On the front lines of student health
School nurses care for children from the time they arrive in school to when they leave, but the job requires much more than handing out ice packs and soothing sour stomachs.
Nurses have a laundry list of responsibilities and often go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure students of all ages are looked after.
“People just think we hand out Band-Aids all day long,” said Tracy Dailey, school nurse at Allegheny-Clarion Valley School District. “It's far, far from it. We have some pretty significant health issues that we deal with on top of the Band-Aids and skinned knees and lost teeth. You never know what's going to walk through your door.”
In Butler County, 39 certified school nurses and 10 health technicians take care of the 27,000 children in public, private and parochial schools.
The school nurse is the main facilitator of health and wellness of students in the school building, said Jennifer Webb, communications director for South Butler School District.
That means day-to-day care for illnesses and injuries, managing chronic illnesses and other special needs, tracking state-required immunizations, administering prescribed medications, performing medical procedures and building wellness throughout the school.
School nurses also provide education to students, family and faculty on various health, hygiene and safety issues.
“The school nurse is both a proactive agent for healthy choices/practices and a responder to health and wellness issues,” Webb said.
On top of that, many school nurses take on additional projects like coordinating holiday gift programs, community flu-shot clinics and weekend “backpack” meal programs.
“In addition to the student reporting requirements and screenings, plus immunization management, it's a very large list of duties,” said Cyndi Jones, school nurse at Freeport high and middle schools.
For more about school nurses, read Sunday's Butler Eagle.
