Schools

Livingston Schools Praise ‘Extraordinary’ Nurses With Video

"Our nurses are heroes every year, every day," Livingston's school superintendent said. "They teach us, inspire us and take care of us."

LIVINGSTON, NJ — They’re crucial parts of a school district in a “normal year.” But throughout the coronavirus crisis, nurses in Livingston have risen to the challenge and more, administrators say.

Earlier this week, the Livingston Board of Education and district officials tipped their hats to local school nurses, giving them a big shout out during their public meeting.

Livingston Superintendent Matthew Block said that school nurses have their hands full with an endless list of “cuts and scrapes and bruises and broken arms and colds and allergies and illnesses and medication runs and the many things that happen when you’re in a school of anywhere between 400 and 2,000 students.”

Find out what's happening in Livingstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

But keeping up all these tasks amid a pandemic? It’s “extraordinary,” Block said.

Since the coronavirus began rearing its head in Livingston and New Jersey, the district’s nurses have assumed important new tasks such as keeping up with contract tracing protocols, and filling out daily quarantine tracker forms. They’ve also been busy working with families to discuss questions about COVID-19 symptoms, travel issues and school attendance.

Find out what's happening in Livingstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

“Our nurses are heroes every year, every day,” the superintendent said. “They teach us, inspire us and take care of us.”

Watch a video of Monday’s board meeting here.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Livingston