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• Find the Health Services and Emergency Care Update for Principals August 11 slides .
• Find the Health Services Update for OMs 8/10/23 slides .

Q: Why does the enrollment center admit students who are not up-to-date on IZs?  

A: They should not. Please email, Lisa-musser@scusd.edu  when you have an example and we will follow up. There are a couple valid reasons students are not up-to-date. One is when the student has an IEP. We may not deny special education services so must enroll a student with IEPs even if non-compliant. There are some students who are allowed conditional admission – students who are identified as foster, homeless or students not currently due for any immunizations but have doses due later. In these types of situations, it becomes the responsibility of the school to monitor and get updated vaccine records to ensure compliance with immunization requirements.

Q: Why do our Covid policies differ from what SIA presented? 

A: We are reviewing this and will provide an answer soon. 

Q: Who is my nurse, when will they be on site, and what do they do?

Dear Principals and Office Managers,

Please find your School Nurse’s name and phone number here: 23-24 School Nurse Assignments. They will be coming to your site soon if they have not already.

Schedule – Nurses are assigned sites based on funding and on an acuity measure that factors enrollment, special education needs, number of students with health needs, number of students on free/reduced lunch and number of students chronically absent. If they have more than one site, they will plan scheduled day(s) to be at your site but may at times need to flex that schedule in order to attend meetings or other needs as they arrive.

Space – Please assist your nurse to identify a space on campus where they can work regularly, including contacting parents and meeting with students confidentially. If the health office at your school is used for first aid and frequently has students in it, it is not an appropriate space. If there is no space on your site, the nurse will find space at Serna Center or another site. They will still be available to you via district cell phone call/text and email.
 

Role – The nurse’s primary role is to identify and support students with health conditions or health problems and provide support so that they are attending school, are safe and can access learning. The School Nurse is the health professional for your site to consult on student, family, and site health related issues.
 

Emergency Care Plans – They will be busy at the beginning of the year identifying students with health conditions that are or could be life threatening or result in an emergency at school. They are contacting parents to update Emergency Health Plans, distributing those plans to staff, and providing training to staff on those procedures.
 

Direct Care/ Health Care Services – They are also setting up the direct care services provided to students that need diabetes care, g-tube feedings, catheterization or other nursing or health services at school. They are meeting with parents, preparing plans, and providing training to health aides/LVNs doing the procedure.
 

Special Ed /504 Accommodation Plans – Another primary role is conducting Health Assessments and attending meetings for students with Initial and Triennial Special Ed assessments and health-related 504s. Your nurse must be invited to all IEP and 504 meetings involving student health issues.
 

Training – the nurse is responsible for training staff to care for student health needs while at school. This may include first aid, medication administration, AED use, emergency care for diabetes, seizures, anaphylaxis etc. Please provide access and time for them to train appropriate staff who care for students during the school day.
 

Communicable Diseases – if you have any concerns about a communicable disease (chickenpox, measles, Mpox, etc.) notify your school nurse immediately. They will work with me and if necessary, SCPH, to advise on next steps.
 

The services above are mandated and typically nurses struggle to meet the mandates with large assignments. This year we have filled almost all of our positions and many of the nurses will have capacity to provide additional services. If you have a full time school nurse or your nurse has capacity, time can be allocated to additional health related roles such as attending COST, SST, Safety or Attendance meetings, providing classroom health education, or coordinating dental screenings and other community programs. Please meet with your nurse to prioritize additional services that best meet the needs of your site.

There are a number of new School Nurses starting this year who will be onboarding and orienting during the first few months. They will be supported by a Lead Nurse and mentors, but please be patient and support them as they learn their new role.

Feel free to contact me if you have any concerns or if I can answer any questions. We look forward to working with you to support your school community.

Regards,

Lisa Musser, RN, Health Services Coordinator
Jacqueline Garner, Executive Director of Student Support and Health Services