School Nurse Superpower Nominees

Like a superhero, Jennifer Garb Palumbo’s superpower at Mashpee Middle-High School is that she protects and helps others, in big ways like challenging, life-threatening situations but also small, quiet, unseen ways. Most recently, she literally saved the life of an adult visitor to the school who experienced an anaphylactic reaction to an unknown source. She used her keen powers of assessment, quick thinking, and nursing judgment to administer an epinephrine autoinjector and called for emergency back-up. She has served as the Secretary and Board member for the Boston ECG Project since 2018. The mission and goal of the non-profit organization is to promote adolescent heart health through research and cardiac screening to further the prevention of sudden cardiac arrest in our youth. Jennifer uses her strengths of intelligence and skills to solve problems, applying the best available evidence for decision-making, defending and advocating for the needs of students especially those who are vulnerable, and standing for up for what is right. She turns everyday health encounters into opportunities for building trust and connection with students. She cares for the whole child, not just their symptoms, taking into consideration the social, emotional, family, and educational factors affecting health and learning. She also engages quietly by listening, guiding, and averting harm and distress by giving students attention and care. Whether managing emergencies, supporting students with chronic conditions, or guiding and engaging families to navigate complex health systems, Jennifer brings both excellence and compassion to making sure that students are healthy, safe, and able to be academically successful. She stays calm in emergencies and through the daily chaos of a busy school, keeping everyone in the school community safe, even when no one is watching. Her superpower is selfless service to protect others.