Ms. Bozek and Ms. Sandoval program a BD Veritor System, which provides rapid test results for Covid-19 as well as influenza A and B.

With just days before 1st-6th grade students return to the Lower Campus, the Health Center is working alongside the OVS COVID-19 task force to establish strategies and protocols to keep students and staff safe.

Health Aide Paloma Sandoval (L02, U06) and former OVS Nurse Administrator Tanishia Brown played key roles in helping to write the school’s Roadmap to Reopening document. This summer, two new nurses — Aaron Newlow and Caitlin Bozek — joined Ms. Sandoval in the Health Center. “With a new team, we are able to reflect on what we are doing well and what we need to improve so our Health Center can meet all of your children’s needs. This couldn’t have come at a better time as we face the new medical challenges of COVID-19,” said Lower Campus Head of School, Laurie Clark.

Crystal Davis, Upper Campus Assistant Head of School, Student Life, added, “The OVS community works best when we have a strong team of professional voices weighing in to support our students. I feel like we have achieved that in our Health Center staff, and their guidance has been crucial as we begin this extraordinary year.”

Caitlin Bozek, RN, BSN, is the newest member of the OVS Health Center staff. Raised in Utah, she returned to California years later to pursue a nursing career in her native Santa Barbara. Along with her nursing degree, Ms. Bozek also holds a BS in Health Promotion and Education. Transitioning into the OVS Health Center was a natural fit, she says. “I joined OVS because of their philosophy on education, (and) the staff is so friendly and down to earth. And I want to help the students when they are in need of medical attention, and teach them healthy lifestyles.” Ms. Bozek’s husband, Andy, is also a nurse; they have 3 children. In their free time they enjoy camping, snowboarding, surfing, hiking and just about anything outdoors.

Aaron Newlow, RN, also joined OVS this summer. He holds degrees in kinesiology and nursing, and attended CSUN, San Diego State, and the University of Oklahoma. Prior to the OVS Health Center, he worked in sports medicine and as a hospital nurse. Mr. Newlow loves wood working, gardening, and playing guitar, as well as surfing, hiking and playing with his to daughters. His wife, Della, is an OVS alum.

Current families likely already know health aide Paloma Sandoval, a member of the OVS Health Center staff since 2016. The alum and current parent is also the girls’ soccer coach for the Upper Campus, and in her free time is pursuing a degree in nursing at SBCC. “When I moved home to raise my daughter in Ojai, I was fortunate enough to start working back at OVS in the Health Center,” Ms. Sandoval said. “This is where my passion for nursing blossomed. I love being able to help care for and educate the students.”

The Health Center staff has already had success in safely bringing back the prekindergarten and kindergarten students earlier this month, and will build upon that in weeks to come. 

“They love the kids, and are all parents themselves,” Mrs. Clark pointed out. “They are so patient, and make the young children feel comfortable as their temperatures are taken each day.”

To learn more about the reopening plans, visit Roadmap to Reopening page.