Christensen named 2012 Florida School Nurse of the Year
Lee County Public Schools announced that Maiya Christensen was recently named the 2012 Florida School Nurse of the Year. Christensen is the school nurse at North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts.
Once again a district employee has set themselves apart from their colleagues through hard work and dedication to students, said Dr. Joseph Burke, Superintendent of Schools in a prepared statement.
“We’re very proud of Ms. Christensen and know she’s an outstanding choice for this honor.”
“Maiya is the most outstanding nurse and human being that I have ever known,” said North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts Principal Dr. Douglas Santini. “She goes out of her way to help anyone in need. I do not know what we would do if we did not have Maiya at the Academy.”
This award is sponsored by the Florida Association of School Nurses, the professional organization serving school nurses in Florida and is open to school nurses throughout Florida.
According of officials, Christensen epitomizes school nursing by the way she manages an impressive schedule of assessing children and staff she is an instrumental liaison between her school and the extensive network of community resources that she frequently accesses, including the American Red Cross, American Heart Association, the Chamber of Commerce and the Army Corp of Engineers.
Due to her experience with immunization compliance and registry, she is known by her peers as the immunization expert and was instrumental in arranging and marketing her school as one of the few sites selected for a family flu clinic.
Nurses are judged according to their involvement in specific areas of nursing expertise, which include: Standards of Nursing Practice; Quality of Care; Performance Appraisal and Ethics; Collegiality; Education Standard; Research; Program Management; Collaboration; Health Education; Resource Utilization; and Communication.
In being chosen as Florida’s top school nurse, Christensen is now submitted to the National Association of School Nurses to be recognized in their Excellence in School Nursing Award.
“Florida State School Nurse of the Year – it was quite a surprise,” said Christensen. “My fellow colleagues nominated me in December and they came to my school and surprised me with the official award during the school TV news one day. They even went out of the way to make sure my children were able to attend, one was even from another school.
“It is an honor, especially coming from your colleagues. Not everyone understands the complexities of the job of school nursing and the issues we face while trying to make sure the school community is safe and healthy to attend school everyday. Children are coming to school with complex medical issues that just were not a problem in years past, so things are more of a challenge.”
She had been a school nurse for 13 years, all of them at North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts.
“I feel fortunate to be able to come to work everyday and do what I love. I am thankful for my family who allows me to do what I do best, the co-workers and administrators in the school who make it a great place to work, the fellow nurses where I get my support and knowledge from and the parents and students who I serve. I couldn’t do what I do best without their teamwork and support.”
She is also an active North Fort Myers Lions Club member.