OREGON – Four school nurses got a well-earned surprise Tuesday when they received Exelon’s Community Hero Award.

“For our final community hero award, we surprised our school nurses,” said Liz Vos, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director. “They have gone above and beyond during the pandemic. A job that would typically entail stomach aches and scraped knees now also includes contact tracing and daily temperature checks. They’ve continued to do their jobs and be a kind and calming influence on the children and families.”

Three of the four nurses thought they were attending a staff meeting on Tuesday morning, but instead received flowers and the awards from Vos and Paul Dempsey, representing Exelon, who sponsored the series.

Oregon school nurses Jennifer Hernandez, Sara Rowe and Sharon Hoover were surprised with the award Tuesday morning at the school district’s office in Oregon.

The nurses, including Lindsey Breeden, who was unable to attend, will split a $5,000 award.

The group was selected due to the extra work and pressure they have been under because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Oregon school nurses Jennifer Hernandez (left), Sara Rowe and Sharon Hoover react to being surprised with Exelon's Community Hero award Tuesday morning in Oregon. The nurses, including Linsey Breeden who was unable to attend, will split a $5000 award. The group was selected due to the extra work and pressure they have been under because of COVID. Liz Vos, Oregon chamber president, Paul Dempsey, Exelon representative and Tom Mahoney, Oregon schools superintendent were on hand to congratulate the ladies. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@shawmedia.com)

Vos, Dempsey, and Oregon Superintendent of Schools Tom Mahoney were on hand to congratulate the ladies.

“I’m just so thankful for the staff that we have, and for our nurses specifically, having to communicate with our public so much,” Mahoney said. “Sometimes the news wasn’t very good, but they handled it with a lot of class and empathy. They went above and beyond.”

The Hero Awards are given to workers, residents and volunteers in the area who went above and beyond in their communities during the pandemic.

Each recipient or group receives $5,000, which includes $1,000 in gift cards for local businesses. The program is funded by Exelon Generation.

“The administrators made it so much easier for us; they backed us up,” Hoover said. “And they parents were understanding.”

“We really worked as a team and helped each other,” Hernandez said.

The program so far has awarded $25,000 to nine individuals in the area around Byron Generating Station, including health care workers, food pantry helpers, and all-around citizen heroes.

The nomination form for the award read: “Oregon, Illinois school nurses have been the people responsible for keeping track of COVID numbers. They have to contact trace when someone is positive, and spend many extra hours calling families to inform them that their child has to quarantine.

“This is not always accepted positively. They do an amazing job, treating all parents with kindness and compassion. They also answer questions from staff and administrators while maintaining confidentiality and working hard to put people’s minds at ease regarding the virus.

“On top of this, they all continue to be excellent health aides, providing our students with all they need related to feeling ill at school. Our school nurses have gone above and beyond and deserve this recognition for all their great work.”