By Patrick Adrian
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
GRANTHAM — Grantham Village School Nurse Karen Eylander received special recognition this week, being named the New Hampshire School Nurse of the Year by the New Hampshire School Nurses’ Association.
Eylander, now in her 11th year with the Grantham Village School, joined the school district in 2011, after serving as a nurse in the Emergency Department at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.
In their nomination letter to the New Hampshire School Nurses’ Association, Grantham school administrators cited Eylander’s “calm” and “wealth of experience and knowledge” when handling an array of health situations at the school.
Administrators also praised Eylander for embracing a role as an educator, using visits from students as teachable moments.
“If a child tells her that they don’t feel well, Karen doesn’t just ask about symptoms and take a temperature,” said Grantham Village School Principal Kristen Reed. “She also takes the opportunity to talk about how germs spread and the importance of washing hands. At every possible opportunity, Karen stitches education into her medical duties as a nurse.”
Grantham Superintendent Sydney Leggett remarked on Eylander’s dedication and commitment, saying that she goes “above and beyond the usual call of duty” through her communications with the school community.
In addition to managing daily student visits and juggling the multitude of screenings, testing and reporting that resulted from the pandemic, Eylander would participate in weekly discussions with Grantham families to field health-related questions and learn families’ needs or concerns.
“Anyone from the community could join our team of administrators and our school nurse to ask questions and provide input,” Leggett stated.
Eylander also helps fill other staff duties in the Village School, a small community school serving 211 students in grades K through 6, according to administrators, from orchestrating car rider pickups each afternoon to delivering bags of school supplies to students who are under COVID-19 quarantine when returning home each evening.
Eylander also participates in student meetings and is a member of several school committees and organization groups, including the Grantham Parent and Teacher Group and the Wellness Committee.
Administrators said that Eylander, working through the Wellness Committee, has helped organize and implement activities ranging from a food cook-off, a school fun-run to a “glowstick snowshoe event” for families.
Eylander also provides safety and health training to staff, including training courses in First Aid and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), which are occasionally open to the wider Grantham community when space permits.
The Grantham Village School learned of Eylander’s award last week. At a surprise school assembly on Tuesday, April 5, school staff informed Eylander of the honor, while donning her in a crown and cape and giving her a “scepter” designed to resemble a “giant nasal swab.”
Outside of her school job, Eylander volunteers with the Upper Valley Humane Society and continues to work part-time at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Eylander also worked at several COVID-19 testing locations run by Dartmouth-Hitchcock throughout the pandemic.
The New Hampshire School Nurse of the Year award is an annual recognition of a school nurse’s “outstanding” contributions to one’s school and community. The nominees must hold a license as a registered nurse in New Hampshire, be a practicing school nurse with at least three years of employment in that role and a member of at least two years in the New Hampshire School Nurses’ Association.
Formed in 1934, the New Hampshire School Nurses’ Association provides leadership and education to support New Hampshire school nurse standards of practice, care coordination, leadership, quality improvement, and community public health.
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