School Nurse Corps

School Nurse Corp Logo

Contact Information

Maria McKelvey Hemphill

Administrative Assistant 4
360-725-6049

Annie Hetzel

School Health Services Consultant
360-725-6040

The School Nurse Corps (SNC) program helps to ensure that all students in Washington have access to registered nursing services. Access to a registered nurse promotes student safety, improves attendance, fosters academic achievement, reduces health and educational disparities, and contributes to creating an engaged and informed citizenry and workforce. The contributions made by the SNC provide powerful support in meeting educational objectives and reinforcing the goals of health reform implementation in Washington.

SNC Nurse Administrators provide training, mentoring, consultation, technical assistance, and professional development for nurses and administrators in all school districts.

Objective

The partnership agreement between OSPI and Educational Service Districts (ESD) reflects the mission and vision of SNC and the general understanding that school districts need additional support to keep their students healthy, safe, and ready to learn.

Mission 

School Nurse Corps, in partnership with schools, families, and communities, improves student health outcomes, safety, and readiness to learn. School Nurse Corps promotes equity by increasing student access to professional registered nurses and expanding public school district's capacity to provide a safe and healthy learning environment. 

Vision Statement

All children receive equitable, full access to school nursing services to be safe, healthy, and successful in school and life.  

  1. Students with health care needs will be safe while engaged in school activities. 
  2. SNC Nurse Administrators strengthen Washington state schools’ capacity to provide a safe and healthy learning environment. 

School Nurse Corps Administrators

ESD

SNC Administrator

Website

ESD

ESD 101

SNC Administrator

Alma McNamee, MHA, RN

Website

North East Washington ESD 101

ESD

ESD 105

SNC Administrator

Mary Lou Shean , MS, BSN, RN

Website

Educational Service District 105

ESD

ESD 112

SNC Administrator

Colleen Wahto, RN, BSN

Website

Educational Service District 112

ESD

ESD 113

SNC Administrator

Lynn Nelson, RN, MSN, NCSN

Website

Capital Region ESD 113

ESD

ESD 114

SNC Administrator

Wendy Jones, RN

Website

Olympic Educational Service District 114

ESD

Puget Sound ESD 121

SNC Administrator

Susan Keller, RN MSN NCSN

Website

Puget Sound Educational Service District 121

ESD

ESD 123

SNC Administrator

Les Stahlnecker, RN, MS

Website

Educational Service District 123

ESD

North Central ESD 171

SNC Administrator

Cathy Meuret, RN, BSN, MAEd

Website

North Central Educational Services 171

ESD

Northwest ESD 189

SNC Administrator

Lynnette Ondeck, MEd, BSN, RN, NCSN

Website

Northwest Educational Service District 189


School Nurse Corps History

The SNC was initially created by the Legislature in 1999 in response to a critical gap in student health care needs, especially in small, rural school districts as identified in the 1997 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) Survey of School Nurses. Funding is allocated to each of the nine Educational Service Districts (ESDs) School Nurse Corps Nurse Administrators to support registered nursing hours for the neediest schools in their regions.