State Public Health Department Recognizes
Mary Anne Wesoloski for Excellence in Pediatric Care

Ron W. Lee, MD Pediatric Care Award – Clinical Excellence  

BARRINGTON – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program today honored Mary Anne Wesoloski, RN, with a special pediatric care award for her contributions to childhood care. The Ron W. Lee, MD – Excellence in Pediatric Care Awards are given annually by IDPH and EMSC to recognize those dedicated to pediatric emergency care and childhood injury prevention initiatives. Individuals or organizations can be nominated in one of three award categories - Lifetime Achievement, Clinical Excellence and Community Service.

Mary Anne Wesoloski is the Certified School Nurse for the Barrington School District and deftly juggles her numerous job duties, including managing school health and medical records; supervising health screening programs; developing medication protocols; conducting immunization review; enforcing communicable disease prevention and control measures; developing and administering a coordinated school health program; and providing health related education.

“Mary Anne comes up with innovative ideas to engage students, staff and parents in health promotion. Some innovative ideas include; Triage Monday, where students who have had a health related issue over the weekend, see the school nurse to ask what should be done. Mary Anne listens to the concerns and then assists the parent in making the appropriate decision regarding care that may be needed,” wrote Julie D’Agostino in her nomination letter for Wesoloski.

Other innovative ideas include:

• A field trip fanny pack that holds basic first aid items and individual emergency plans for any student who may have a health issue on a field trip or anytime outside of school.
  
  
• An anaphylaxis grid for teachers to use to get emergency care to students having a severe allergic reaction.
  
  
• The Walking School Bus to combat Type 2 Diabetes by identifying parents to go from house to house to help students walk safely to school, and encourage physical activity.

The Ron W. Lee, M.D. Excellence in Pediatric Care awards are presented each May. Dr. Lee was the director of emergency medicine at Loyola University Medical Center and was instrumental in establishing and fostering the EMSC program in Illinois. He passed away in 1998.

The Illinois EMSC program is a collaborative effort of the Illinois Department of Public Health and Loyola University Medical Center. It was established in 1994 to ensure the emergency medical care needs of children are adequately addressed.