Longtime GC, BCLUW school nurse reflects upon retirement

When retiring BCLUW and Grundy Center nurse Gloria Dielschneider first got interested in school health in the 1980’s, not a single school district in Grundy County had a nurse on staff. Now, as she prepares to walk away from her position, which she has held at BCLUW since 2001 and Grundy Center since 2005, Dielschneider reflected on what drove her into her field in the first place, misconceptions about what a school nurse really does and how students’ health needs have changed over the years.
           
After growing up in Conrad and completing nurse’s training in 1975, Dielschneider did stints at both the Grundy County Memorial Hospital and the Iowa Veteran’s Home before first getting involved with Grundy County Public Health in the mid 1980’s. It was then that she realized her passion and began to push for better health care in rural school districts. At the time, districts didn’t see a big need for health services, and with tight budgets especially in smaller schools, it was far from a top priority.
           
“I advocated with all the schools in the county regarding school health services and even served on a state committee to promote school health in rural schools,” she said. 
 
Read more in this week's Grundy Register.