Proposed Nurse Reduction in DCPS- how did the meeting go yesterday?

[Anonymous]

Nesbitt also said that nurses have really become somewhat of a "marketing ploy" for schools.

Someone needs to intervene or get DCPS or DC Fire/EMS to listen to what the leader of DOH is saying!

[Anonymous]

Did anyone ask her what pediatricians recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nesbitt also said that nurses have really become somewhat of a "marketing ploy" for schools.

Someone needs to intervene or get DCPS or DC Fire/EMS to listen to what the leader of DOH is saying!

It is totally a marketing win. Kind of like having good teachers is great for marketing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone ask her what pediatricians recommend?

The point was made repeatedly that DCD guidance is a full-time nurse in every school. At least in the context of Asthma...and DC as a jurisdiction has a higher incidence of asthma than any other place in the nation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up there was no nurse at my school. Two of my kids are at parochial school and there is no nurse there. An office staff member administers a dose of medication if it is needed and logs it onto a chart. Teachers are trained to administer epi-pens. My third child is at a public school with a nurse. I would not be worried if there weren't a nurse there. They can call 911 if there is an emergency. I would rather they hire a reading intervention teacher instead.

Have you ever tried calling 911 in DC? You do realize the ambulance service will bill for any services they give you child?!?

If I take my child to the park and he falls, gets injured, and I have to call an ambulance why would I expect it to be free? I would expect to get a bill just like if my child is injured at school. Most children who live in poverty have government health insurance.

So isn't this just shifting things from one budget to another? I bet it would be a lot cheaper to have a school nurse to vet those cases where an ambulance is really not necessary.
Aside from cost, it's not a good thing to unnecessarily send a kid to the hospital. For the kid (lost school time), the parents (lost work time), or the taxpayer who's funding it.

Add the that the added burden on the ER and the EMS service.

[Anonymous]

There are some kids who have to have a nurse at school -- for example, because they have epilepsy or another serious medical issue -- but who otherwise can be in a general education setting. Not having nurses at school will force these kids into special programs for medically fragile kids, which is not the least restrictive environment and therefore violates federal law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are some kids who have to have a nurse at school -- for example, because they have epilepsy or another serious medical issue -- but who otherwise can be in a general education setting. Not having nurses at school will force these kids into special programs for medically fragile kids, which is not the least restrictive environment and therefore violates federal law.

Yes, this is where the issue is heading.

[Anonymous]

Well, DCPS is still designing new schools with health suites .... is the left hand still not talking to the right hand?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, DCPS is still designing new schools with health suites .... is the left hand still not talking to the right hand?

The proposed program has a minimum of 20 hours of coverage per week, so a health suite would still be used.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are some kids who have to have a nurse at school -- for example, because they have epilepsy or another serious medical issue -- but who otherwise can be in a general education setting. Not having nurses at school will force these kids into special programs for medically fragile kids, which is not the least restrictive environment and therefore violates federal law.

This is an excellent point and I think it can't be repeated enough. It's unfair to these children and unfair to their classmates as well.

And the poster above who declined to name names but said she knows a school who calls 9-1-1 weekly- this is also an excellent point. Emergencies happen. Asthma attacks, allergies, falls, broken bones, exposure to chemicals, fights etc. Nurses are there to make the call- ER visit or an ice pack? Not sure why DC is willing to shortchange our children in this fashion. I guess football stadiums and sweetheart developer deals are more important.

[Anonymous]

Here's a solution.

Let DOH get out of the school nurse program altogether. The nurses are contractors anyway.

Increase the per pupil funding to allow every DCPS and charter to hire one nurse per building. Have DME or OSSE manage the contract so every school doesn't have to negotiate its own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up there was no nurse at my school. Two of my kids are at parochial school and there is no nurse there. An office staff member administers a dose of medication if it is needed and logs it onto a chart. Teachers are trained to administer epi-pens. My third child is at a public school with a nurse. I would not be worried if there weren't a nurse there. They can call 911 if there is an emergency. I would rather they hire a reading intervention teacher instead.

Have you ever tried calling 911 in DC? You do realize the ambulance service will bill for any services they give you child?!?

If I take my child to the park and he falls, gets injured, and I have to call an ambulance why would I expect it to be free? I would expect to get a bill just like if my child is injured at school. Most children who live in poverty have government health insurance.

If my kid falls in the park I can make that judgement call. And if I am unsure, I can call my insurance company nurse line and get help figuring things out. I don't just dial 911 all the time.

Why would the school be calling 911 all the time? The staff in parochial schools aren't doing that. They look at the kid, give the kid a band aid or ice or if more serious, call the parents if necessary, the parents then go to school. If it is a true emergency like the kid loses consciousness or a bone is sticking out only then do they call 911. That happens at most once a year.

Not going to name names, but I know of two dc schools now operating without a nurse that call 911almost weekly. The thing is, without a trained medical professional on staff... They kind of have to. Kid falls off playground equipment, kid has asthma attack, kid spikes a high fever... In these cases the kid needs to be evaluated by a medical professional. Paying a nurse costs a hell of a lot less than those 911 calls and he ambulance service.

But I suspect the 911 costs don't come out of the same budget as the nurses...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up there was no nurse at my school. Two of my kids are at parochial school and there is no nurse there. An office staff member administers a dose of medication if it is needed and logs it onto a chart. Teachers are trained to administer epi-pens. My third child is at a public school with a nurse. I would not be worried if there weren't a nurse there. They can call 911 if there is an emergency. I would rather they hire a reading intervention teacher instead.

Have you ever tried calling 911 in DC? You do realize the ambulance service will bill for any services they give you child?!?

If I take my child to the park and he falls, gets injured, and I have to call an ambulance why would I expect it to be free? I would expect to get a bill just like if my child is injured at school. Most children who live in poverty have government health insurance.

If my kid falls in the park I can make that judgement call. And if I am unsure, I can call my insurance company nurse line and get help figuring things out. I don't just dial 911 all the time.

Why would the school be calling 911 all the time? The staff in parochial schools aren't doing that. They look at the kid, give the kid a band aid or ice or if more serious, call the parents if necessary, the parents then go to school. If it is a true emergency like the kid loses consciousness or a bone is sticking out only then do they call 911. That happens at most once a year.

Not going to name names, but I know of two dc schools now operating without a nurse that call 911almost weekly. The thing is, without a trained medical professional on staff... They kind of have to. Kid falls off playground equipment, kid has asthma attack, kid spikes a high fever... In these cases the kid needs to be evaluated by a medical professional. Paying a nurse costs a hell of a lot less than those 911 calls and he ambulance service.

But I suspect the 911 costs don't come out of the same budget as the nurses...

Right, it comes out of the parents' pocket.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Growing up there was no nurse at my school. Two of my kids are at parochial school and there is no nurse there. An office staff member administers a dose of medication if it is needed and logs it onto a chart. Teachers are trained to administer epi-pens. My third child is at a public school with a nurse. I would not be worried if there weren't a nurse there. They can call 911 if there is an emergency. I would rather they hire a reading intervention teacher instead.

Have you ever tried calling 911 in DC? You do realize the ambulance service will bill for any services they give you child?!?

If I take my child to the park and he falls, gets injured, and I have to call an ambulance why would I expect it to be free? I would expect to get a bill just like if my child is injured at school. Most children who live in poverty have government health insurance.

If my kid falls in the park I can make that judgement call. And if I am unsure, I can call my insurance company nurse line and get help figuring things out. I don't just dial 911 all the time.

Why would the school be calling 911 all the time? The staff in parochial schools aren't doing that. They look at the kid, give the kid a band aid or ice or if more serious, call the parents if necessary, the parents then go to school. If it is a true emergency like the kid loses consciousness or a bone is sticking out only then do they call 911. That happens at most once a year.

The fact that some parents choose to pay to send their kid to a school that doesn't have a nurse is irrelevant. I would not send my medically fragile child to such a school. That is not a risk I'm willing to take. Those schools also do not have to honor 504 plans or IEPs. Apples and orange.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Not going to name names, but I know of two dc schools now operating without a nurse that call 911almost weekly. The thing is, without a trained medical professional on staff... They kind of have to. Kid falls off playground equipment, kid has asthma attack, kid spikes a high fever... In these cases the kid needs to be evaluated by a medical professional. Paying a nurse costs a hell of a lot less than those 911 calls and he ambulance service.

But I suspect the 911 costs don't come out of the same budget as the nurses...

Right, it comes out of the parents' pocket.

Or other taxpayers.