School nurse program has expanded greatly
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on November 2, 2014 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Nurse Jessica Holmes checks the blood sugar of Malachi Edwards in the nurse's office at Carver Heights Elementary School. Each day, the kindergartner gets his blood sugar levels monitored.
Years ago, Wayne County Public Schools only had one school nurse responsible for its more than 19,000 students.
Since 1997, when Wayne Initiative for School Health, or WISH, school-based health centers were introduced in two schools, the program has expanded into six middle and high schools.
Wayne Memorial Hospital has partnered with the district in providing nurses, made possible through grant funding.
"Fifteen years ago, we had one nurse for 19,000 students. The state recommended a ratio of one nurse to 750 students. We have 19 school nurses now," Jana Blackman, the hospital's director of health promotions, recently told the Board of Education. "If you take out our nurses at Edgewood (Community Developmental School) and our manager, our schools' ratio is 1 to 1,181, so we're still nowhere near what the recommended ratio is. We have still got a ways to go, but just think how far we have come in 15 years."
There are many health needs among the student population, Ms. Blackman said, and children learn better when those needs are addressed. Having 19 nurses rotating their time between all 31 schools has proven beneficial, she said.
Pam Anderson, school nurse manager, shared some of the statistics from the 2013-2014 school year.
Home visits increased by nearly 40 percent from the previous year, she said, for a total of 390 visits made for a variety of reasons -- from absenteeism or a car accident to surgery or illness.
The pregnancy rates are another big issue in the county, Ms. Anderson said.
This past year, there were a total of 47 pregnancies reported in the high schools.
"For the previous years, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, our total number was high, at 160, so this past school year it was lower," she said.
Schools with the highest pregnancy rates were Goldsboro, which had 14 in 2013-14, and Southern Wayne, which had 10 over the same time period.
The nurses also provide one-on-one counseling services and handle such aspects of health care as case management and dispensing medication. Last year, 6,798 vision screenings were conducted and 592 students received an eye exam and/or glasses.
Ms. Anderson said this past year 228 students were treated for such health conditions as asthma, seizures, severe allergies, weight and diabetes.
A total of 2,053 received medications, of those 662 considered long-term, such as ritalin, which is administered on a daily basis.
Nearly 4,000 students had some type of medical condition, she said -- including 56 requiring blood glucose monitors and 186 with severe allergies.
"Children are coming to school sicker and sicker and we're working very hard to make sure things are running smoothly," Ms. Anderson said.
School board member Patricia Burden, former principal at Goldsboro Middle and High schools, where there are WISH centers, praised the school nurse program, saying it had been shown to improve attendance rates at the schools.
Dr. Steven Taylor, schools superintendent, said he has appreciated the way the program has grown over the years, as having nurses on site means students don't lose as much valuable classroom time.
He said getting the "ear of the legislators" will be important, to let them know the value of the program and ensure its future funding.
"We feel more secure having these nurses in place, knowing that our kids will get that treatment," he said. "Anything can happen and we like to have a professional there knowing what to do."
"Clearly we have a number of children in our schools that might not be there and be homebound" if not for the nurses, Allison Pridgen, director of student support services, said. "We look forward to continuing this program for many years to come."