Grants and Awards

2009-2010 Utah School Nurse of the Year
Lucia Unzaga !

Lucia Unzaga

Lucia graduated from Utah Valley University with an Associate Degree, from Seattle Pacific University with a BSN, and from the American College of Health Care Science with a Masters in Holistic Health Medicine.

Lucia was born in Santo Domingo, The Dominican Republic. As a child she felt it was her destiny to utilize her learning to help others to succeed and to assist them in their educational opportunities. After her years of nursing studies Lucia has worked with various underserved populations in her communities.

She has worked in nursing homes and in hospitals including as a nurse in the Indian Health Service Hospital in Santa Fe, New Mexico and as a research assistant in the Blackfeet Center in Browing, Montana. She has worked as a school nurse for the Utah County Health Department for 16 years and has worked in other health department programs such as Baby Your Baby, Cancer Screening, and the Be Wise Program. She is married to Humberto Unzaga, has six children, and lives in Pleasant Grove.

Lucia currently works twenty hours per week in four Provo School District Schools where she provides support to students, teachers, parents and administrators. She spends numerous hours finding health resources for families who often do not have health insurance. Her Spanish-speaking and translating abilities are essential to accomplishing all the many nursing tasks that come her way.

One of the favorite extra contributions she makes to her jobis a regular news letter on health and nutrition she sends faithfully to staff who find it educational, positive and fun. Over the years she has worked in the schools Lucia has developed hundreds of care plans for students with special health needs. To assist diabetic students in the district she has calculated the carbohydrate content of the school lunch menus so that it is easier for them and for those who assist them to manage their condition.

Recently Lucia developed a school nurse website Blog to highlight school nurses, school health programs and offer another way to educate students educators and parents.

Previous School Nurses of the Year:
1998-99-Nan Mead
1999-2000-Peggy Nielsen
2000-01-Colleen Drake
2001-02-Margie Golden
2002-03-Carla Lott
2003-04-Lynne Calame
2004-05-Suzanne Livingston
2005-06-Deborah Milan-Niler
2006-07 - Mary Clark
2007-2008 Wendy Wood
2008-2009 Kim Lowe

Utah School Nurse of the Year (also known as the SNOTY)
Nomination Requirements

In order to be eligible for the award the nominee must be :
• A Registered Professional Nurse
• A Member of USNA Current and the Preceding Two Years
• Have At Least Five Years Experience As A School Nurse

Address the Following Areas of Nursing Practice :
• Provider of Client Care
• Program Manager
• Health Education
• Professional Development
• Political/Legislative Activity
• Community Involvement
• Research

Letters of Recommendation :
• A Maximum of Six Letters May Be Submitted
• The Letters May Be From School Nurse Colleagues, Administrators, Supervisors, Teachers, Parents, Students, etc.
• The Letters of Recommendation Should Relate to the Topics Above
• The Letters of Recommendation Should Describe Specific Issues or Topics Related to the Nominee's Qualifications for the Award

Biographical Sketch

2009-2010 Mary Ito Award
Betty Sue Hinkson

Betty Sue Hinkson, a school nurse in the Alpine School District, received the Mary Ito Award at the USNA Conference. This award recognizes a unique contribution to school nursing and Betty Sue received it for her development of a diabetes education program for staff in the Alpine District schools. Along with other district nurses Betty Sue annually (or more often if needed) teaches a four-hour course for school staff who must care for diabetic students in their schools when the school nurse is at one of her other 5-7 schools. The staff members are taught what diabetes is, routine and emergency care including carbohydrate counting, blood sugar testing, insulin injections, the treatment of hypoglycemia with emergency Glucagon administration, and the care for students with insulin pumps. Betty Sue is a leader among the 13 regular school nurses and 4 Special Education nurses who serve over 64,000 students in 70 schools within the Alpine School District.

Nominated by: Kim Lowe and Mimi Webb
School District/Health Dept.: Alpine School District, Utah County Health Department

The Mary Ito Story
Mary Machiko Ito was a school nurse for an Indian Reservation in Wyoming as far back as anyone can remember. While most of us look forward to and count days until retirement, Mary Ito’s “retirement” was unique. You see, upon her retirement, Mary moved to Utah and immediately found ways to get involved in nursing again.

Mary Ito was proud to be a school nurse and worked hard to keep up on continuing education credits to keep her nursing license current. She was a member of the Utah School Nursing Association, community health interest group and volunteered in the area program for the aging. Mary stayed active with school nursing activities in retirement by administering flu shots for 10 - 12 senior citizen centers every fall, participating in kindergarten vision screening in granite and jordan school districts, and even driving back to Wyoming to help out in her old schools.

Aside from her unwavering dedication to her role as a school nurse, Mary had many qualities that each of us strive every day to acheive. She has been described by her peers as having a seemingly unlimited giving personality, having genuine concern and love for those around her, and having a fantastic sense of humor. Wherever Mary was, she was sure to be accompanied by her famous pickles, six packs of coke, crochet pen holders, and, of course, her fortune cookies.

Mary Ito set the precedence in school nursing. Her dedication and love for her work is a stellar example of what each of us have inside. In 2000 the Utah School Nurse Association created an annual award in her honor, rightfully named the Mary Ito Award, to be presented to a school nurse who, like Mary, has also made a unique contribution to the discipline of school nursing.
Back to top

Let Their Little Lights Shine!