| Mercy Healthcare Partners Award Karen Thompson Cincinnati Health Department Teachers are used to receiving apples, not giving them. But Karen Thompson’s performance as a school nurse prompted Covedale teacher Debi McCrea to write a note with an apple on the front, citing Karen as “an excellent nurse who is compassionate and caring to everyone she comes into contact with.” Splitting time between Covedale and Fairview, “Nurse Karen” serves more students than any nurse in Cincinnati Public Schools, says team leader Kathy Reder. Nominators cited multiple examples of her caring nature, including one instance where she intervened with parents, a teacher and a coach to rescue a child who had threatened suicide from a bullying situation. Her husband, Stephen Thompson, says Karen sees herself as “saving the world on a daily basis…one Band-Aid, one hug or one stomachache at a time."
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