Rea’s Merry Grasska O.C. Nurse of the Year

Marisa O’Neil

Longtime school nurse Merry Grasska’s boss, Marcia BMarthaler, can

definitely keep a secret.

When Grasska showed up at a dinner for the Orange County School

Nurses Assn., she had no idea she was the guest of honor. But

Newport-Mesa Unified School District health services coordinator

BMarthaler, who nominated Grasska for the Orange County School Nurse

of the Year award, already knew she was a winner.

“Merry has so much compassion for what she does,” said BMarthaler,

the district’s coordinator for health services. “She’s the kind of

person who, when she walks into a room and smiles, the whole room

lights up and smiles with her.”

Grasska, who has worked for the district for 14 years, said she

had no idea she was up for the honor.

“It’s surreal,” she said. “It’s nice to be recognized by the

people who work with you and who know what you really do.”

And she does a lot. Besides being the school nurse at Rea

Elementary School, she helps run the day-to-day operations of the

Health Opportunity Preparation and Education Healthy Start Clinic

around the corner. The district-run clinic provides free health

screening services and vaccinations to students in need.

She is also a faculty member in the family nurse practitioner

program at UC Irvine.

“She’s a real advocate for the needs of children in our district,”

Rea Principal Ken Killian said. “She goes more than the extra mile to

help students get the services they need. She works long days and has

a great network to get the needs of students met.”

Before coming to the district, Grasska worked for the Orange

County Department of Health. While working here, she studied to

become a nurse practitioner.

Her background in public health helped prepare her to look at the

big picture, she said. Part of being a school nurse is keeping

students healthy enough to study and learn, she added.

“At school, nurses are able to look at the whole family,” she

said. “We see children in an environment where they spend a lot of

time. And keeping them healthy helps them do well in school.”

BMarthaler credited Grasska’s years of service at schools such as

Pomona, Harbor View and Wilson elementary schools and as the

district’s special education nurse for her nomination, as well as her

training as a nurse practitioner.

“Anyone can put on a Band-Aid or do first aid,” BMarthaler said.

“It takes someone who can do assessment and look at the whole child.”

Grasska now qualifies for the School Nurse of the Year in the

Southern California Region. From there, the winner goes on to the

state and national levels.