Crucial shortage
Recent report outlines critical shortfall in school nurses across Oregon
By Katie Pizza
Argus Observer
Thursday, September 18, 2008 10:27 AM PDT
| |
| School nurse Kathleen Hevner heads a diabetes discussion in the Nyssa High School library Tuesday. Hevner is the part-time nurse for the Malheur Education Service District and travels to schools throughout the area to educate parents and teachers about medical issues. |
Nyssa — As the only school nurse in Malheur County, Kathleen Hevner spends her time traveling to local schools educating parents and teachers about the medical issues they may come up against in their day-to-day activities.
Hevner covers a huge area — all Malheur County schools — and her task highlights the challenges the state faces regarding the availability of school nurses and implications of scaled-back youth medical care.
A recent report issued by the Task Force on School Nurses delivered to the Oregon Legislature outlined a scenario where only 2 percent of school districts meet national guidelines for school nurse staffing.
Hevner said she believes the Oregon school nursing shortage is a crucial youth health care issue.
“I believe Oregon kids are at risk,” she said.
Whether the report will make much difference regarding the number of school nurses is an open question Oregon Department of Education School Health Specialist Leslie Currin said.
“I hope so,” she said. “Because I think they need more.”
Carrin said she could not say for sure why there is a shortage of school nurses in Oregon.
“There must be a multitude of reasons,” she said. “There are 200-plus school districts in Oregon, so there are a multitude of reasons.”
Carrin said these districts are serviced by 200 to 250 nurses, though not all are full-time.
“I’ve been in this position for five years,” Currin said of her current job as school health specialist. “It hasn’t changed a lot.”
Big country
Closer to home, Hevner concedes her service area is large. She said she serves the biggest demographic area — the Malheur Education Service District — of any nurse in Oregon
“There are so many kids to service, that it’s impossible to service them all,” she said.
A large part of Hevner’s job pivots around cross-training and advisory work with area teachers and school staff.
“I go in and I consult and educate,” she said. “Then I follow up and monitor.”
Hevner, who works from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday said she occasionally gets called in to look at rashes or check for lice or to do puberty education. She will also educate teachers on certain ailments in order to help prepare them for problems that may arise.
“Cystic fibrosis, hemophiliacs, seizure disorders,” she said.
Hevner said she educates about seizures by telling teachers what to do and what a seizure looks like.
“They’re working under my nursing license basically,” she said of the staff members she educates.
Hevner said she creates a protocol for students who need medical attention.
“They are all unique and individual,” she said. “Not one student is the same. Not one diabetic is the same. Not one seizure kid is the same.”
Hevner said she attends school nurse conventions to learn about state regulations and communicates through an Oregon Department of Education-supported listserv to get her health questions answered.
“It helps with unique situations that come up,” she said. “Like how do you handle a tube-feeding in a classroom setting?” she said.
Hevner said she would like to be able to say “I will be at this school on the third Thursday of the month,” but she has not been able to fine-tune her schedule that far yet.
“It’s crazy trying to get everything done,” she said.
Oregon ranks 49th in the nation, including the District of Columbia, for its student to nurse ratio— 1 nurse for every 3,142 students. Utah and Michigan have lower scores, with Vermont at No. 1 with one nurse for every 275 students.
The American Academy of Pediatrics states that all districts should employ one nurse for every 750 students, with the number changing depending on the community and student population.
