Difference Maker goes above and beyond to helps students, families get medical care

A North Texas nurse is going above and beyond to make sure her students and their families stay safe and healthy. Veronica De La Torre was already super busy as a registered nurse at a local hospital, but a phone call from a recruiter prompted her to take on even more. "A recruiter didn't know that I'm a chronic asthmatic or that my kids are chronic asthmatics but she told me that kids every year die in the school district from preventable asthma-related causes," Veronica said. "I was flabbergasted. It dwelled on me and the more and more I thought about it, I thought, 'I've got to get in there and help.'" While maintaining her nursing job at the hospital, she is the school nurse at DISD's Young Women's STEAM Academy, an all-girls school that focuses on math and engineering.The campus is also home to special needs students who have chronic health conditions and need special care. It's one of the few DISD schools that provides care for those kinds of students.  Along with the unique challenges of dealing with special education students, a language barrier exists not just for her students but for their families, many of whom only speak Spanish.When covid hit Veronica went even further to ensure her students and their families got the medical care they needed. "When I could hear the angst in my students' voices and they are so worried about it, I'm worried about it too. If your family unit is not safe, then you're not safe and don't feel safe, " Veronica said. "They would tell me things like they went to get tested and they were positive for the coronavirus but they didn't know what to do after that. They were sent home so I actually met several families at local hospitals so they could seek treatment. I met a couple of families here on campus in the parking lot in our car so they could follow me to a hospital so they could get treatment."  For Veronica, it's just another day on the job.  "If I could get them the help they need, that's why I wanted to be a nurse," Veronica said. "It's rewarding to hear them tell you, 'If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have made it,' and I really appreciate it. It's a cultural issue and I'm thrilled to be a part of the solution." We're proud to call Veronica De La Torre this week's KRLD Difference Maker.  If you know someone making a difference in the community send us an email at [email protected].