There is no full time nurse at our ES. There is an unreliable health tech who is supposed to be there 5 days a week but we're lucky if she's there twice a week. They're all useless when it comes to severe/life-threatening allergies, so make sure you are proactive. Request a 504 plan.

Anonymous wrote:You want to request a 504 and ask the specific school.

You might want to let your child's teachers know, as appropriate. It can take the nurse awhile to input health data into Synergy, which is how teachers typically learn of health conditions to be aware of.

Is the Principal the back up health authority if a School Comunity Health Nurse is not on site at the school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High turnover of the nurses. Not sure why. Each school has a health tech at the school. A county health nurse (RN) that oversees more than one school (but maybe not all the schools in the cluster). Ask your school Principal.

Shortage of RNs??

The pay. Though it’s gotten better. Many prefer 3 and 4 day longer hour workweeks (such as hospital) more flexibility to be home if little ones etc. doctor appointments, life etc.

What are the requirements to be a school Med Tech or is it Health Tech?

Anonymous wrote:What the heck is a health tech?

Stands for Health Technician. But not sure exactly what they can and can not do. A PP stated they don't administer insulin tho they are allowed if the RN signs off on some paperwork. So are they just in the health room to give an ice pack a bandaid or a sanitary pad and keep record of those supplies?

What the heck is a health tech?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High turnover of the nurses. Not sure why. Each school has a health tech at the school. A county health nurse (RN) that oversees more than one school (but maybe not all the schools in the cluster). Ask your school Principal.

Shortage of RNs??

Former equivalent of med tech in Virginia - we have constant turnover of RNs because the nurses are shamefully underpaid and they end up as managers mired in care plans and stats and administrative functions and do very little hands on care or actual nursing. It’s a grind. Most all of our nurses hired during Covid to transition to schools to address the severe shortage (and ratio) have fled or stayed less than one year. It’s an absolute mess.

You want to request a 504 and ask the specific school.

Anonymous wrote:High turnover of the nurses. Not sure why. Each school has a health tech at the school. A county health nurse (RN) that oversees more than one school (but maybe not all the schools in the cluster). Ask your school Principal.

Shortage of RNs??

High turnover of the nurses. Not sure why. Each school has a health tech at the school. A county health nurse (RN) that oversees more than one school (but maybe not all the schools in the cluster). Ask your school Principal.

montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS-Program/PHS/SchoolHealth/Index.html

Every school's health room is staffed by a School Health Room Technician, and a School Community Health Nurse who is assigned to one or more schools.

The School Health Services central office is located at:
401 Hungerford Drive, 2nd floor
Rockville, MD 20850
240-777-1550
240-777--1860 (fax)
Mark Hodge, MS, BSN, RN
Sr. Administrator, School Health Services

RNs oversee a cluster of schools. The health room is staffed daily with a med tech.

Contact your school and ask for the heath room. The med tech will know who the RN is that oversees your school. Be warned, the nurses change frequently.

Depending on what service your child needs you may need to deal with a lot of hassle. Read the Maryland Nurse Practice Act. There are certain things a med tech cannot do under the law. For example, a med tech cannot calculate an insulin dose. The med tech would need to contact the RN and have the RN do the calculation. Some can be delegated from an RN to a med tech, this requires a “Delegation of Task Form.”

Also note, school health staff are health department employees, not school employees

Good luck and start early!

DhHHS nurse and health tech. You contact the Nurse or Health tech before school begins to let them know of any health conditions, medications needed (daily or PRN—also need MD medication orders -forms available in MCOS website). For instance, risk of anaphylaxis to peanuts, epipen needed on site, etc etc

What is the title of the one in your child's school health room? What is the difference in their roles - aide, technician, nurse? Does each MCPS school have a Nurse (211 schools total)? Or is it one Nurse per cluster? Is the Nurse employed by MCPS or Department of Health and Health Services (DHHS)?

Asking as we have a rising new student to MCPS with health needs and want to know whom to contact within the school or county to make sure he receives what he needs during the school day.