Details

Written by: Beth Jameson, Seton Hall University

Published: 03 June 2021

 

When many people think of a school nurse, they imagine a person who hands out Band-Aids for boo-boos.

But school nurses do so much more. They are school leaders who address the physical, mental and emotional health needs of students.

As the COVID-19 pandemic played out, many school nurses took on even greater responsibilities. These include monitoring and evaluating staff and students for COVID-19 exposure and symptoms, contact tracing and educating students, staff and community partners on vaccine and prevention measures. School nurses are also developing initiatives to deal with the anticipated increase in mental health services that students, families and staff will need in the post-pandemic world.

And yet, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that public elementary, middle and high schools aim to have one school nurse for every 750 students.

As a former school nurse and current nurse scientist and professor of nursing, I know that this one-size-fits-all model does not consider the full role and responsibilities of the school nurse.

What’s more, as far as I can tell, no published research or evidence supports this ratio. It’s been traced at least as far back as the early 1970s and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Safety net for vulnerable kids

School nursing is a specialized practice that operates in environments very different from an acute care hospital setting. School nurses work alone, practice independently and are typically the sole health care provider in the building.

As part of our public health system, they play a critical role in disease surveillance, disaster preparedness, wellness and chronic disease prevention interventions, immunizations, mental health screening and asthma education.

And they are a safety net for society’s most vulnerable children. For example, if a student is experiencing food insecurity, the school nurse might coordinate with a community partner or school social worker to help the student and their family not go hungry.

Most school nurses will tell you they are unable to carry out many of these functions, often due to huge workloads or poor staffing.

I know from personal experience. From 2009 to 2014, I was the sole school nurse responsible for the health and safety of over 900 public elementary school children. This included special education classrooms for preschoolers and students with nonverbal autism. I now research how school health policies and practices effect the work environment of school nurses, and the challenges and barriers they face.

Research shows how a positive work environment for school nurses increases job satisfaction, reduces turnover and improves academic outcomes for students. A study of school nurses in Massachusetts schools demonstrated that for every dollar invested in school nursing, society would gain US$2.20 as a result of kids’ better health and disease prevention.

No one-size-fits-all ratio

A school nurse’s workload depends on a number of significant variables. For example, how many students in the school have chronic illnesses and need medication administered? How many students attend the school? What ages are they? What is the average number of student visits to the health office each school day? Are students spread across multiple buildings? What level of experience and specialized skills does the school nurse have?

The number of students in a school who are dealing with poverty or other health equity issues – including access to quality education, safe housing and health care – also impacts and increases the workload for school nurses.

These evidence-based variables can be used to guide school administrators and school nurses on what constitutes safe staffing. Making sure school nurses have a safe, appropriate workload is critical to ensuring that students have their health needs met at school.

[Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.]

Parents who are concerned about their child’s health at school may want to find out how many students their child’s school nurse cares for. How many students does the school nurse see on a typical day? Is a school nurse in the building every day? Does the school nurse cover more than one building? What happens when there is an emergency, such as a child with a life-threatening allergic reaction? Where are the emergency care plans kept? Is there stock medication available such as epinephrine and albuterol for students with severe allergies or asthma?

I believe school nurses need more manageable workloads in order to provide the safe care needed for better student health and academic outcomes. This leads to better health not just in individuals but in communities that need it most.

Beth Jameson, Assistant Professor of Nursing, Seton Hall University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Details

Written by: Dorothy De Lope

Published: 02 June 2021

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Vice-Commander Kevin Kealey of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 88 of Lake County decided to repeat history from more than 100 years ago in observance of National Safe Boating Week.

Kealey had read about Mary Downen, a pioneer woman who in 1903 built a cabin on Mount Konocti which is still standing.

Downen lived alone so each day at 2 p.m., using a mirror, she would signal down to her daughter in Lakeport that she was OK and her daughter would signal back.

To prepare for this project, Kealey distributed a cord to which was attached a daylight signal mirror and whistle to the teacher and a class at Clearlake Creativity School and Pomo Elementary School.

The students learned about Mary Downen and Kealey gave a presentation on the use of the mirror using the reflection of the sun and the whistles to attract attention.

On May 25, Kealey with his son, Nash, a member of the Navy Seabees Reserve to assist him, helper Nikki and Flotilla Public Affairs Officer Dorothy De Lope, drove up Mount Konocti to set up the equipment needed adjacent to the fire watch tower located there.

They had with them a huge mirror and all necessary equipment to perform a Zoom presentation to the schools at scheduled times.

A demonstration was performed by holding up the huge mirror and reflecting it on the hillside toward the location of the first school. The students used their small signal mirrors to sight in on the reflection of the huge mirror.

The project was being recorded via Zoom and the youngsters could be seen and heard laughing, jumping up and down screaming “I can see it” on seeing the huge mirror’s reflection on the hillside. The project was then repeated for the next school at their scheduled time.

Following the reflection demonstrations, the students returned to their classroom to watch Kealey via Zoom as he walked around the mountain, describing and naming the several peaks.

He included a bit of the history of each peak and Mount Konocti as well as Clear Lake and Lake Thurston.

The object of this mirror project was to teach youngsters safety by wearing the signal mirror and whistle when walking or hiking in unfamiliar countryside and to use that equipment should they become lost.

It’s also important for them to attach the signal and whistle to their life jackets in case of a boating emergency that causes them to end up in the water.

Flotilla 88 has fitted and distributed free life jackets to youngsters up to 12 years old but because of COVID-19 restrictions the flotilla was unable to do this in 2020 and this year as well.

The Flotilla urges everyone to practice safe boating habits and to always wear life jackets.

Dorothy De Lope is public information officer for United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 88 of Lake County.

Details

Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 02 June 2021

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — What to do about wild pigs that have been causing damage at the city of Lakeport’s sewer property was a topic of discussion at the Lakeport City Council’s Tuesday evening meeting.

City staff went to the council with a proposal to enter into a contract with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife through its Shared Habitat Alliance for Recreational Enhancement, or SHARE, program to allow for hunts on a portion of the 700-acre City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District property.

Ultimately, the council decided it wanted to further study the problem.

Utilities Superintendent Paul Harris told the council that wild pigs regularly roam the City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District property, or CLMSD, rooting up grass which decreases the feed for cattle at the site.

He said they’ve received complaints from neighboring properties and have been asked to mitigate the problem.

Fish and Wildlife staffers Victoria Barr and Joshua Bush attended the virtual meeting to discuss the SHARE program, which can contract with private landowners, government agencies and anyone else, Barr said.

“It really is just a public access program,” Barr said, explaining that all hunting regulations apply on participating properties, with landowners dictating the property rules.

Barr said there currently are 50 properties enrolled, including one city — Merced, the wastewater treatment plant for which has been in the program for seven years — along with the county of Colusa, some trust organizations but most being private landowners.

Bush, Fish and Wildlife’s unit biologist for Lake County, said that the wild or feral pig — known by the scientific name of Sus scrofa — is invasive to California.

“They cause lots of damage on private lands all throughout the state,” Bush said.

Their ancestors include domestic pigs brought to the state in the early 1700s and allowed to become feral and Eurasian wild boars brought to Monterey County for sport hunting in the 1920s, Bush said.

Today, Bush said wild boars and feral pig hybrids are found in 56 of 58 California counties.

Bush said they’re a game mammal and can be hunted year-round with a license and tags. Landowners can apply for depredation permits to remove pigs from their properties.

The US Department of Agriculture estimates wild pigs cause $1.5 billion of damage in the United States annually, Bush said in his report.

Surrounding private lands experience heavy depredation pressure on pasture, grazing land, landscaping and fencing. “They don’t respect property boundaries,” Bush said.

He said eradicating the pigs isn’t possible. Instead, Fish and Wildlife is looking for ways to mitigate damage and offer strategies to utilize the pigs as a resource.

Bush showed a picture of the Crazy Creek glider port in Middletown where a new golf course is being built. In one night, the pigs tore up all the new sod that had just been placed.

Fish and Wildlife staff met with city officials to discuss ensuring safety and a quality hunt with proposed measures including signage, procedures to sign in and out of the property, an informational flyer, and a requirement to use only archery or shotguns, not rifles, Bush said.

Councilwoman Stacey Mattina said immediate concerns from the public had included the use of firearms and hunters not being guided while on the property.

Barr said having a guide would be up to the city, but based on permit draws a maximum of four hunters would be on the property at any time.

Bush said that, for the success of the hunt, he suggested it be limited to shotguns and archery, not just archery.

“Pigs are pretty dangerous,” said Councilman Michael Froio, adding that allowing archery only could put hunters at a disadvantage.

Businessman and hunter Bobby Dutcher said if pigs are hunted for a few weeks, they’ll leave. He said the CLMSD property has been a safe haven for the pigs for years due to no hunting there.

“It’ll get better very quickly” if there is a guide and hunters out there trying to get rid of them, with Dutcher adding that the property should be hunted.

Bruce Brugler, who owns property to the west of the CLMSD property, said he’s a big supporter of the SHARE program but he did not support the plan with no guides. He said he also was not happy that the proposal came up before anyone had talked to him about it.

Like Dutcher, he said that if pigs are hunted in an area, they learn not to come around. “I just don’t think it is the right property for a SHARE program,” Brugler said.

Another neighbor, Michael Keithly, submitted a letter in which he also raised concerns about hunters coming onto his land and harming cattle. He said supervised guided hunts or youth hunts would be better.

In the end, the council didn’t move forward on the SHARE program proposal on Tuesday night.

Councilman Michael Green said the Fish and Wildlife proposal was sound. “CDFW brought a good plan to you tonight,” he told fellow council members.

The council as a whole took the neighbors’ concerns into account and reached consensus to direct staff to look at other options that could involve hunting.

Also on Tuesday, the council held a workshop on its 2021-22 fiscal year budget and discussed plans for the July 4 celebration and revisions to its classification system.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.