2021 Utah School Nurse of the Year

We are excited to share the news that Judi Yaworsky is the 2021 Utah School Nurse of the Year! The announcement was made by the Utah School Nurse Association.

Judi graduated from the University of Utah in 1986 and worked at Primary Children's Hospital until 1992. She loved working in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and gained valuable experience to transfer to the school nurse arena. She has been a school nurse for the Salt Lake City School District for 14 years.

We asked other nurses in our district to share their thoughts about Judi.

• As with all nurses, we ask too much and often come up short in our recognition of their skill, compassion, and dedication.  Judi is exceptional.  It may be too much to say we could not have gotten through last year without her, but I don’t even like to ponder the possibility.  She is the best! 
• First and foremost, Judi is an expert at providing client care. Judi quickly determines how best to support. She is reassuring to students and staff whether providing insulin, first aid, or responding to a serious health emergency. Her rapport with students, parents, and staff exemplifies a standard we hope every school nurse will achieve.   
• Judi is the kind of person that goes out of her way to make sure there is equity among all students and if with the diverse student population that all information received was communicated to the parents whether through the use of written notifications in various languages or using an interpretation service to make sure all information is understood. 
• From a Parent - I was afraid to send him to school, even though I was told that he was behind developmentally, and it would be good for him. I felt like he was still just a baby, and I could not protect him at school. Then came Judi, with her big eyes and a big smile. She helped me understand how his health care would be a priority with the District, and how it would work. She eased my mind about his health care needs and how they could be managed while he still has a full school experience. She fully included me and my husband in writing his Health Care Plan and met with us and the IEP team to coordinate and make sure everyone was on the same page and felt confident and positive about proceeding with him attending school.