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Although she worked at Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park when she returned from Germany, Grace’s heart was with school nursing and she joined the school district’s nursing staff in 1987. One of her assignments was the nurse’s office at Lakeview Elementary School, the very school she attended as a child.
"We Ridley grads are a proud bunch and working in my hometown school was an honor," Grace said. "It gave me an edge in understanding the community. I knew someone connected to almost every child at kindergarten registration."
Today, Grace is the school nurse at Lakeview, Amosland Elementary, St. Madeline-St.Rose and Notre Dame deLourdes schools. She zeroes in on wellness in dealing with the students, seeing her role as a school nurse as that of overall advocate for wellness. As president-elect of the Delaware County School Nurse Association, Grace is responsible for developing professional development programs for the county. She and Kathi Marker co-founded the School and Office Nurse Alliance as an avenue for communication and understanding among the specialty areas of practice. Marker is an office nurse.
Grace’s creative streak led her to come up with a "Wheel of Nutrition" game show assembly, in conjunction with the cafeteria staff. She became "The Vegetator" at Lakeview by donning a slouch hat, fake nose, and carrying a magnifying glass, and roamed around the cafeteria looking for students eating vegetables. And she came up with the idea for "Wellness Wednesday Words of Wisdom."
"I give short messages over the morning announcements that educate students about healthy choices for nutrition and activity as well as other important wellness messages, such as handwashing, illness prevention, hygiene, smoking prevention," Grace said in a previous interview.
"Fitness Friday" is another way Grace teaches students about healthy living. She organized a before-school fitness for life activity program with attendance ranging between 60 and 80 kids each week.
"What has affected me the most in terms of job satisfaction the past few years has been developing stronger relationships with the children and their families," Grace said.
But with this award-winning school nurse, it is not all work and no play. She recently took up the cello, reviving an interest in the instrument she gave up when she was 14. For 17 years, she volunteered as head costume designer for the main-stage productions by the Ridley High School Drama Group. And she is active with Christ Church. Her son, Will, 22, lives with her in the Swarthmorewood section and her mother, Wilma, and sisters Anna Bar and Sue McAtee all live nearby in Ridley Park.
