Staff Focus: Jean Arnold, Health Assistant, Dunloggin Middle School

November 6th, 2015

Known for her strong medical background, take-charge personality and sense of humor, Jean Arnold excels as Dunloggin Middle School’s health assistant. In this role, she works collaboratively with the cluster school nurse to provide school health services to students, staff, families and school visitors.

Arnold explains her role with, “I provide a safe environment for students, staff and parents and make sure our kids are safe wherever they go in relation to school.”

Arnold’s can-do attitude helps her get through her long to-do list. For example, she said, “September is a very busy month, especially with compliance issues for immunizations, new records for new students, and vision and hearing screenings. I made 300 calls that first week to get kids immunized in time. I don’t wait to get things done; you must be proactive to make things happen. I have a schedule of when to do things, and I follow through.”

When Arnold became an HCPSS health assistant 17 years ago, she brought with her a wealth of health knowledge from years working as a medical technologist, where she performed analyses on body fluids or other specimens, in labs and a private doctor’s office. Her experiences enabled her to take on leadership responsibilities in the school system, such as becoming the committee chair to formalize procedures on lab testing and analysis in county schools. And on a day-to-day basis, she assists her students with diabetic blood testing.

Community and relationships are important to Arnold, who has been an active Howard County resident for more than three decades with four children educated in the school system. From years volunteering with Girl Scouts, Howard County schools and swim teams to working in her current role, she says she “runs into everybody, everywhere. Howard County is a connected community.” Not surprisingly, building relationships with all kinds of students, as well as her fellow co-workers, is one of her favorite aspects of the job.

Arnold likes working with the middle school level, explaining “there’s a lot of growth, from 6th to 8th grade, with kids finding themselves. I get to talk with them because the health room provides comfort, and at this age, they need people to talk to. Getting to know them helps with their care because I can figure out what’s going on with them quicker.”

She considers herself lucky to have support across the school, from the front office to counselors. “To be successful as a health assistant, you need the trust of the cluster nurse as well as the principal and administration,” Arnold said. “I have that here.”

Amy Wilson, the Dunloggin cluster nurse, explained her respect for Arnold with, “Jean Arnold is a true asset to the Dunloggin Middle School health room. She epitomizes professionalism and clinical expertise in her daily practice. Not only does she safely care for the students, but she continually maintains a well organized and efficient health room. Her organizational skills and flexibility are unmatched.”

Well-being is part of the school system’s Vision 2018 strategic plan because maintaining a safe, healthful school environment promotes student achievement, staff engagement and family support. Arnold wholeheartedly agrees, saying “when kids are healthy, they’re in school.”