Photo By Chief Petty Officer Patrick Gordon | PATUXENT RIVER, Maryland (Oct. 8, 2025) - Stefania Hoover, RN, joined the Pax River...... read more read more
NAS Patuxent River is well known for its groundbreaking work in the field of naval aviation. But not far from the airfield and hangars, Pax River’s Child and Youth Programs (CYP) has made history as well, hiring the Navy’s first CYP registered nurse.
The new position is a part of a two-year pilot program which would provide the program with a medical administrator for the approximately 640 children enrolled in the Pax River CYP.
Stefania Hoover, RN, joined the Pax River CYP team after gaining skills through a variety of nursing positions, including clinical, emergency room, and ambulatory nursing. And while she found the work rewarding, she was looking for something more.
“I started clinical, and I loved it, then started going into school health, and loved it,” said Hoover. “Then I did some case management in school health – school nursing. But what really drew me to CYP was I grew up on military bases. My dad was Air Force, and I really wanted to get back into that community. So when this job came available I was like, ‘it would be a good chance to work with the community I'm really comfortable with’, and the job description sounded great.”
As the sole registered nurse for Pax River CYP, Hoover provides a medical professional’s expertise on matters pertaining to medical forms, allergies, medications, and other children’s health matters at the three CYP buildings on base. Hoover added that the additional quality assurance of having a medical professional’s oversight on medical administration also prevents mistakes, and allows teachers and caregivers in the program to focus more on the kids.
“All the teachers and caregivers are educated and make sure no mistakes happen in that regard, but just having a nurse’s eyes on these medical forms means you’ll notice more details,” said Hoover. “I’m actually very honored to be given this chance. There's a lot of room to build onto this program, so I'm just really excited to see what we do with it.”
Hoover said one of those goals is to hopefully expand enrollment of higher-need children into Pax River’s CYP.
“Things can change for the program, but hopefully as the CYP nurse program expands and develops, we’ll be able to include children with any type of disability, any type of medical need,” said Hoover.
CYP leadership is also enthusiastic about building the program. Jamie Lee Curtis, Installation Child and Youth Program Director for Patuxent River, said that Hoover’s involvement provides an additional level of care to the children supported by CYP.
“Bringing a registered nurse onto the CYP team will foster greater trust with families when making critical decisions such as whether a child needs to be sent home or seen by a medical provider, because we’ll have expert medical guidance available on site,” said Curtis. “Stefania is a real force multiplier when it comes to staff training and support on the things she’s an expert in. They’re still ready to act if needed, but she’s an added level of authority and expertise when it comes to medical advice and care in CYP.”
Pax River CYPs are open to children of active-duty service members, active reservists, Department of Defense employees, and DoD contractors. CYP professionals use the Creative Curriculum and Teaching strategies to provide developmentally appropriate activities that nurture children socially, emotionally, physically, and intellectually to reach child development milestones and school readiness skills. For more information, visit www.navymwrpaxriver.com/child-youth .
| Date Taken: | 10.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 10.08.2025 13:39 |
| Story ID: | 550070 |
| Location: | PATUXENT RIVER, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 2,141 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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