BROWNSTOWN
Being a registered nurse for 33 years, Joyce McKinney has always focused on people’s health.
Whether she was working at a hospital, a long-term care facility or a school, she valued helping others.
Given her humble nature, she has never done her work hoping she would receive awards.
Apparently, her colleagues in the industry know her well.
During a recent call with Chris Amidon, executive director of the National Association of School Nurses, McKinney learned she was named the 2020-21 Indiana School Nurse of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Nurses.
“When Chris called me, she was really sweet and she said, ‘When we saw your name and read your letter, we knew you were our choice. But then we got to thinking, why hasn’t she won this already?’ It was a really nice compliment. She said, ‘Then I remembered you would never accept this nomination,'” said McKinney, 55, nursing supervisor/school nurse for Brownstown Central Community School Corp.
She was nominated for the award by Brownstown Assistant Superintendent Jade Peters, and Brownstown Central Middle School Principal Doug McClure wrote a letter of recommendation to the School Nurse of the Year selection committee.
McClure applauded McKinney’s round-the-clock efforts to keep the corporation well at the start of a new school year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In a time that has strained and tested our organizational systems and collective will, it has only more plainly revealed the dedicated work nurse McKinney continues to give to the students, families and staff,” McClure wrote. “Although consummately professional, it is the grace and dignity that nurse McKinney exudes that truly distinguishes her work as our corporation’s lead health care professional.”
He said McKinney has been unwavering in displaying compassion and patience while taking phone calls and responding to text messages and emails at all hours.
When applying coronavirus health and safety guidelines, McClure said McKinney elevated her level of trustworthiness and respect across the district.
“In this time of confusion and misinformation, she is a steady and reassuring voice,” McClure said.
He went so far as to say she is the most valuable employee in the corporation this school year.
“From transportation to athletics to co-curricular activities to daily in-person instruction, there has not been one facet of our district’s operation this pandemic year that has not leaned heavily upon her for information and guidance,” McClure wrote. “Because of her efforts, we have been one of the few school districts in the state of Indiana that has remained open to in-person learning this entire academic year.”
The award is particularly special to McKinney because she earned it while working for her hometown school district. She’s a 1984 Brownstown Central High School graduate.
“I don’t think many people get that opportunity,” she said. “It really makes you just more vested in everything you do in our little town. That’s one thing that is just really fun, to get to come back and work here.”
McKinney developed an interest in nursing while she was a Brownstown student.
“I remember in about fourth grade, I thought I wanted to do something like that,” she said. “I was in 4-H, and I made a first aid kit for the fair, and I just remember thinking that might be something that I was interested in.”
After high school, she started at Indiana Central College in Indianapolis. When she married her husband, Mark, he took a job in Chicago, so she finished her nursing studies at Elmhurst College.
She then served as a nursing student on a medical surgical floor at Hinsdale Hospital and an RN in the cardiac critical care unit at Loyola University Hospital.
Moving to Indiana, she worked in the intensive care unit at St. Elizabeth/Arnett Health Systems in Lafayette, cardiovascular critical care unit at Columbus Regional Hospital in Columbus and ICU at Schneck Medical Center in Seymour.
She functioned as a charge nurse, a preceptor to new staff, a member of the critical response teams and code teams, a patient-family liaison and a staff educator.
McKinney was an educator at Hoosier Christian Village in Brownstown certifying staff as certified nursing assistants and qualified medication aides.
In 2006, she became Brownstown’s school nurse upon the retirement of Anita Sturgeon, who held that title for 38 years. She had previously subbed for Sturgeon on her days off from working at CRH and HCV.
In the beginning, McKinney was the sole school nurse for 1,500-plus students. She later asked to add health aides and was successful and received a lot of help and support from school secretaries.
“I could have never, ever done this job without them,” McKinney said.
She now has Missy Luedeman as a licensed practical nurse and Shannon McKeand as a health aide. Due to the pandemic at the start of the school year, Brooke Shade was hired as a part-time nurse so McKinney could serve as a point of contact for the Jackson County Health Department and focus on contact tracing and other duties.
A COVID hotline was developed, and McKinney has spent many hours answering phone calls and responding to emails.
“The most challenging part is it has honestly been like hitting a moving target because things change all of the time, so what the protocols were in September don’t even exist now,” she said. “You just have to continue to adjust. Just about the time you figure it out, it changes again, so you have to constantly stay in that state of mind.”
Fortunately, she has had reliable resources at the state level and locally from the hospital and health department.
“I don’t feel like I’m in it alone,” McKinney said.
She also has been able to rely on her husband for support.
“He is the best,” she said. “Seriously, I am very blessed to have his support. It is not like he is not crazy busy himself with trying to lead his own company.”
As a school nurse, McKinney also has helped students with chronic conditions, including seizure disorders, allergies and diabetes. Plus, some have had implantable devices, and one was on a ventilator.
“Just partnering with the families and students and the teaching staff trying to come up with plans that work best for everyone, I’d say that’s my favorite part,” she said.
Accomplishments during her tenure include going from paper to electronic charting, being the state’s first asthma-friendly school, partnering with Schneck to initiate vape education, implementing wellness policies mandated by the federal government, expanding the number of automated external defibrillators, adding concussion protocols and offering Stop the Bleed programs.
She also has been involved with the national and state school nurse associations, which qualified her for Indiana School Nurse of the Year.
“Anita encouraged me to do that, and I was so very thankful for that because that’s where I get a lot of my support,” McKinney said. “I went to a national conference before I ever set foot in the door as the nurse, so that was very beneficial, very, very helpful. I’ve always kept my membership active and gone to national conventions over the years.”
IASN Executive Director Deb Robarge said in a typical year, McKinney would have been honored at the national convention, which was scheduled for June in Austin, Texas. Because of the pandemic, she will be recognized in a virtual conference format.
“We have been giving this award for many, many years,” Robarge said. “She is in the company of an illustrious group of school nurse professionals. She is an outstanding honoree. I have known her for many years.”
At the end of this school year, McKinney plans to retire.
She recently made that decision because her daughter and son-in-law, Tori and Andy Litchfield, are expecting twins in June and plan to move from Fort Wayne to Brownstown. Their other children are 2 and 4.
“I know that my daughter needs me right now, and what an honor and blessing I can be to be a daily influence in my grandchildren’s lives,” McKinney said. “They will be living with us while they build (a home), and I did not feel it would be fair to the students in our district if I tried to do this job that I have put my whole heart into and try to have four littles under our roof.”
McKinney also has her parents, ages 82 and 85, who live nearby.
“They want to stay in their home as long as they can, and so they have a lot of needs and they are very close. I think I could probably start my own little nurse clinic with family members,” she said, smiling.
In retirement, McKinney also plans to sit in her favorite spot on her wraparound porch overlooking a pond and have more time for her hobbies.
“Every hobby that I have, I do now when I’m working, so I think that I’ll just continue to have a little more time to do that,” she said. “I look forward to it.”
McKinney said she didn’t expect to retire this soon, but she will go out on a positive note — being named Indiana School Nurse of the Year.
“I always tell my kids ‘Whatever it is, finish strong,'” she said. “I just feel like I have.”
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Name: Joyce McKinney
Age: 55
Hometown: Brownstown
Residence: Brownstown
Education: Brownstown Central High School (1984); Elmhurst College (bachelor’s degree in nursing, 1988)
Occupation: Registered nurse for 33 years, including the past 15 years as nursing supervisor/school nurse for Brownstown Central Community School Corp.
Family: Husband, Mark McKinney; children, Tori (Andy) Litchfield, Reed McKinney and John McKinney; two grandchildren and two more on the way
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