School Nurse Corps

Contact Information

Maria McKelvey Hemphill

Administrative Assistant

Annie Hetzel

School Health Services Consultant
360-725-6040

The School Nurse Corps (SNC) program helps to ensure that all students in Washington have access to registered nursing services. Access to a registered nurse promotes student safety, improves attendance, fosters academic achievement, reduces health and educational disparities, and contributes to creating an engaged and informed citizenry and workforce. The contributions made by the SNC provide powerful support in meeting educational objectives and reinforcing the goals of health reform implementation in Washington.

SNC Nurse Administrators provide training, mentoring, consultation, technical assistance, and professional development for nurses and administrators in all school districts.

Objective

The partnership agreement between OSPI and Educational Service Districts (ESD) reflects the mission and vision of SNC and the general understanding that school districts need additional support to keep their students healthy, safe, and ready to learn.

Mission 

School Nurse Corps, in partnership with schools, families, and communities, improves student health outcomes, safety, and readiness to learn. School Nurse Corps promotes equity by increasing student access to professional registered nurses and expanding public school district's capacity to provide a safe and healthy learning environment. 

Vision Statement

All children receive equitable, full access to school nursing services to be safe, healthy, and successful in school and life.  

  1. Students with health care needs will be safe while engaged in school activities. 
  2. SNC Nurse Administrators strengthen Washington state schools’ capacity to provide a safe and healthy learning environment. 

School Nurse Corps Administrators

ESD

SNC Administrator

Website

ESD 101

Alma McNamee, MHA, RN

NorthEast Washington ESD 101

ESD 105

Mary Lou Shean , MS, BSN, RN

Educational Service District 105

ESD 112

Colleen Wahto, RN, BSN

Educational Service District 112

ESD 113

Lynn Nelson, RN, MSN, NCSN

Capital Region ESD 113

ESD 114

Wendy Jones, RN

Olympic Educational Service District 114

Puget Sound ESD 121

Susan Keller, RN MSN NCSN

Puget Sound Educational Service District 121

ESD 123

Les Stahlnecker, RN, MS

Educational Service District 123

North Central ESD 171

Cathy Meuret, RN, BSN, MAEd

North Central Educational Services 171

Northwest ESD 189

Lynnette Ondeck, MEd, BSN, RN, NCSN

Northwest Educational Service District 189


School Nurse Corps History

The SNC was initially created by the Legislature in 1999 in response to a critical gap in student health care needs, especially in small, rural school districts as identified in the 1997 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) Survey of School Nurses. Funding is allocated to each of the nine Educational Service Districts (ESDs) School Nurse Corps Nurse Administrators to support registered nursing hours for the neediest schools in their regions.