June 19, 2017

Dear Colleagues:

Summer school and summer vacations are both upon us!  Whether or not you will be working in School Health Services over the summer, we will be in our offices to assist you with consultation and technical assistance as you may need.  We hope you will take this slower time of the year to take advantage of the many professional development opportunities available to you over the summer, especially the program being offered by BU SHIELD (and sponsored by MDPH) in collaboration with the BCH Community Education Initiative.  This program will focus on health assessment by school nurses with attention to “red flags” that need attention, and followed by a day spent on emergency preparedness for school nurses.

And before you leave for the summer, we remind you of the data reports that are required to be sent to the MDPH School Health Office; these reporting requirements are:

  • All public schools must submit postural, BMI and beginning next year, SBIRT data.
  • All ESHS Funded Districts must submit monthly reports and annual (Status) reports which include postural and BMI data.  Beginning next year, they too, must submit SBIRT data.
  • All ESHS funded Private schools must submit only the annual (Status) reports which include postural and BMI data.  Beginning next year, they too, must submit SBIRT data.
  • All Partner Schools submission of reports is based on length time of funding:

o   8 years with program: must submit monthly reports and annual (Status) reports which include postural and BMI data.  Beginning next year, they too, must submit SBIRT data.

o   Less than 2 years with the program: only annual (Status) Report < 1 year with the program: must submit postural, BMI and beginning next year, SBIRT data (same as all public schools).

  • Non-funded private schools: no requirements to submit any reports

And while submitting these reports, to MDPH, please consider submitting your data to the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) for the Step Up and Be Counted project! Please see the section below from MSNO on how to participate in this initiative!

This will be the final MDPH School Health Update for this school year.  The next Update will be sent in August.   Please take time some time for yourself this summer to retreat, relax, reflect and renew!  Happy Summer,

Mary Ann, Carol and Janet


School Nurses in the News!

Congratulations to Marie A. Washington, RN, BSN, MEd, School Health Manager, Chelsea Public Schools, for obtaining her Supervisor/ Director license from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.


From the MDPH Immunization Program:

The 2016-17 kindergarten and 7th grade data collected from immunization surveys will be posted to the website early next week.  The posted data tables will include immunization and total exemption (medical and religious combined) rates as well as percentage of students reported with no immunization record and the calculated immunization gap per school.  The gap indicates the percentage of students who do not have all required vaccines for school and do not have an exemption on file.    Data can be found on our website, www.mass.gov/dph/imm, click on School Immunizations and scroll approximately halfway down the page to the section School Immunization Data.  State and county-wide data are also posted. If you have any questions please contact the MDPH Immunization Program Assessment Unit at 617-983-4330.


From the MDPH Concussion Program:
The MDPH Concussion Program has worked to produce webinars for physicians/clinicians about concussion management and treatment in collaboration with Massachusetts Medical Society and Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts.  It has four sections: Regulations (Linda Brown), Medical treatment and brain physiology (Michael Beasley, MD), graduated return to play (Kathy Thornton) and Return to Learn (Alan Kulberg, MD).  (If you scroll down to the bottom you can view it without cost).

http://www.massmed.org/Continuing-Education-and-Events/Online-CME/Courses/Concussion-Treatment,-Management,-and-Prevention/Concussion-Treatment,-Management-and-Prevention–In-School-and-on-the-Field/

Here are more user friendly links to the training (free videos on conference archives page: www.massmed.org/ConcussionTreatmentManagementandPrevention

Online CME course: www.massmed.org/CME/ConcussionTreatmentManagementandPrevention


From the MDPH Bureau of Substance Abuse Services:
For School Nurses, Health Educators and Teams:

Effectively Preventing Prescription Drug Misuse and Other Drug Use

Evidence-Based Middle School Prevention Training

Three 1-day Level 1 Training Options (only one day required)

8:30 (Registration) 9:00 AM-4:30PM

CERTIFICATION IS GRANTED AFTER ATTENDING ONE OF THESE DAYS. Prior registration is required. Although not required, teams from schools/districts are encouraged to attend. Level 1 is for 6th or 7th grade. Free Curricula and Student Materials will be provided.

Locations for free trainings:

o  August 16th, 2017 – Holiday Inn Taunton; 700 Myles Standish Blvd, Taunton

o  August 17th, 2017 – Courtyard Marriott; 75 Felton Street, Marlborough

o  August 18th, 2017 – Holiday Inn Peabody; 1 Newbury Street, Peabody

Materials and Parking are free. Lunch is provided.

Registration: Please Visit http://www.cvent.com/d/74q78p/6T for information and to complete the required registration. Thank you for helping to keep Massachusetts youth healthy.   6.0 hours per day of training will be awarded: the CEUs can be used for nurses; PDPs for other educators; and 6.5 hours for Certified Prevention Specialists (CPS) Credits

Life Skills Training Program Certification Training Description:

Life Skills Training Program (LST) is an interactive program based on the science of preventing substance use. Over 30 years of research have documented its’ ability to affect youth rates of substance use when used with middle school youth. Recent literature has documented decreases in prescription drug misuse when it is implemented with fidelity. LST consists of a series of Sessions in the 6th or 7th grade followed by a shorter series of Booster Sessions in the two subsequent grades. It can be implemented by adults who attend a one-day Certification Training that consistently receives positive reviews. The training and curriculum supplies are offered at no charge by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. More information will be available at the training.


From the Massachusetts School Nurse Organization (MSNO):
“As collectors of population data, school nurses hold the key to understanding the health of our nation’s children” (https://www.nasn.org/Research/StepUpBeCounted).

The Step Up & Be Counted project is a joint initiative of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants, and this is Massachusetts’ second year of participating.   Fifty-two MA school nurses provided data representing 20% of MA students last school year — let’s double these numbers for this school year!  NASN encourages nurses to follow any district policy they have about sharing data.  Sharing the same data with principals and superintendents helps them understand student health issues in their schools.  If you work in a district with a Nurse Leader, be sure to discuss with her or him your plan to share the data.

To see what data points you will report for your school or district, click on this link to the NASN website or see the attached “Data Point Definitions” document.  If you do not have access to all data points requested, that is okay, as NASN is encouraging schools that have not been collecting this type of data to begin with what they can collect accurately.  With the Step Up and Be Counted project, “data champions” in each state aggregate the data reported by schools and districts, and provide this data to NASN in October without identifying schools or school districts (see the attached Massachusetts and National infographics for 2015-2016).  When you have your 2016-2017 data ready to submit to the MA data co-champions, Betty Foster and Jenny Gormley, please go to the link below to enter your data:

MA Step Up & Be Counted 2016-2017 Survey (Qualtrics)  Or copy and paste the following link into your browser: https://survey.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9oYj03lY0e3EXXL

Please submit your data by the end of June, if possible.   Your data must be submitted by October 1, 2017If you have questions, you may contact us at: 

Betty Foster, BSN, RN, NCSN, elizabethann57@gmail.com, or Jenny M. Gormley, MSN, RN, NCSN, jmgormley567@gmail.com.


From the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office:

On May 31, 2017, Attorney General Maura Healy and GE Foundation President Ann R. Klee, announced Project Here. This initiative will provide substance use prevention education to middle school students through an innovative combination of in-classroom programs and mobile content.  Project Here will provide curriculum materials to every public middle schools in Massachusetts that wants them, as well as support resources for students who are struggling with addiction, trainings for educators and parents on substance use prevention, and access to an innovative mobile platform with prevention content. Programming will begin in the fall of 2017.Schools can learn more at www.mass.gov/ago/projecthere.

 From Adamis Pharmaceuticals:

Adamis Pharmaceuticals: Receives FDA Approval for Its Epinephrine Pre-Filled Syringe

 Please note:  at this time, this syringe it to be used only by first responders and other health care personnel.  It is not for self-administration by children and or adults at this time.

The device, to be sold under the brand name Symjepi™, is not an auto-injector per se, but a syringe prefilled with a standard dose (0.3mg) of epinephrine used for emergency treatment of anaphylaxis. Symjepi will be sold in a two-pack much like current auto-injectors.  Though the device may not find favor with children and adults that self-carry, it is expected to provide a lower cost option for emergency medical personnel and others trained on the device to administer stock epinephrine during an anaphylactic emergency.

https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/06/15/1025082/0/en/Adamis-Pharmaceuticals-Receives-FDA-Approval-for-Its-Epinephrine-Pre-Filled-Syringe.html


From the Children’s Knowledge Center:

The Children’s Behavioral Health Knowledge Center July Webinar:  Ways to Keep Babies and Young Children in Mind:  Principles and practices for behavioral health professionals working in home or community settings

Wednesday, July 19th, 2017
11:00am- 12:00pm 
 Often times, children served by through home and community based behavioral health programs have younger siblings. Practitioners have an opportunity to promote optimal social emotional health in these young children, too.  This webinar will introduce participants to some principles of infant and young child mental health practices and suggest what practitioners should be listening for when it comes to attending to these young children and their needs. Participants will also learn about resources and programs available to serve infants and young children in the Commonwealth

Presenter:  Elizabeth (Lizzie) McEnany, PsyD.

Click here to read more.  To request an accommodation, or for any questions, please contact CBH Knowledge Center director Kelly English at kelly.english@state.ma.us


From the Massachusetts Immunization Partnership:

Save the Date!
22nd Annual MIAP Pediatric Immunization Skills Building Conference

October 12, 2017, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel, Marlborough, MA

Conference Plenary Sessions:

National Immunization Update

JoEllen Wolicki, BSN, RN

Nurse Educator, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Everything You and Your Patients Should Know about HPV Vaccination

Rebecca Perkins, MD, MSc

Assistant Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology, Boston University School of Medicine/Boston Medical Center

State Immunization Update

Susan Lett, MD, MPH
Medical Director, Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) Immunization Program
Pejman Talebian, MA, MPH

Director, MDPH Immunization Program

Breakout Sessions

How to Talk with Parents: Conversations to Address Vaccine Confidence ● Immunization “101” ● Immunization “201” – Challenging Immunization Scenarios ● Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS) Updates ● Vaccine Preventable Disease Epidemiology ● Vaccine Storage and Handling and VFC Compliance Training

The Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, designates this Live activity for a maximum of 5.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Conference Registration will open in August 2017. Conference updates will be circulated as they become available.


Call for Nominations: 2017 MIAP Conference Award  (Nomination Submission Deadline: July 28, 2017)

Each year, the Massachusetts Immunization Action Partnership (MIAP) recognizes individuals or groups that have made an outstanding contribution to pediatric immunization in Massachusetts. The recipient of this award is an individual or an organization that has demonstrated particular leadership, initiative, innovation, collaboration and/or advocacy. The MIAP Conference Organizing Committee is seeking nominations for this year’s award.

The award will be presented on October 12, 2017, at the 22nd Annual MIAP Pediatric Immunization Skills Building Conference.

The deadline to submit an award nomination is Friday, July 28, 2017. Instructions for submitting nominations are detailed in the nomination form.

Please contact Cynthia McReynolds if you have any questions (cmcreynolds@mm.org; 781.895.9850).