Mothers of 2000 kids: From hospital to high school

Tess Hubbard

Ludbrook said nurses take an oath for patient-nurse confidentiality and that students should never feel embarrassed or afraid to come to the nurses for help.

Tucked between the Main Office and the business hallway, marked by an ordinary, slate-black sign, is the nurse’s office. When you first enter, there are a plethora of quick fixes from Band-Aids to cotton balls to tampons. But as soon as you cross the tiled threshold between the front room and the main “lobby area,” you will be greeted with a smile by  Julie Tadros, head nurse, and depending on the day, either Erin Rumkus or Tracey Ludbrook, high school nurses who split the week. 

Before nursing at KHS, Ludbrook worked in a hospital setting. After getting the job, she now shares the week with Rumkus. On her days off from KHS she works at a surgery center as an endoscopy nurse.

“I’ve always wanted to be a school nurse in this district because I’ve had five kids pass through here, but it never worked out time-wise,” Ludbrook said. “When I came to hand in my son’s immunization records this summer I [asked] if there were any openings and they said yes. I was shocked.”

Before Rumkus was a KHS nurse, she was a step-down nurse at St. Mary’s, then later, a hospice nurse elsewhere. She said she decided to work at KHS in 2017 after subbing with Tadros and seeing how nice the students and faculty were. Tadros also began working at KHS after subbing. Eventually, she became head nurse.

“I started out in a hospital in a critical care setting with adults,” Tadros said. “I never thought I would work in a school. I started subbing when my kids were in elementary school because I took a little time off with my kids. I loved it and I’ve been here ever since.”

All three nurses begin their day at 7:30 a.m. Ludbrook and Rumkus end their day at 3:30 p.m., whereas Tadros gets off at 4 p.m. Their day starts with unlocking all of the cabinets that are locked up every night. They then distribute medication to the approximately 25 routine students they have. Ludbrook said after their morning round of students come through, another wave comes in for medicine during lunch. The rest of the day is spent taking care of sick students. Both Ludbrook and Tadros said their least favorite part of their job is when parents are upset with them for a decision they make or for sending students home.

“If a kid is miserable, they are not going to learn here anyways,” Ludbrook said. “Plus, if they’re sick, they’re going to get someone else sick. So they need to go home. If the parent is saying ‘Have them tough it out’ or ‘I can’t pick them up’ and gets angry, that’s kind of hard.”

All nurses agreed the best part about their job are the students. Ludbrook and Tadros said it is like being a mom to 2,000 kids. Tadros said she doesn’t have to look far to see that the KHS nursing staff is making a difference.

“The school nurse is usually a student or a child’s first interaction, independently, with a healthcare provider,” Tadros said. “The reaction we give them, how we receive them and how we treat them gives the impression of what healthcare will be like later in life. If we create a culture that is not afraid to ask for help, they will ask for help early rather than waiting until something becomes a big issue. To me, [it’s] really important that we’re teaching gentle, approachable and accepting healthcare for young people.”

Students should know that whatever they tell the nurses will not be told to anyone if it is not on a need-to-know basis. Ludbrook said nurses take an oath for patient-nurse confidentiality and that students should never feel embarrassed or afraid to come to the nurses for help. 

“I believe that all behavior is communication,” Tadros said. “If [a student] want[s] to get out of [their] day with other kids who are fun and fabulous [to] come see me, there’s a reason [they] needed to step out of [their] world. It’s okay. If we can provide a safe space, I’m honored to do that.” 

KHS Nursing Staff’s Favorite Excuses:

1. Boy caught a squirrel in the gym, then got bit by said squirrel.
2. The bathrooms in the Nurse’s Office are better.
3. A boy impulsively climbed through a hole in the wall and scraped his arm on the loose nails.
4. The colors of a student’s shirt and pants don’t match.
5. A student’s hands were dry. They needed lotion.
6. A student spilled ketchup on their shirt.