Meet Nurse Conway!
It would be nearly impossible to work with schools without a school representative, and in most cases our point person is the school nurse. We started working with Nurse Conway in 2014. She is an integral part of our model-of-care and why we’re able to reach so many students in the South Suburbs. She is also the first person we call when we’re going to try something new and innovative – she was involved in Lung Fest, COVID testing/vaccination, implementing universal consent forms, and launching home environment assessments. All of our clinics team appreciate the hard work Nurse Conway does to make our school visits run smoothly!
We asked Nurse Conway for her perspective on MCC and the importance of accessible care:
Why is having easy access to health services important?
Easy access to health services is critical to the well-being of our students. It would be fabulous if all of our families had equal access to health services at the same level. Unfortunately, that is not our reality for various reasons. Having services available at school through Mobile Care levels the playing field for all students which ultimately has a direct impact on learning. If we are able to close that gap by providing critical health care services, our students will be able to perform at their highest capacity.
How has Mobile Care positively impacted your students?
Since partnering with Mobile Care Chicago, our district has been positively impacted in various ways. For instance, our students now have access to services earlier in development during those critical years of growth. They are able to be monitored by a service that can follow them and intervene with a medical plan if necessary. Our students are now spending less time out of school because their needs are being met through the services mobile care provides. We have also seen a steady increase in medical compliance as mandated by ISBE. Students that are in need are scheduled for an appointment on the mobile van and are brought up to date with all the necessary medical requirements for their grade levels.
What makes Mobile Care an ideal organization to work beside?
It has been a pleasure to work with the staff from Mobile Care Chicago! They are flexible, reliable and consistent. They are here on their scheduled days on time. They are always professional and knowledgeable. They have been flexible over the years and just always willing to make sure that at the end of their day, they have provided the services that parents have consented to with the highest level of quality. They have made my job as a school nurse that much more rewarding!
What health service do you wish more students could easily access on a van like Mobile Care’s?
Definitely vision and mental health services. Those are the 2 things that are needed a lot more frequently than in previous years, but the access is limited. This is across all ages and grade levels. Our students would benefit tremendously from having greater access in these 2 areas. It’s not as rewarding to provide a parent with outside resources, not knowing if the service will actually be provided. There’s less chance the parent will actually follow up, which impacts the student negatively in the long run.
What is your favorite Chicago spot!
I do love Blue Aguave Tequila Bar on Kinzie. I also enjoy the wine tastings at Cooper’s Hawk Winery.
