Caring For Student Needs All School Year

In 2023, medical assistant Perla Zuniga joined the CHRISTUS School Clinics team to provide care in both the Assumption Catholic School and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School clinics.

“I previously worked for St. Mary’s Clinic for five years coordinating mammograms and prescription assistance and then left to work for Legacy Clinic’s school-based clinic program,” Zuniga said. “When a position opened in the CHRISTUS School Clinics program, I came back.”

Zuniga enjoys that every day is different in the clinics. “You have cases of a broken limb, but then sometimes we will a child come in crying from a paper cut.”

In addition to the daily care, Zuniga and other School Clinics’ team members also provide critical screenings for scoliosis, vision, hearing, and Acanthosis nigricans for diabetes. “Last semester at Assumption, we had a spinal screening that showed signs of scoliosis. The guardian took the student to the doctor, and a diagnosis of scoliosis was confirmed. It meant a lot that we were able to screen and discover a possible case of scoliosis for this student.”

With Field Day closing out each school year, Zuniga is on-hand to attend to provide medical attention as needed. “In addition to scrapes and cuts, we will sometimes have more serious injuries.” Recently, a student fractured her hand during the tug of war. “In these situations, you assess the injury and contact the parents. If the injury is in need of emergency care, we call 911. If the injury is stable, then the parents will take their child to the ER for further evaluation.”