LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Michelle Shull was nominated by her colleague, Glenda LaBarbera.

"LifeChanger - Michelle Shull. It sounds most appropriate," explains LaBarbera.  "She makes a difference every day.  As a nationally certified school nurse and RN, Michelle oversees the health services of our district. Garden City has approximately 7,300 students and 1,271 staff spread across 21 buildings. Our district is also a diverse community, with over 30 languages among staff and students. Michelle's job is challenging in a normal school year. When COVID hit, she and her staff went into overdrive."

Ms. Shull wrote new protocols and procedures for COVID cases, procured grants for PPE, and reconstructed a room in each of the buildings to act as an isolation room. She meets with the local health department weekly and maintains district data regarding COVID.

Ms. Shull strives to collaborate with the community, including the KS Dept. of Health and Environment (KDHE), St. Catherine's Hospital, Finney County Health Dept (FCHD), KS State Dept. of Education (KSDE), Shriners, and other grant affiliates. This past school year, the nursing department collaborated with these agencies and provided COVID vaccine clinics for staff and students, as well as a flu shot clinic for the community as a whole.

In January, Ms. Shull worked with KDHE so that the school district was able to perform COVID testing for staff and household members. This school year, the testing program has been made available to students with parent permission. In addition to vaccine clinics and COVID testing, the nursing department has participated in the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and was awarded a grant from KDHE to combat childhood obesity.  

Ms. Shull promotes this sense of community throughout the schools and her staff.  Two students were referred and received services from the Shriners Hospital in St. Louis.  The nursing staff arranged the appointments and worked out all of the flight details for the families, including transporting them to the airport.  This past year, Ms. Shull and her staff also assisted 32 students with optometry vision screenings through the Lions Club. Two of the district nurses serve on the Kansas School Nurse Organization Board, taking that sense of service and community to the state level.  

When considering the school atmosphere, and the level of performance, one only needs to look at the trainings and service offered through the department.  Over 1,000 students had medical alerts throughout the school year, and another 1,000 staff were seen for medical reasons. The care and professionalism shown to them is second to none. Ms. Shull handles any emergency and/or concern that comes her way with a calm and caring attitude. She does this while planning the next First Aid and AED training, offering a staff nutrition education event, or administering Hepatitis B vaccines.  In addition to her regular duties, Ms. Shull is always available to assist in a building if a nurse is absent.  

"Michelle continues to provide care with high-quality standards.  We are blessed to have her lead our nursing department," said LaBarbera.

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