The Madison County School Board approved a contract with St. Dominic Health Systems to provide a nurse at every elementary and middle school in the district beginning at the start of the next school year in August.
The registered nurses will be at each school for about four hours every day. Their schedules will be determined by principals based on the greatest time of need during the school day. St. Dominic's will absorb the costs of the service or may try to pay for the nurses through federal programs.
Superintendent of Schools Mike Kent said the program would be extremely beneficial to students and parents throughout the district without any financial obligation.
"The bottom line is they will provide the service and not charge the kids and the school district a penny," Superintendent of Schools Mike Kent said.
Kent said that there should be good competition for the school nurse positions, since they are relatively low-pressure jobs during normal business hours.
Currently, only Madison Station Elementary School has a nurse on staff. This nurse, Michelle Ellison, is paid through a state grant.
During the month of October, 909 students visited Ellison's office, with 345 reporting some kind of illness and 55 students sent home.
The school board has been discussing the program for several months, with previous negotiations including Baptist Health Systems as well as St. Dominic's.
Last year, Kent said having more school nurses would mean fewer students absent due to illness, which in turn would provide more funding to the school district because of the higher attendance rate.
But in previous meetings, Kent also pointed out that paying for the nurses would be a concern if the district had to foot the bill.
In February, the state Department of Health reported that a student in Madison County had died from influenza. School officials said they hoped to limit and contain such illnesses through school nurses who could identify the sick students quickly.
Reader Comments
Posted: Friday, May 09, 2008
Article comment by:
Jayne Pauley
Excellent article valuing the art of School Nursing. I do not believe Mr. Kent's comment about school nursing being a "relativley low pressure job during normal business hours" was meant they way in which it was written. I think what he meant to say was that school nurses will compete for this opportunity because of the wonderful school district they will work with and that the school nurses will provide a valuable service which nobody else can provide due to the amount of knowledge it requires to be a competent school nurse. I am sure he has followed the school nurse on various occasions and has seen the type of work he/she does on any given day - medications, assessment of wounds, temperature, flu symptoms, child abuse of all kinds, malnutrition, diabetes symptoms, insulin adinistration, glucagon injections, rectal diastat for seizures, training of lay people to do all of the above in the nruse's absence,etc., etc., etc... School Nurses Rock! Happy School Nurse Day!
Posted: Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Article comment by:
Cindy Hunter
I have been a school nurse for 13 years now and if, by having week-ends and holidays off, this a low stress job, I would have to agree. But, during the hours I work at the school, it is not low stress. Granted some days I do have a fairly low stress job, but those days are not at all indicative of most of my days. There are times I have as many as 5 students waiting for my care and then I have to fit my paper work and computer work in between taking care of students. Taking care of students comes first, P.R. with parents comes almost second, taking care of staff next and then the paper work. There are many legalities that go along with taking care of students. There are many parents that think the school nurse has a hole in her head and that really adds to the stress. And, I know that the principals, teachers, para-pros and superintendents all deal with parents and know exactly what I mean. The hustle and bustle of trying to get everything done and then dealing with an irate parent, who is irate just because that's the kind of person they are, is not easy. But I love being a school nurse.
This superintendent has not walked in the steps of a school nurse. She legally is responsible for the medically fragile students for their care, delegating, IHPs,504 plans,and doing medical orders and communicating with the parents or guardians. Putting bandaids on are such a small part of the school nurse's job. She is responsible for all medications and when she delegates different duties, she puts her license on the line. She works with parents of ADHD children and is part of the pupil services team. She is responsible in planning for vision, hearing, and etc. wellness screenings and to do follow-ups - this includes preschool screenings. Assessments of students that come to her office - especially, injuries - what should be done. Don't forget head lice and the education of parents. One of the big roles a school nurse plays is picking her priorities!!!!!! It is far from a less stressful job!!!!!! I have really just touched the top of the ice berg - I hope he follows the school nurse around and really finds out what she does!!!!!! Don't forget the wellness of the staff - Bp's, BS, Hep.B vaccine, flu vaccine and etc.. She is responsible for ALL students!!!!!!!
Thanks for letting me vent!!!!!!!
Posted: Thursday, April 17, 2008
Article comment by:
Kelly Beischel
I cannot believe Kent said "They are relatively low pressure jobs during normal business hours." Obviously he has never been in the role of a school nurse. When I made the move from intensive care nursing to school nursing I remember telling my husband "I need to go back to CCU to take a break!" Before a person speaks about the pressure of a job, he should have his facts straight! Sincerely, Kelly P. Beischel MSN, MEd, RN, NCSN
Posted: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Article comment by:
Joyce Gfeller
I believe that Madison County School Board has made a good decision hiring school nurses for every school. I know personally that the absentism will improve. I have been a school nurse for the last six years in a school that has an enrollment of 700 students. The school nurses that you hire will not only be responsible for the students but also the staff. I usually see about 80 to 100 students per day and about 5 to 10 staff members. The comment that Mr. Kent made about being a "low-pressure" job tells me that he has no idea what happens in the health rooms across the nation. I reccomend that Mr.Kent visit a busy health room during flu season.
