Alyssa Walls has only been a school nurse for one year, but she is looking forward to new opportunities as she branches out into her new position of District Health Coordinator.
“I’m excited! I didn’t know how much I enjoyed organizing,” she said when reviewing her new responsibilities. She replaces Sherry Stamper, who retired earlier this year.
Walls will also remain the nurse at Carroll County Middle School. She has been preparing her new work area, spaces to treat students and a new calm room that will be available to both students and staff. She has set a number of goals for her first year as District Health Coordinator, the primary one being increasing the number of students who are properly vaccinated.
“My goal is to increase compliance with Kentucky state laws, including immunizations and preventative physicals,” she said. There are new immunizations for students in 7th and 11th grades, which sometimes get missed, she explained.
“We are excited for Alyssa to lead our District Health Services program into the future,” said Director of Pupil Personnel/Chief Operations Officer Mark Willhoite. “While she has only had one year of school nursing, she brings years of experience working in other nursing capacities.”
Walls plans to organize immunization clinics throughout the school year and will also have a booth at the Back to School Bash on Aug. 5 downtown to explain what vaccinations are needed. Her booth will also have other information for parents, such as school physical forms that must be completed for all student athletes.
Each school nurse will also be at registration for their respective school, she said. “We’re trying to make as many opportunities as possible to get things filled out just to make the first day of school easier,” she said. The district has five school nurses and one floating health assistant who goes on field trips and spends time in each of the school buildings.
In addition, Walls is working on a cardiac emergency response plan, training staff on CPR, planning orientation for new nurses, as well as updating AED equipment and purchasing new machines.
“Alyssa has jumped right into her new role working on our Cardiac Response plan, creating Cardiac Response teams at each school and working toward AED training for all required staff. I am confident that Alyssa will continue to ensure Carroll County provides a top notch Health Services program that our students and staff deserve,” Willhoite added.