Pascack Valley nurses Diane Fallon and Sandra Hroncich, have had their schedules completely changed due to the pandemic. Fallon has been working as a nurse at PV for 12 years and Hroncich has worked at PV for 7 years. This year has made it hard to interact with students as much as they were once able to.

“We are not seeing as many students compared to how many we used to see,” Hroncich said. “I definitely miss that so much. I liked seeing [the students’ faces] and seeing them stopping and chatting about anything and life in general, not even about being sick. We definitely miss that.”

Fallon said that it took everyone a while to adjust to the new rules and regulations that the coronavirus brought to school. 

“I don’t think I could have pictured it to be this way,” Fallon said. “When we come in in the morning the first thing we do is we look through Genesis. Our Genesis allows us to look at which student did not complete the COVID daily symptom checker. The main office helps us with that and brings those students down, and then we will screen them.”

Fallon said that they also look at the coronavirus warning checklist, to see if a student checks off yes to any of the questions.

“We work together and really make sure everyone is safe in the school and that everyone is filling out the questions and doing the symptom tracker in the morning because that is our goal – to make sure everyone is safe,” Hroncich said. When a student has symptoms, the nurses get dressed in personal protective equipment (PPE) and isolate the student, according to Fallon.

“I think we have come a long way with [the covid tracker],” Hroncich said. “We don’t want anyone to come into school if they are not feeling well or are sick.”

The nurse’s office moved to the pre-K room next to guidance, as it was a bigger room to keep separate space for isolation and non-emergent issues, according to Fallon. 

“We are in school five days a week, Monday through Friday, even when you guys are virtual,” Hroncich said. “This year we have been doing a lot of COVID tracing. Unfortunately, it has been different than years before, and last year.” 

Fallon said that she is impressed by the students and how compliant they have been with wearing masks. She also said she is grateful to PV students for “doing the right thing” and trying not to spread the virus.

“Thank you to everybody who is following the safety guidelines, I can’t even imagine how hard it is for you guys going back and forth in school and virtual at home,” Hroncich said.  “I think everyone is doing a great job. I think if we keep wearing masks, keep social distancing, stay home if you feel sick, wash your hands, and keep wearing hand sanitizer, it helps to keep the schools open and helps make everyone safe. I am proud of everybody and keep up the good work.”