Hoover Schools' Lead Nurse Retires After 25 Years

HOOVER, AL — After 25 years with the Hoover City Schools, lead nurse Vicki Holden is retiring. HCS staff held a Retirement Reception for Holden and her family to celebrate her more than two decades of service to the school system and acknowledge the impact she has made.

Holden, whose official retirement date is Jan. 1, says while she’s excited for the next part of her journey in life, her retirement is bittersweet.

“Hoover City Schools has been my professional identity for 25 years and I know I will miss that connection," Holden said. "The lead nurses before me paved a great path, and I have added to that path for the next person to follow. At Hoover City Schools, I have had the privilege to work with the finest group of Nurse professionals there is."

Gage Stoudenmire, a school nurse at Hoover High School, has worked with Holden for seven years. Stoudenmire says Holden’s professionalism and integrity have always shown in her work as the health room nurse and later as the HCS Lead Nurse. She says Holden will truly be missed and will be hard to replace.

"Vicki has championed the HCS Nurses in so many ways," Stoudenmire said. "She was responsible for initiating the pay scale improvement to match surrounding areas for our much-needed Substitute Nurses. Vicki’s leadership and knowledge through the COVID-19 crisis helped lead every school to develop a COVID policy. She is always up-to-date on state and local changes to COVID-19 along with other Nursing laws and regulations.

"The nurses are very fortunate to have her as a leader and mentor. She has always been a strong mediator between the Nurses and the Superintendent. Hoover High School will remember Vicki for being knowledgeable, trustworthy, and having the courage to defend anything that would make this school and the student’s health better."