53.4 F
Indianapolis
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Health care key to education for IPS schools

More by this author

Last year, the front office staff at James Whitcomb Riley School 43 put Band-Aids on scrapes, stopped nosebleeds and handed out ice packs while wielding phone calls and visits from parents.

This year, a nurse practitioner hired through a partnership between Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) and Shalom Health Care Center handles medical issues, leaving the office staff with fewer fires to extinguish.

ā€œEverything is settled down even more for us in the front office,ā€ Principal Bakari Posey said. ā€œIt lowers my anxiety. Thatā€™s one less thing that I have to be worried about.ā€

Schools today often face health care challenges that require more than the occasional Band-Aid. About 10 to 15 percent of children live with chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Inappropriate care leads to missed school days and affects education.Ā 

In addition, the majority of students who attend IPS are Black (47.7 percent) or Hispanic (26.6 percent) and living in poverty (64.8 percent receive free lunch and 31.7 percent are on reduced-price lunch), according to the Indiana Department of Education ā€” populations often without primary care providers. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states 2 percent of Black adolescents and 4.2 percent of Hispanic adolescents donā€™t have a regular primary care provider.Ā 

IPS views access to health care as a key component to student education and intentionally chose to place nurses in schools with high-poverty rates, said Special Education Officer Brent Freeman. At School 43, for example, 78.5 percent of students qualify for free lunch.Ā 

ā€œWhen youā€™re sick and not getting care, youā€™re not spending time at school,ā€ Freeman said. ā€œThereā€™s a direct correlation to absenteeism, so this is one way to address high absenteeism.ā€Ā 

IPS has partnerships with several entities to provide schools with registered nurses and nurse practitioners. Shalom is the largest partnership. Of the 14 school nurses Shalom provides, 13 are nurse practitioners and one is a registered nurse. The school district also employs 12 school nurses.Ā 

Having a nurse practitioner in the building results in a higher level of care, as they are able to diagnose and treat ailments and write prescriptions.Ā 

ā€œWeā€™re not here to replace a childā€™s primary care provider,ā€ said Megan Carlson, chief nursing officer at Shalom. ā€œWeā€™re here to bridge that gap. There are many kids who donā€™t have a primary care provider, who go to the urgent care center on a frequent basis, so weā€™re trying to stop that trend and get them set up with the care that they need.ā€

Nurse practitioner Christa Goebes has even gone as far as picking up prescriptions for a student. Goebes educates children with chronic conditions on their illness and the importance of taking prescribed medications. Goebes helped parent Ashley Moore transfer her two children to Shalom Health Care Center for their primary care.Ā 

Mooreā€™s oldest daughter has severe allergies to shellfish and eggs. A recent brush with eggs by way of French toast sent Mooreā€™s daughter to Goebes, fearful of a serious reaction. Thankfully, the reaction was mild.Ā 

ā€œIā€™m happy sheā€™s here now,ā€ Moore said. ā€œI know she knows what sheā€™s doing.ā€

- Advertisement -

Upcoming Online Townhalls

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

To be updated with all the latest local news.

Stay connected

1FansLike
1FollowersFollow
1FollowersFollow
1SubscribersSubscribe

Related articles

Popular articles

EspaƱol + Translate Ā»
Skip to content