Nurse Vicki Holden named Hoover City Schools 2017-18 Employee of the Year
The Hoover school system today named the district’s lead nurse, Vicki Holden, as the 2017-18 Hoover City Schools Employee of the Year.
Holden has been a nurse for 36 years, serving as a critical care or surgical nurse at Princeton Baptist Medical Center and Brookwood Medical Center for 15 years before joining Hoover City Schools in 1997.
She spent her first two years in the system as the nurse at South Shades Crest Elementary School and then was transferred to Hoover High School in 1999. Two years ago, she was promoted to lead nurse to oversee the 22 other nurses spread among Hoover’s 16 schools.
Her office is at Hoover High, but on any given day, people might find her at any school, working with or filling in for other nurses. She is run ragged but never gripes, said Wayne Smith, the student services coordinator for the system.
Smith joked if he had to give a grade to Holden’s work, it would be a C—for competent, caring and compassionate.
“She’s the most competent person I have ever encountered in my career,” Smith said.
He has heard the Alabama Department of Education’s director of nursing comment how superior Holden is as a lead nurse, and this is only her second year in the job, he said.
She is always on top of her game and proactive in anticipating needs of the 22 nurses she oversees. She has quickly established herself as a go-to person for principals and counselors, he said.
“Anything she can do to assist or help her colleagues, she does it,” Smith said. “They all just have such respect for her.”
Her job is to hire and train all the nurses and substitute nurses, make sure they comply with the Alabama Department of Education and Alabama Board of Nursing regulations and follow proper policies and procedures.
Hoover schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy today told the 160 or so people at the chamber’s luncheon at the Hoover Country Club that being a school nurse in 2017 is much more than giving out aspirins and Band-Aids for "boo-boos."
In October, nurses in Hoover’s 16 schools were visited 5,635 times by students, and they gave out medication 4,196 times, Murphy said. And they have to deal with complex medical issues. In a recent month, they fed students through a feeding tube 262 times and dealt with catheters 39 times, Murphy said. “What they do is such significant work.”
Holden said that while she is in management now, she really loves interacting and helping the students.
“I love the kids,” Holden said. “It’s all about helping them be as healthy as they can and helping counsel them and provide resources when they have special needs. Bringing resources and families together is very rewarding.”
She has loved working with high school students for so many years, “but I think my heart is with the little babies,” she said. “I love the elementary school students. They’re so sweet and so trusting and so precious. They haven’t figured out how to tell you a story yet.”
Some of the high school students sometimes tell the nurses what they think the nurses want to hear instead of the truth, she said.
Being a school nurse is much different than it was when she first started, Holden said. There are a lot more rules, regulations, paperwork and red tape, she said.
“Despite that, I think it has changed for the better,” she said. “We provide such a high standard of care for kids in Hoover City Schools. Our nurses are just phenomenal. The majority of our nurses have been in the school system 10 years or more. They are so dedicated. They are so professional. We’re so fortunate to have the nursing program that we do for kids in Hoover. I’m really proud to be a part of that.”
Nurses in Hoover schools do deal with a lot of common illnesses, such as the flu and strep throat, rashes and physical injuries, Holden said. But they also develop special health care plans for numerous students with more unique health issues, he said. They also conduct screenings for hearing, vision and scoliosis, assist with immunization issues, and conduct health and wellness clinics for school employees.
Holden graduated from Berry High School in 1979 and obtained her nursing degree from Samford University in 1982. She lives in Helena with her husband, Scott. They have two children, Scottie and Matt, who graduated from Hoover High in 2001 and 2006, respectively. In her off time, she takes care of her elderly mother in Hoover and enjoys spending time at Lay Lake.
Other finalists for 2017-18 Employee of the Year were Jerome Burkes, a custodian at Simmons Middle School, and Tracy Hobson, operations coordinator for the school system.
Burkes has been with Hoover City Schools for 11 years. Before that, he worked 20 years with Southern Research Institute and 10 years for the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He and his wife, Wanda, have seven children and 10 grandchildren. Burkes is on the board of trustees for First Baptist Church of Graymont in Birmingham and has competed in the Vulcan 10K 42 years in a row.
Hobson began his career in the homebuilding industry but has been with the Hoover school system for the past 26 years. He and his wife, Delta, have three daughters. He is a native of Hueytown and attends North Highland Baptist Church.