The need for nurses in all areas of health care has been well documented. That need is no less in education, but the likelihood schools will return to the days when each building was staffed with a health care professional is slim to none, especially as classrooms lose teachers to massive budgetary cuts.
Rae Wallis, department head for Nursing and Health Services at Indianapolis Public Schools, said even though budgets are shrinking, the need isn’t.
“It seems we’re getting more and more kids with serious health needs,” said the 23-year veteran of nursing in IPS.
Much of that, she said, is because of the number of children who in the past would have died at birth now are saved but with serious health and developmental issues. Wallis also reported an increase in the number of children diagnosed with asthma.
National School Nurse Day, to help the public understand the vital contributions of these health professionals to the educational setting, is May 11.
Of IPS’ 48 elementary schools, only nine have nurses employed by the district. Nurses have been assigned to six additional schools through a partnership with Learning Well, a not-for-profit dedicated to the “health, well-being and school performance of students in Marion County,” including private and charter schools.
“We use a lot of community resources,” she said.
All the middle schools are staffed with a nurse provided by IPS or Learning Well, Wallis said. The Marion County Health Department also has some physicians in schools, she added.
“Some of them have the nurse practitioner put in there so it’s more like a doctor’s office,” Wallis said.
Exactly who is dispensing medications, monitoring students prone to seizures and tracking annual flu outbreaks?
Though Wallis says she believes each building should be staffed with a designated medical professional as they once appeared to be, the district employs a variety of strategies to meet the health needs of students.
Those who are considered “medically fragile” are moved from the boundary school to which they are assigned to the closest school with a nurse. Principals in the 69 percent of IPS elementary schools where no regularly assigned nurse is available have the authority to appoint a designee – most often their secretaries – to dispense the increasing number of asthma and ADHD medications during the school day.
“That’s putting a lot on secretaries,” Wallis admitted.
Even so, IPS schools continue to be able to offer preventative services likes vaccinations and dental care through partnerships with the Marion County Health Department.
In addition to day-to-day health concerns, school nurses develop strategies to combat public health concerns, such as childhood obesity and disaster preparedness. The National Association of School Nurses develops programs to help its members combat far-reaching health concerns, such as drug abuse, meningitis and skin health.
