Sarah Bauer, middle, head nurse for the Wawasee Community School Corporation and also the daily nurse for Wawasee Middle School, was joined by the nurses she oversees. On the left are Tisha Powell, Syracuse Elementary, and Kim Hollopeter, North Webster Elementary. To the right are Kari Schlabach, Milford School, and Kallie Harris, Wawasee High School. Photo by Tim Ashley.

By Tim Ashley
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — On a day off from work, Sarah Bauer received a most pleasant surprise. She was informed Monday, March 7, she had been named School Nurse Administrator of the Year by the Indiana Association of School Nurses.

Bauer, the head nurse for the Wawasee Community School Corporation and also the daily nurse for Wawasee Middle School, was nominated by her co-workers and also by Tracey Akers, nurse coordinator for Warsaw Community Schools.

On Monday afternoon Bauer walked into a conference room at WMS filled with her co-workers, WCSC Superintendent Dr. Steve Troyer, Jennifer Phillips, special services coordinator for Wawasee and others. Bauer did not know about her being named School Nurse of the Year until Monday.

She not only handles the day to day functions at WMS, but also oversees school nurses and the health functions at Syracuse Elementary, North Webster Elementary, Milford School and Wawasee High School. And she handles contact tracing and quarantine situations for COVID.

But she was quick to credit the nurses she works with, saying “this happens because of these four ladies,” adding “they’re the best.”

“Even during this difficult past two years she has worked many hours before, after school and on weekends to ensure everyone has been taken care of no matter the time of the day,” said Cindy Jonsson, main office secretary at WMS.

“Her leadership is one that stands out because she cares and has a heart of gold,” said Kimberly Hollopeter, nurse at North Webster Elementary.

“It’s really hard to put into words how she impacts our school corporation,” Phillips said. “Her presence is felt in every building because of the support and leadership she offers to her nurses and our leadership team.”

Akers said Bauer reached out to her when she became the coordinator for Wawasee “because she wanted to find out how to improve the position and to make sure she was efficient in her role.” The two met regularly with the nurse coordinator at Tippecanoe Valley, who was also new in her role.

Bauer has been a nurse at Wawasee since December 2012. She will represent Indiana at the national conference for school nurses in June in Atlanta, Ga.

Sarah Bauer with her husband, Dan Bauer.