A pair of novelty Wonder Woman glasses perches neatly atop a filing cabinet in nurse Pam McGarvey’s office at Marathon Middle High School. The humorous prop is a good antidote to the serious work she does, testing students and staff for COVID-19. And the fight is personal; McGarvey, 57, lost her dad to the disease in April.
The virus’ appearance and viciousness — in the world and in her office — was surprising, she said. She remembers her first student who tested positive back in August. “His mother and I were convinced it was allergies,” she said. “But the test came back positive. We were floored. I learned a valuable lesson that day — you just never know.”
McGarvey’s service has its perils. Her husband and brother, whom they care for, are in the high-risk category, but the former trauma ER nurse’s commitment is fierce and rock solid. “I’m vested. It’s my job to keep staff, students and students’ families safe,” she said.
Her suspicion that a student has COVID-19 necessitates a conversation with the whole family. She said she tells the parents they need to quarantine until the results come back, and longer if the test is positive. “I also know they need to work to survive. Sometimes it seems like a dog chasing its tail,” she said.
AHEC nurses like McGarvey serve the student body along with school nurses, managing a one-woman mini-clinic from a single room on campus. She splits her time between Sugarloaf School and Marathon and says her colleagues are the real heroes. “The school nurses do a lot more than hand out BandAids. They know all the kids’ back stories,” she said.
McGarvey ends on a positive note: “Don’t give up. Continue to be safe. Let’s keep plugging away. It’s been a tough year with the pandemic on top of the political turbulence. Let’s heal.”
