AUSTIN (KXAN) — Roughly 50 Leander ISD nurses circled a roundabout in front of Vista Ridge High School Wednesday morning, passing a staked sign in the grass that read “LISD Loves Nurses; Nurses Rock.”
“Three cars per five minute cycle,” Leander ISD district nurse Cristin Wicketts said.
Five tables greeted the nurses on the sidewalk as they lined up in waves for curbside pickup. Wicketts stood at one of the tables handing out tumblers with written messages on the outside.
Other items on the menu included: Summer Moon coffee, Sonic coupons, Round Rock donuts, and LISD badge pins — all donated gifts of appreciation.
Wicketts created the “nurse appreciation station.”
“I really wanted to find a way to support my team, and let them know they’re so appreciated even during this time. Even more so during this time.”
In her role, she oversees the entire health services department as well as the LISD nursing team — a group of 50. She’s been advocating for them since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I do anything I can to support them, above and beyond,” Wicketts said. “If I need to be there at their campus and they need support, they know I’ll be there. They can call me anytime, text me anytime and I’ll be there for them regardless of what the need is — work or if it’s for their family. Just want to support them. They’re part of our family.”
One member of that family, Registered Nurse Lesa Boeck drove through the line. She cherishes the effort.
“It’s really nice to feel appreciated and wanted and I’m just very honored to receive all of these gifts today.”
The appreciation reciprocated when a few nurses gave gifts of their own to those working the tables.
Nursing mental health
Wicketts has walked the walk when it comes to her nurses’ mental health and morale during the shutdown. She holds weekly zoom meetings to check-in.
“I have a once-a-week coffee chat with them just to check-in. Come in and come out. It’s nothing too strict or laid out. They just come and pop in, ‘hi, how you doing?,’ touch base, see everybody’s friendly face, and then if there’s anything they need outside or doing that week, they know that I’m available anytime,” Wicketts said. “I usually start getting texts starting at 5:15 in the morning until 10 o’clock at night, and I love every second of it.”
When asked why she does that, Wicketts said, “Well, they’re human beings… I see every one of us as a human being, and you have to love and support them just like you would any other human being.”
And her nurses think she’s “awesome” to go that extra mile.
“She always makes us feel very appreciated,” Boeck said. “She’s always calling to check on us to see how we’re doing. She’s constantly an advocate. Anytime I have a question or a concern I can reach out to her and she responds quickly and she’s always very encouraging.”
Appreciation in addition
Wicketts informed KXAN the district will be getting ten new clinics, which were emptied weeks earlier to start remodeling and construction.
“Their construction dates got bumped up and so [the nurses] went in there and did mass medication returns, and closed up their clinics.”
The district has 43 clinics total, each with a campus nurse. Wicketts visited each during the transition.
“I surprised them with a little Sonic drink and a happy afternoon treat at each campus while they were doing that.”
Wicketts also mentioned how the transition for her staff has been since school closures.
“They all are working remotely, they all have computers and they’re able to reach out to our medically fragile students via email. Some of them set up Remind accounts so they can talk to them and just be that voice of support still. And sending touch based emails weekly, daily depending on the case, the student and type of support they need.”
They also do state reporting on top of that. On their downtime, at least twelve of the nurses volunteer at Williamson County Health Department for contact tracing and investigating.
“They’re busy,” Wicketts said. “This is uncharted territory for everybody and you just got to take it day by day and make sure you give people grace, support.”
And a little appreciation.
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