School nurse treats sore throats, offers soothing words

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, September 29, 2009

From asthma attacks to mosquito bites, Frazier Primary School nurse Marla Farmer treats it all.

She starts her day at 7 a.m., giving prescription medication to 16 different children at the school. From then until the last child gets on the bus at 3:15 p.m., Farmer is visited by one student after another for a variety of cases.

“I treat anything and everything,” Farmer said.

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Farmer treats a lot of accidents, going through countless Band-Aids and ice packs daily. There are also a lot of asthmatic children, a few of which she has to give breathing treatments to throughout the day.

Mostly, Farmer treats minor cases, such as growing pains, dry skin and upset stomachs.

“A lot of them come in here simply for the attention,” Farmer said.

Before becoming a nurse at Frazier Primary School, Farmer worked 15 years as an operating room nurse at Natchez Regional Medical Center.

“My children were grown, and I was at a point in my life where I wanted to do something different and this job came up,” Farmer said. Now after three years, Farmer considers her job at Frazier Primary School very rewarding.

“The most rewarding part is to be able to comfort and help small children feel better,” Farmer said.