Occurring in tandem with the national Nurses Day, Jesuit Dallas Nurse Anna Hjertstedt was named one of two Bluebonnet Award recipients across the state of Texas. This prestigious award is given by Cartwheel to recognize often unseen and unrecognized work that school nurses do to foster trust and reliability in the Texas school systems.
Nurse Anna was born and raised in Vernon, Texas. During her time in high school she tore her ACL, and relied heavily on nurses and other medical figures for support in her journey. She tells us that after her time in their care, “I knew I wanted to take care of people. I liked helping them.”
Anna went on to pursue a higher education at Texas Tech before entering the Texas education systems as a nurse. She has spent time working at Hockaday, Greenhill, and in Highland Park ISD. However, she claims that Jesuit is her favorite school she has worked at.
“Jesuit is an extremely inclusive space,” notes Anna. “Over the past few years I have made an effort to be more involved in the community and connect with the people here,” adding that, “it’s a special place.”
Nurse Anna has accumulated 19 years of nursing experience. The Bluebonnet was the first award that Nurse Anna has received, and she tells us “There is nowhere I’d rather be than Jesuit.”
Over the last six years of Nurse Anna’s presence at Jesuit, we have been truly blessed to have her. Whether its a smile in the hallway, or the headache medicine you need to get through the day, everyone at Jesuit can count on Nurse Anna.
She finally claims that “I truly feel that I have the best job in the world. I love creating a safe space where my students feel seen, cared for, and ready to succeed. Most of all, it’s about building trust with students, families, and school staff to support the well-being of the entire school community.”
We truly hope Nurse Anna continues to help the entire Jesuit community for as long as possible.
Feature image credit: Jesuit Dallas Instagram
