May 17, 2017 4 min read

It didn’t take long for the panel of judges at the Highmark Foundation to recognize the value of the work Marie Ripepi does for the Charleroi Area School District.

Now in its third year, the Advancing Excellence in School Nursing Awards honor and recognize the important role that school nurses play in keeping children, faculty and staff healthy and safe.

Vying against award 20 other nominees from a broad region that Highmark serves, Ripepi won the award in not one, but two of the four award categories – collaboration and school nurse practice and leadership.

As one of 11 Highmark award winners for 2017, the Monongahela resident received a check on May 5 for $1,500 to be used for professional development or health-related programs at her respective schools. She also received a nine-inch, metal statue created by Roland Metal Art of Johnstown. The statue depicts the figure of a patient lying on a table alongside a medical professional assessing the patient.

“I plan to purchase new audiology and vision equipment to conduct school screenings,” said Ripepi, nurse for the school district’s middle and high schools. “As to the statue, it’s now in my office, but I plan to take it home this summer for safekeeping.”

Highmark Foundation President Yvonne Cook said she continues to be impressed by the advanced knowledge and skills demonstrated by school nurses.

“With an increasing number of children entering schools with chronic conditions such as cardiac issues, autism, autoimmune diseases and cancer, school nurses face the challenge of managing their care during the school day,” she said. “These 11 extraordinary school nurses are going above and beyond to protect and improve the health of the students in their care.”

Dr. Edward J. Zelich, school district superintendent, nominated Ripepi for the collaboration award and cited her work spearheading the monthly safety team and wellness meetings as one of her achievements.

“She’s been a wonderful resource for our learning community and safety team and everyone thinks the world of her,” he said. “We’ve gone many years now without an injury in the workplace, partly due to her influence.”

Zelich said Ripepi is very proactive and was instrumental in seeing that Charleroi was one of the first school districts to have Narcan available in case of an opioid overdose.

“We’ve never had to use it, but are glad it’s available if needed,” he said.

Additionally, Ripepi is the cardiopulmonary resuscitation instructor for the district and regularly teaches CPR classes for the students and staff. She also is the student assistance team leader for those who may need extra intervention.

“Looking through her file, I find certificate after certificate documenting her efforts to make our learning community safe,” Zelich said.

Middle school principal Adam Brewer nominated Ripepi for the award in the school nurse practice and leadership category. He also underscored her work fighting the opioid epidemic in the community by spearheading a movement to have Charleroi became one of the first schools in the area to have a supply of the opioid antidote on school property.

“As the rise in awareness of concussion protocols increases, Mrs. Ripepi also realized the district needed to develop a plan of action for concussions so she spearheaded a new concussion protocol for the district,” Brewer said..

“Today we have procedures and methods to ensure that students with concussions are being monitored and given opportunities to succeed in the classroom while recovering from their concussions.”

According to Kristy Cramlet, public relations analyst for Highmark, Ripepi is the only nurse to win the award in two separate categories in the three-year history of the award.

After she earned in bachelor’s degree in nursing from California University of Pennsylvania, Ripepi worked for private physicians specializing in cardiology. In 1974 she continued her education at the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing.

With the birth of her five children she took a hiatus from nursing, but resumed her nursing career in pediatrics and also subbed as the Charleroi school nurse until she took on the position full time in 2001.

“I wanted to become a school nurse because I am a very social person, and I enjoy working with and helping people,” she said. “In school nursing, we deal with actual health concerns and potential health concerns on a daily basis. The goal is to keep my students, faculty and staff healthy, safe and ready to learn or teach.”