Nurse Pam Frederich has spent 22 years being a nurse, and 13 of those have been at OHS. She is best known for her tireless work on a project called “Diabetic Corner.”

According to Nurse Pam, the purpose of this project is to introduce the students to others also suffering from diabetes.

“None of them knew each other,” Nurse Pam said. “I had one student that came from a parochial school that was brand new to Mehlville School District, diabetic, never been in a school with other diabetic children, so she was really interested in the fact that there were other kids. I thought it’d be a good idea to get them together and let them share stories, issues, you know if there were issues, then they could bounce that off of another student. And they would meet kids that were like themselves.”

Between the two schools, Nurse Pam worked at Oakville Middle School and Wohlwend  Elementary School. She had approximately 9-11 students in the group.

When Diabetic Corner was just starting, any student in the school district was able to attend, then it became any student that lived locally, now it is part of the Child’s Diabetic Network, the Juvenile Diabetic Association, American Diabetic Association and is overall a national support group for diabetic kids and their parents.

When asked why she is so passionate about helping diabetic kids, Nurse Pam said, “I felt like there was a need, based on what the kids were telling me, not really having a confidant to talk to, not really knowing a whole lot about the new technology that was out there.”

Nurse Pam’s efforts have even brought her recognition. Earlier this semester she received the Outstanding Service of a School Nurse award from the St. Louis Suburban School Nurses Association.

“I was extremely honored that I was recognized by my peers,” she said. “Those are people in my same line of work and to be recognized for something I’ve done and something that no one else… I assumed there were other support groups for diabetic kids, but there aren’t. So that was quite an honor.”