Happy Nurses Week: This is, and has been one of the initiatives of the National School Nurses Association for many years. Although the nurse to student ratio in SD is not as bad as some in our nation, it could be better based on the significant needs of some children on their case load. Please read to find out about the proposed legislation.
Rep. McCarthy Introducing Legislation to Put More Nurses in Schools. One out of four U.S. public schools has no nurse in the building.
WASHINGTON, DC (May 7, 2013) –Ahead of National School Nurse Day on Wednesday and in observation of National Nurses Week, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY4), who spent over three decades as a nurse before becoming a member of Congress, is introducing legislation today to increase the number of nurses in public schools across the country.
“As a mom and as a nurse, I know that a healthy student is a successful student,” Rep. McCarthy said. “Whether it’s helping to treat the common cold, helping to stop the spread of serious diseases or identifying the early warning signs of depression or abuse, school nurses are the first line of defense in keeping our schools safe. This legislation is a common-sense investment in our future and Congress would be wise to pass it.”
The Student to School Nurse Ratio Improvement Act of 2013 creates federal grants to help states lower the ratio of students to school nurses and would require the U.S. Education Department to report the effectiveness of the program, particularly the relationship between access to student health services and academic success.
There are almost 100,000 public elementary and secondary schools and about 74,000 school nurses in the United States, according to the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, respectively.
According to the National Association of School Nurses (NASN), more than half of U.S. public schools don’t have a school nurse on site all day, every day. Up to a quarter don’t have a nurse in the building at all.
“Today’s students face more medically complex conditions and chronic health illnesses, requiring the knowledge, assessment skills and judgment of a school nurse to manage their care,” said NASN President Linda Davis-Alldritt, MA, BSN, RN, FNASN, FASHA. “By promoting prevention and wellness and providing targeted early interventions – including mental health services – school nurses help reduce barriers to learning and address health disparities. Simply put, school nurses ensure that our children stay healthy, safe and ready to learn.”
School nurses are critical as a first line of defense in preserving the health and safety of schoolchildren, and free up teachers and administrators from monitoring and diagnosing health problems in students, which leads to a loss of productivity for both staff and students. School nurses also promote wellness by teaching and performing preventive care and early intervention, such as vision, hearing and dental assessments.
“School nurses keep students healthy, in school and ready to learn,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents more than 100,000 nurses and healthcare workers across the nation, including more than 14,000 school nurses. “But that mission can falter when there are not enough nurses, and they become targets in times of tight budgets. Today one school nurse often is responsible for multiple buildings and more than a thousand kids.”
Anne McAree, RN, SNT – a school nurse at Mineola High School – said that “School nurses are the health and educational advocates for the student. The school nurse is often the first one to identify a medical issue that is affecting learning. The school nurse is the one students turn to for both their physical and safety needs to be met. A school nurse supports the physical, mental and emotional by giving valuable lessons in health care and self care.”
Expanding the placement of nurses in schools is especially important since about 10 percent of children under 19 in the U.S. don’t have health insurance, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and children who don’t receive regular medical care miss more days of school and experience increased severity of illness, according to the NASN.
“During challenging economic times, school nurses offer a value-added role to communities by creating a healthy environment in which students are able to thrive, managing students’ care to help reduce ER visits and preventing the spread of communicable disease,” President Davis-Alldritt said.
“The AFT has fought to make sure that every child has a school nurse,” President Weingarten said, “and Rep. McCarthy’s proposal is a needed step toward that goal.”
“This bill before Congress must be passed to allow equal access to health care for all students that will result in an increase in school attendance leading to improved health and educational outcomes,” Nurse McAree said.
Originally posted on May 7, 2013.