Something extraordinary happened this past week. My granddaughter Nora and I were interviewed by NBC News' Valerie Castro to talk about something deeply personal, and something urgently important: the power of vaccination.  The NBC News Now crew came to us for the interview, and what followed was one of the most meaningful conversations I've had… Continue reading The Relentless School Nurse: The Stories Only Grandparents Can Tell

May 2026 Dear School Nurses, As another school year draws to a close, I find myself thinking about you — all of you. The ones in sprawling health suites and the ones in converted storage rooms. The ones managing complex medication schedules, chronic illness plans, and mental health crises. The ones who knew, long before… Continue reading The Relentless School Nurse: Another School Year is Coming to an End

The decision is final, and I want to be direct about what it means: the Department of Education has chosen to devalue nursing. The RISE rule is now official, effective July 1, 2026, and advanced nursing degrees, MSN, DNP, and PhD in Nursing, will not be classified as "professional" degrees. Not a proposal. Not a… Continue reading The Relentless School Nurse: The Department of Education’s Final Rule Undermines Nursing, And We Will Not Be Silent

I didn't post last week, and for those of you who have been reading this blog for a while, you know that is not like me. Over 1,400 posts across more than a decade of writing about school nursing, showing up on this page the same way I show up in my health office, consistently… Continue reading The Relentless School Nurse: When the Words Don’t Come

There's a lot of noise right now about vaccines. You've seen the headlines, heard the debates, maybe even felt the uncertainty creeping into conversations at family dinners or in your doctor's waiting room. It can feel exhausting — and a little frightening. That's exactly why I'm so glad we participated in this webinar. In the… Continue reading The Relentless School Nurse: When Grandparents Speak, the World Listens – A Conversation About Vaccines, Memory, and Love