Nurse wins stately award

Elia Powers

Almost a year to the day after accepting the Orange County School

Nurse of the Year award, Merry Grasska found herself standing behind

another podium, addressing another sizable crowd of medical

professionals.

About 1,000 people packed a Hollywood banquet room on Feb. 3 to

see Grasska receive the California School Nurse of the Year award.

“When she spoke, the whole room was quiet,” said Grasska’s

supervisor, Marcia BMarthaler, coordinator of heath services for the

Newport-Mesa School District. “She presents herself in a self-assured

way and makes everyone feel relaxed.”

Those who know Grasska, a 16-year district employee and nurse at

Hope Healthy Start Clinic in Costa Mesa, say she brings that charisma

to the district-run health center, where she is one of the most

tenured nurses.

BMarthaler nominated Grasska for the Orange County Nurse of the

Year award during the 2003-04 school year. Grasska took top nurse

honors for the Southern California region and was notified a few

months ago of the statewide award.

Her name is automatically entered into an upcoming national

competition.

At the Hope Healthy Start Clinic, where young Newport-Mesa

students can receive free health screening services and vaccinations,

Grasska takes a leadership role. She assists in staff development by

planning health-related meetings. She conducts basic patient

assessments and oversees psycho-social development projects.

Grasska, a Dana Point resident and nurse practitioner who has

about 25 years of school nursing experience, is known for her concern

for patients’ privacy.

“She has a tremendous amount of compassion for the families and

children,” BMarthaler said. “All of her energy is going toward making

sure that everyone is comfortable.”

Grasska said those are inherent traits among nurses.

“We are caring individuals, and we are responsive to the needs of

our own families and children,” Grasska said. “That care seems to

translate naturally into the school setting.”

Grasska said she encourages her co-workers to talk to

administrators and public officials about the health issues facing

school-aged children.

In particular, she said she checks closely to see if students are

receiving proper nutrition at home and if they are able to obtain

out-of-school medical care. Grasska said she works with local health

agencies and attempts to secure free or low-cost care for low-income

students.

“My role is to collaborate with parents to make sure the

children’s health needs are met,” she said.

Added Debbie Norman, a nurse who works in a district preschool

assessment center: “She’s very proactive and is always thinking of

how we can be more helpful on a community level.”

Grasska was supposed to be honored at a Newport-Mesa school board

meeting on Tuesday, but an illness caused her to miss the event.

Board President Serene Stokes said she is proud to see

Newport-Mesa nursing receive state recognition.

“Having one of our nurses selected is very special,” Stokes said.

“There are so few of them, and they are spread very thin.”

Grasska has spent the majority of her Newport-Mesa district career

working at school sites. During the past two years, she has worked

primarily in the district clinic.

Before beginning with Newport-Mesa, Grasska worked for the Orange

County Department of Health. She is also a faculty member in the

family nurse practitioner program at UC Irvine.

But Grasska does not like to set herself apart from her district

co-workers.

“I don’t do anything differently than the other nurses,” she said.

* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at

[email protected].