Anoka Hennepin Health Service Coordinator Cynthia Hiltz earns national honor
Anoka-Hennepin’s Health Service Coordinator Cynthia Hiltz recently earned a title very few school nurses ever have.
Earlier this year, Hiltz was named a National Academy of School Nursing (NASN) fellow, an honor only 98 other school nurses have earned nationally since 1997. It’s the highest honor a school nurse can earn.
“Oh my gosh, it was amazing,” Hiltz said of learning she had earned the fellowship. “This is truly national peer recognition in school nursing — it really is. When your peers are looking at you for this — it’s a big deal. I’m so proud.”
Hiltz, who has her master of science (MS), nursing license (RN), is a public health nurse (PHN) and is a National Certified School Nurse (NCSN), joked that she can now add another acronym to her title: FNASN, or fellow of the National Academy of School Nursing.
“It’s a lot of acronyms,” she said, “but it’s also 30 years of hard work, and it’s amazing to be recognized.”
According to the NASN, the fellowship is a symbol of superior achievement in the school nursing profession, and recognizes exceptional contributions to NASN and the profession of school nursing. “The depth and breadth of the fellow’s imprint on the field is extraordinary; their contributions have had a significant and enduring impact, and their exemplary leadership qualities and achievements are recognized by many,” the NASN fellowship description said.
Hiltz started working in the Anoka-Hennepin School District in 1994, first as a substitute, and then a full-time school nurse in 1996. In 2002 she became the district’s health service coordinator. In her time leading the district’s health services team, Anoka-Hennepin has become a model across the state and nationally, she said. There are RNs and health paraprofessionals at every site, which isn’t common across the state or nationally, which sets the district apart.
“It feels like that’s my legacy,” Hiltz said. “I think we have a great model and I’m proud of where we are.”
Hiltz said school nursing is still a bit of a mystery for a lot of people in the community, something she’s trying to help with, too.
“The public thinks that a child goes to school and they get sick or they fall and someone helps them, but in reality, that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” she said.
School nurses are also working with students who might be struggling academically, Hiltz said. “Sometimes if students are struggling with academics, they often have an underlying medical condition, and school nurses help and assess them to get them the care and help they need.”
School nurses are also there to support students management of chronic health issues during the day, such as asthma, diabetes, or seizures.
“We have kindergarteners who are using an inhaler for their asthma, but can’t even tell the time yet,” she said. “We support them so they can focus on learning.”
Another area school nurses are leading the way is in mental health, Hiltz said.
“I think our district is leading the nation in several student health issues, such as mental health care,” she said. “You look at other districts — they don’t have the range of interventions that can be given. The support team we have in Anoka-Hennepin is amazing.”
As for the fellowship, Hiltz said she’s heard from school nursing colleagues from around the nation offering congratulations. She first learned she’d earned the recognition from NASN President Nina Fekaris.
“That phone call — that was amazing. I thought she had called me to say hi,” Hiltz said.
Hiltz will officially be recognized as a fellow on June 30 during NASN’s annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland. She's was also recognized by the Anoka-Hennepin School Board at its March 26 meeting.