Anonymous wrote:In the first 9 days of school this year in MCPS there were three 911 calls for vaping. There are roughly 360 diabetic students and 2,000 students with asthma. Students in our schools have complex medical conditions, such as seizures, diabetes, Leukemia, Sickle Cell, anaphylaxis, asthma and some require treatments such as cauterizations every few hours. Last year there were over 850,000 visits to the health room in Montgomery County Public Schools, 800 calls to 911, 120 epinephrine pens administered. The techs do a lot but there us also much that cannot be delegated. Things that you need an RN with a four year degree to do.

Here in Montgomery County we have the highest ratio of nurse to student in the State ... 1:1824. While our neighboring counties Prince George’s ratio of students to RN is 1: 693, Baltimore County 1:647, Anna Arundel 1: 954. Also, all of the counties mentioned have one nurse per high school, which is not the case in Montgomery County.

The school nurse’s job comprises much more than just health services. School nurses provide chronic disease management. Every student with a health condition such as anaphylaxis or seizures has an individual healthcare plan created by your school nurse. They connect students and families with mental health services, insurance, oversee hearing and vision screenings done at school, verify immunizations, train the MCPS staff in the administration of emergency medications for specific students, school nurse participate in the creation of 504 and IEP plans for students, and help with medical management in areas such ADHD, autism, diabetes, life-threatening allergies, asthma and seizures, case management of pregnancies - and the list goes on.
If you are interested, ask your school nurse about their job.

Yes, but given that the chronic disease management is likely done pursuant to an IEP or 504, the schools these kids go to will have adequate medical staff. I don't have any skin in this game. My kids have always had access to a health tech when they needed it. Health techs administer my kid's medication and it works out fine. But, I don't think it's acceptable to raise alarms about issues that don't exist - ie, inadequate support for kids with chronic medical issues.

I think the nurses are actually employed by the health department, not MCPS.

Schools are having more problems in large part because they're getting stripped of student support positions. When you have counselors who can spend time counseling instead of getting bogged down in paperwork (or getting cut altogether), and nurses who can offer support to kids with chronic (and often stressful) illnesses (and who can work closely with other specialists on 504 Plans etc.), and enough speech pathologists and psychologists and OT's and reading specialists on hand, you create a better environment for everyone AND teachers can more effectively do their jobs. Right now we're asking teachers to be nurses and moms and dads and therapists etc., and that detracts from everyone's learning. It's not just about class size, it's about meeting kids' individual needs so everyone can achieve. Even if your kid doesn't have a need for a nurse daily, they benefit indirectly. And if or when they do need a nurse (see PP's comment about compound fracture above), believe me you're going to want a nurse on hand even as the school calls an ambulance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the health techs not qualified? I thought all schools had a health tech on duty and the nurses split their days among assigned schools. Are the nurses playing a supervision role to the health techs, similar to doctors and nurse practitioners?

+1. I'm not sure why an RN would be needed to do most of these tasks:

"Nurses also support students who have chronic diseases to make sure that they remain healthy while they are at school. Nurses connect families with mental health services, verify immunization records, oversee hearing and vision screenings, and train other school staff members on how to respond in emergency situations. These services are critical to the wellbeing of our students."

An RN assigned to a school, but not there full time, who trains a health tech seems like a very reasonable way to handle things.

PP, nurses help administer medications from everything from adhd to diabetes. These are complicated, require training when seeing multiple students and acting on potential adverse reactions.

On an aside, have you ever been on a playground when a child has fallen and broken a bone? You want someone with appropriate medical training to respond. Health techs have a place, but getting rid of school nurses was just a terrible idea.

Anonymous wrote:We’ve had so many cases of strep. We’ve also had issues where my son needed medicine at a specific time and couldn’t get it because health tech was on break.

The nurse will have breaks too.

We’ve had so many cases of strep. We’ve also had issues where my son needed medicine at a specific time and couldn’t get it because health tech was on break.

Nurses are seriously undervalued in MCPS. They should be working closely with school counselors too, and there should be consistency.
Health techs are not the same.
--counselor from MCPS

I thought this was going to be about all the kids that are sent to school with strep. Strep is a huge issue in MCPS. Keep your kids home if they're stick, parents, and beg the doctor to treat everyone in the family at once. Lots of people have no symptoms.

A health tech is like having the guy at MacDonald's assess your kid's illness. They make about the same amount of money.

In the first 9 days of school this year in MCPS there were three 911 calls for vaping. There are roughly 360 diabetic students and 2,000 students with asthma. Students in our schools have complex medical conditions, such as seizures, diabetes, Leukemia, Sickle Cell, anaphylaxis, asthma and some require treatments such as cauterizations every few hours. Last year there were over 850,000 visits to the health room in Montgomery County Public Schools, 800 calls to 911, 120 epinephrine pens administered. The techs do a lot but there us also much that cannot be delegated. Things that you need an RN with a four year degree to do.

Here in Montgomery County we have the highest ratio of nurse to student in the State ... 1:1824. While our neighboring counties Prince George’s ratio of students to RN is 1: 693, Baltimore County 1:647, Anna Arundel 1: 954. Also, all of the counties mentioned have one nurse per high school, which is not the case in Montgomery County.

The school nurse’s job comprises much more than just health services. School nurses provide chronic disease management. Every student with a health condition such as anaphylaxis or seizures has an individual healthcare plan created by your school nurse. They connect students and families with mental health services, insurance, oversee hearing and vision screenings done at school, verify immunizations, train the MCPS staff in the administration of emergency medications for specific students, school nurse participate in the creation of 504 and IEP plans for students, and help with medical management in areas such ADHD, autism, diabetes, life-threatening allergies, asthma and seizures, case management of pregnancies - and the list goes on.
If you are interested, ask your school nurse about their job.

Anonymous wrote:Are the health techs not qualified? I thought all schools had a health tech on duty and the nurses split their days among assigned schools. Are the nurses playing a supervision role to the health techs, similar to doctors and nurse practitioners?

+1. I'm not sure why an RN would be needed to do most of these tasks:

"Nurses also support students who have chronic diseases to make sure that they remain healthy while they are at school. Nurses connect families with mental health services, verify immunization records, oversee hearing and vision screenings, and train other school staff members on how to respond in emergency situations. These services are critical to the wellbeing of our students."

An RN assigned to a school, but not there full time, who trains a health tech seems like a very reasonable way to handle things.

Are the health techs not qualified? I thought all schools had a health tech on duty and the nurses split their days among assigned schools. Are the nurses playing a supervision role to the health techs, similar to doctors and nurse practitioners?

The letter should probably be more specific and refer to R.N.'s rather than simply "nurses."

On April 11, 2019 CBS news aired what some are calling a growing national crisis: the shortage of school nurses. The program discussed the nationwide shortage of school nurses calling it a “crisis” that may be putting kids’ lives at risk. Last month Chicago Teachers’ went on strike, among their demands was a nurse in every school. Here in Montgomery County schools we face the same crisis. Mainstreaming in MCPS has brought more medically complex issues into the schools.
Posting for a friend....


Dear Parents and Guardians,

We urge you to email or call your Montgomery County Council Members and ask them to support funding for more nurses in MCPS schools. MCPS has a severe shortage of school nurses, but more funding can help solve this serious problem and help keep students healthy and safe while they are at school.

Montgomery County only has one nurse for every 1,824 students. That means that frequently, there will not be a nurse in the building while your student is at school. This is contrary to the recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics that there be a full time nurse in every school, and it affects the safety of your children.

Last year alone, there were 850,000 visits to health rooms in MCPS schools, 800 calls to 911 from MCPS schools, and epi pens were administered more than 120 times. These statistics reveal the importance of having school nurses available to tend to students who fall ill while at school, provide immediate care in an emergency case, and respond to severe allergy attacks.

But nurses do more than just react to sick students. Nurses also support students who have chronic diseases to make sure that they remain healthy while they are at school. Nurses connect families with mental health services, verify immunization records, oversee hearing and vision screenings, and train other school staff members on how to respond in emergency situations. These services are critical to the wellbeing of our students.

Please call or email your Council Members and urge them to make our students a priority by providing funding for additional school nurses. This could be a matter of life or death.

Sincerely,
-A concerned MCPS nurse and parent


councilmember.Albornoz@montgomerycountymd.gov, councilmember.friedson@montgomerycountymd.gov,
councilmember.glass@montgomerycountymd.gov,
councilmember.hucker@montgomerycountymd.gov,
councilmember.Jawando@montgomerycountymd.gov,
Councilmember.Katz@montgomerycountymd.gov,
councilmember.Navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov,
Councilmember.Rice@montgomerycountymd.gov,
councilmember.Riemer@montgomerycountymd.gov

Dear Council Member,
   I fully support the need for more nurses in our local MCPS schools. Our school nurses play an essential role in keeping our children healthy, safe, and ready to learn. It is essential that all students have access to a full-time school nurse all day, every day.
Please make our kids, their health and well being in our schools and community a priority by adding more nurses to the School Health Services budget.
Respectfully,
(your name)
(your address)