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nurses administer advocacy, too Syracuse makes case with stats 
April 21, 2004
School nurse Ann O'Hara is often the one telling people to roll up their sleeves — for blood-pressure cuffs, shots or pulse checks. But when Syracuse schools threatened to reduce the nursing staff by two, O'Hara rolled up her own. Using the efficiency that is evident in so many nurses, O'Hara last year gathered statistics showing just what school nurses do. In one school year in the Salt City, there were:
In the Syracuse district, nurses and health attendants keep daily statistics, tally them for the month and send them to the director of nursing for the district. O'Hara took the stats and, with healthcare colleagues from the Syracuse Teachers Association (led by Kate McKenna), visited the school board. "The administration doesn't realize that without the school nurses — given the types of illnesses and myriad of problems the children come to school with — the classrooms would be thrown into chaos. We allow the teachers to focus on teaching," said O'Hara. She leads a 90-member unit of the teachers association that includes school nurses, health attendants who help with screening and billing, social worker assistants, and occupational and physical therapy assistants. When the district requires substitute nurses to fill in, it is difficult to find those subs because of the low pay. The remaining nurses serving Syracuse's 35 school buildings then have to "dash to one building to give medications and then dash back to their own buildings," O'Hara said. "We would have to leave very busy buildings to attend to emergencies in other buildings." O'Hara encouraged her colleagues to attend board meetings and share their work stories, or write letters to the board. These public testimonies caught the interest of a newspaper reporter, who wrote about the problems. A panel from the school board then agreed to increase school nurse substitute pay from $70 to $100, and restore one full-time position. Turn the tide "Union activism helped turn the tide," said O'Hara, who shared her success story with other members of the New York State United Teachers Health Care Professionals Council — many facing similar nursing cutbacks in hospitals, home care, higher education and school districts. O'Hara noted somberly that school nurses are sometimes the first liaison for a child suffering from abuse. Often, she said, "they come in with a physical ailment they do not know how to describe." Then there is the growing problem of childhood obesity. "I've got kindergartners who are over 100 pounds," O'Hara said. School nurses are often the first indicator for childhood obesity as they check students' height and weight. Nurses address concerns with after-school activities that can include nutritional counseling, health fairs and student mentoring said Michelle Parker, a school nurse with the Greenburgh Civil Service Organization in Westchester County and also a member of the NYSUT health council. School nurses are now mandated to do health teaching, prevention and education. "It's part of our scope of practice," said O'Hara. Teachers stop in to the nurse's office, too. Take Robert Dixon, physical ed teacher in Van Duyn Elementary. He showed up at O'Hara's door with an irregular heartbeat, unable to take deep breaths. O'Hara, a former coronary care nurse, took his vital signs and called 911. When emergency technicians arrived, they gave Dixon a different diagnosis than O' Hara had, she said. But her evidence prevailed, resulting in different medications for Dixon. He is now back at work and thankful for school nurses. — Liza Frenette |
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