CRITICAL CAREGIVER
Rising to the challenges of COVID with calm and common sense, school nurse Sue Seip plays a vital role in the health of Perham students and staff BY ELIZABETH VIERKANT For Luminous
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t the age of 17, Sue Seip lost sight in one of her eyes due to an unusual parasitic infection. She needed strong medicines, and ended up spending nine days in the hospital to be treated. As it turned out, the unfortunate ordeal was also an unexpected turn of fortune. It opened Seip’s eyes, ironically speaking, to the wonders of good nursing care and sparked in her a passion for the profession, inspiring a career that ended up lasting a lifetime. ”I had the most wonderful nurse those nine days,” Seip recalls. “Having someone so good to me made me want to go into nursing.” After graduating from high school, the Wadena native studied nursing in Fargo and Bemidji and then returned to her hometown to start a career as a nurse. She found work in public
health at first, and enjoyed that, she says, but it wasn’t until about 20 years ago that she fulfilled her true calling and became a school nurse. She served
An animal-lover, Seip smiles next to her beloved dog. Submitted Photo / Sue Seip / Luminous
in that role in Wadena for several years and then, in 2008, became the school nurse for Perham Public Schools. In the 13 years since then, Seip has become a familiar and friendly face in the district’s health office, caring for staff and students who aren’t feeling well and helping to manage medications for kids with chronic conditions. It keeps her busy, even in non-COVID times, as she visits all three schools most days — elementary, middle and high school. COVID, of course, has been a gamechanger. When that hit, Seip was faced with a whole new set of challenges. She suddenly had to wear several new hats to ensure the safety of staff and students, and her workload heavily increased. It became her job to keep close tabs on local COVID case numbers, communicate any significant developments to other leaders within
Sue Seip has been the school nurse for Perham Public Schools since 2008. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed her role dramatically, but her colleagues say she’s risen to the challenge with professionalism and a positive attitude. Elizabeth Vierkant / Luminous
10 | LUMINOUS 2021
