5 Quotes by Mamie Coker

One parent of a diabetic eighth-grader told me she's thinking of transferring to a school system that has nurses (in high school), because she's worried there won't be anyone to help monitor her child's condition.

There are so many needs, and I understand that. But we just think schools would be safer if they had a nurse on staff.

We just want to be competitive with surrounding counties. Our turnover rate is 33 percent. The nurses love their jobs, but they leave because they just can't make a living.

They're on a clerical pay scale, and Hall County does not take into account past experience when determining salary. Everyone gets paid the same. We had one nurse with 30 years' experience who took a job with Gwinnett County because they offered her $6,000 more.

There's a lot of orientation that has to be done, because school nursing is a unique discipline.