“So I’ve got to hold it for ten seconds,” Mr. Cousins said. “Pop the cap and owwwww!” Mr. Cousins pretended to yowl in pain as he lowered the trainer Epinephrine Pen to his thigh. BSN Beth Fortner smiled, and confirmed that Mr. Cousins had indeed used the EpiPen correctly.
“That’s it!” Ms. Fortner said “Thank you very much.” She smiles as she marks Mr. Cousins off her list.
“I think it’s important to know how to use an EpiPen,” Mr. Cousins said. “Because if you don’t know how to use one, and you need to, you may end up sticking yourself.”
Ms. Fortner runs the clinic, with Certified Nursing Aid Kimberly Rombach, and CNA Rhonda Scarbrough. Ms. Fortner joined Legacy’s staff in January of 2014. She moved to Mansfield with her husband, a local pastor, and her four daughters all under the age of nine. Before working for MISD, she worked in the operating room of a surgical center in Fort Worth and has been practicing for 17 years.
“It’s different [working here],” Ms. Fortner said, “Challenging in a different way.”
The most common reasons students come to the clinic are diabetes, seizures, headaches, and stomach aches. However, one day a student came to the clinic complaining of chest pain. When Ms. Fortner listened to his lungs, she didn’t hear breathing in his left lung.
“He was in immense pain,” Ms. Fortner said. “I knew he had to go to a hospital.”
The student had a spontaneous pneumothorax, or a collapsed lung. The student’s parents were called and he was taken to the hospital, treated and sent home healthy again. Ms. Fortner said this and a broken collar bone were the most serious injuries she has seen in the clinic so far.
“Those are rare though,” Ms. Fortner said. “And the trainers take care of all the sports injuries so I don’t worry about those.”
The first few weeks of school Ms. Fortner made sure all school staff have gained the proper medical training. All teachers must be instructed on how to properly use an EpiPen. Administrative staff must know how to use an EpiPen and have CPR training because they are Ms. Fortner’s medical response team. If anything were to happen at Legacy where someone stopped breathing or were seriously injured a code blue would be called, sending Ms. Fortner and all administrative staff running to the rescue.
“This is actually more fun.” Ms. Fortner said, in regards to her old job. “This is fun in a different way.”
Ms. Fortner expressed enthusiasm for the time she has spent working at Legacy and looks forward to her future with MISD.
“This job is interesting because of all the wonderful students and staff I get to meet,” Ms. Fortner said. “All the different people, the different personalities and different stories.”
