GREAT FALLS — Wednesday, May 6, was National School Nurse Day, and with the upheaval by the coronavirus pandemic, school nurses are playing an important role in how Great Falls students are cared for.
Mary Christiaens has been a nurse at Great Falls Public Schools for about two and a half years. As COVID-19 continues to impact society, her role has taken on added importance.
“This is definitely new territory. Being a school nurse, we have so many different jobs and facets that we fill,” Christiaens said. “And so I feel like I was starting to get this, this role under my belt, and now I've just...this whole new world has opened up. And we've really had to adapt to that.”
Great Falls Public Schools set up child care centers for children of essential workers. The GFPS nursing staff played a critical role in developing the logistics and keeping the centers safe for kids and volunteers.
“Children and employees go to the same room every day that they're assigned,” Christiaens said. “There are certain areas on the playground that they are allowed to go to every child is assigned their own kind of supply of toys.”
As Montana begins to relax some of its coronavirus precautions, more people are going back to work, meaning more demand for the centers.
“We need all those people in our community doing their jobs and you can’t really do those jobs if you’re worried about where you child is - ‘are they safe?’” Christiaens said. “We do ask that parents do register and reserve a spot 24 hours in advance that way we are we for sure have proper staffing and a spot for their child.”
Regardless of how much COVID-19 has changed things for Christiaens, she’s grateful for her role.“I have always had a passion for children for pediatrics and pediatric nursing,” she said. “And being able to work with these students every day - day in and day out - is really a privilege.”
