Special ed nurse top support employee

Three hours after Karen Cox is honored, she revives a student who had stopped breathing at Stephens Center.

By LORRI HELFAND and DONNA WINCHESTER
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 12, 2002

CLEARWATER -- Karen Cox, a licensed practical nurse at Paul B. Stephens Exceptional Center, was handing out medications when she heard a medical alert over the school intercom: One of the students had stopped breathing.

She ran to his class, grabbed a clear plastic mask and began mouth to mouth resuscitation. She gave two breaths. He still wasn't breathing. A couple of more breaths and his chest started to move.

"Sometimes, Fridays can be very crazy days," said Cox after the incident.

But for Cox, 47, most days are crazy days. Three hours before she helped revive the student, who had suffered a seizure, the Pinellas County Schools recognized her dedication by naming her Support Employee of the Year. Cox is the first nurse to win the county award, according to district spokesman Ron Stone.

"I feel like I'm representing my fellow nurses in the county. I'm hoping this has some impact for more nurses in the schools," she said.

Cox is one of 7,600 full- and part-time district support employees from bookkeepers to security personnel.

Pinellas also recognized first runner-up James Hawblitzel, head plant operator at Campbell Park Elementary, second runner-up Mentha Thomas, food service manager at Gibbs High, and 10 finalists and 10 semifinalists for the honor.

Cox received a $500 savings bond from the Pinellas County Teachers Credit Union, a personalized plaque and a gold ring courtesy of Herff Jones.

Paul B. Stephens is a center for trainable, profoundly mentally handicapped and autistic students. And like her colleagues on the nursing staff, Cox gives breathing treatments to students with asthma, stabilizes students with seizures and tube feeds students with digestive difficulties.

"All our nurses do that and they all do it with excellence. She just has a lot of heart," said Principal Ginger Wirt. "When she deals with children, it's obvious that she cares very much about them. She's always willing to go the extra mile."

Wirt said Cox works hard to make the students comfortable.

"Whether it's for the Fourth of July or Christmas or Kwanzaa, she always makes sure everything is represented. She just wants to make sure it's a very happy, homey place for the kids to come," Wirt said.

Cox also volunteers for the campus Girl Scout troop and works on a project that makes sure girls from struggling families have dresses for the prom.

She has been at Paul B. Stephens nine years after working at Eisenhower Elementary for three years. Before she went to the school system, she worked as a hospital outpatient coordinator and as a geriatric nurse. When her daughter was in third grade, she started working in the schools to have more time to spend with her.

Cox admitted that she was initially reluctant to work with severely disabled children, but their loving nature won her heart.

"Since I've been in nursing, I've finally found my niche. I didn't realize I'd be with special ed children, but I couldn't love my job any more," she said. "These children are so rewarding to work with day after day."

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