as many as 12 or 15 years.
“I know the other nurses get that, as well,” says Kathy. “It’s not just me. It’s the team I work with.”