The John C. Lincoln selection committee picked two nurses to each receive the honor of 2010 Deer Valley School Nurse of the Year. Beth Pietro, RN, from Deer Valley High School in Glendale and Debbie Tamuty, RN, from Desert Mountain School in Desert Hills, are the 2010 Deer Valley School Nurses of the Year.
The nurses were surprised with the news on Wednesday, May 5, in separate school presentations. On Tuesday, May 11, each winner was recognized at the Deer Valley Unified School District board meeting by the John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital and by the Deer Valley Education Foundation. Each nurse received a banner and a check for $500, and each school received a check for $150, from John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital.
 Debbie Tamuty, RN, (second from left) is one of the 2010 School Nurses of the Year for the Deer Valley Unified School District. The Desert Mountain School nurse is shown with (from left) Marie Brennan, executive director of the Deer Valley Education Foundation, Kelly Ettenborough, public relations specialist for John C. Lincoln Health Network, and Lynda Johnson, principal of Desert Mountain School.
 Beth Pietro, RN, (center) is one of the 2010 School Nurses of the Year for the Deer Valley Unified School District. The Deer Valley High School nurse is shown with (from left) Kelly Ettenborough, public relations specialist for John C. Lincoln Health Network, and Marie Brennan, executive director of the Deer Valley Education Foundation.
The award, now in its seventh year, acknowledges excellence in school nursing practice and leadership in school health. Nurses from the Deer Valley Unified School District are nominated for the award, and a winner is selected by the Deer Valley Education Foundation and John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital in Phoenix.
"Both nurses exemplify the best qualities of a school nurse so we decided to pick two this year," said Colleen Scharneck, vice president of Clinical and Support Services at John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital and head of the selection committee. "Both Debbie and Beth create a positive, supportive experience for children, parents and staff and make a difference at their schools."
Pietro received the news with students from the nursing class at Deer Valley. Each one kept coming into her office, with a different, fake injury, until they were all there for the announcement.
"She's really caring and she’s always open to caring for people, no matter what the situation," said Rachel Smelser, a senior at Deer Valley, who added that Pietro knew something was up but still listened to each "ailment" patiently.
Pietro, a nurse for 17 years, chose nursing as her profession because the nurses were so kind when her daughter died, she said. She joined Deer Valley High School in Glendale as the school nurse in 1999, where she handles medical emergencies, everyday injuries and education.
At Desert Mountain School in Desert Hills, the School Nurse of the Year announcement was made as part the school assembly. Tamuty was called to the assembly under false pretenses, and she was greeted by Mendy, the mascot of Mendy's Place at John C. Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital, and a multipurpose room filled with cheering students.
"I can't believe it," said Tamuty, a school nurse since 1995. "The award is very affirming of what we do as school nurses. I love taking care of the kids, especially our special needs kids … It's important to have a professional school nurse at our schools, and I'm just really glad that I can be one of them." |