School Health Services Update: February 13th, 2019

Dear Colleagues,

With permission, I am attaching a letter that Pam Vaughn, RN, BSN, School Nurse at the Harrington Elementary School in Lexington, recently received from a grateful student. It’s the reason why we do what we do every day! While Pam is not alone, I’m sure in receiving a note of appreciation from a student, a staff member or from a family member, we often fail to acknowledge the good we do with our peers – and supervisors! I want to thank Jill Gasperini, the Director of School Health Services for the Lexington Public Schools for sharing this letter with us! Remember, as Maya Angelou once said, “They will forget what you do, they will forget what you say, but they will never forget how you make them feel!”

Hope all of you who will be on vacation next week during school vacation week are able to take time to relax, refresh and renew! Thank you for all you do…every day!
Mary Ann and the School Health Team

“Nothing would be done at all, if a man waited till he could do it so well that no one could find fault with it.” – John Henry Newman, theologian

SCHOOL NURSES IN THE NEWS!
Congratulations to Ellen Claflin RN BSN NCSN, High School Nurse for the Scituate Public Schools and Polly King, BSN, RN, NCSN, a school nurse in the Concord Public Schools, for achieving national certification as a school nurse!!

Thank you to Shanyn Toulouse, RN, Northeast Regional Consultant, for her presentation at Northeast School Principal regional meetings on the signs and symptoms of vision disorders, the public health impact of undetected childhood vision problems, and ways to strengthen school response when a child may be struggling with an undetected or untreated vision disorder.

REPORTING FORMS FOR MANDATORY BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) SCREENING FY 2019
The BMI report form for FY 2019 must be completed online using the links shown below. No paper printouts or electronic computer files will be accepted. To enter BMI data, click on the appropriate link below (or copy the link and then paste it into the address bar of your web browser, and then hit the Return key). Additional instructions for completing the form are shown on the first page of the online report form.

Districts associated with the ESHS program should use the first link; other public school districts should use the second link.

School Districts associated with the ESHS program (Funded Public School Districts, Partner Districts and Private Schools receiving ESHS funds):
Use the ESHS Status Report form to submit BMI data at the same time that other year-end program data is submitted.
http://mdph.checkboxonline.com/Status-Report-2019.survey.

Public School Districts not associated with the ESHS program
https://mdph.checkboxonline.com/BMI-Report-2019.survey.

Nonpublic/Private Schools
Nonpublic schools that are submitting BMI data should submit a completely separate data report; their data should not be included with the data from public school districts. Nonpublic/Private Schools associated with the ESHS program should report BMI data by submitting the same end-of year “Status Report” form as other ESHS-affiliated schools. (Use the first link to submit data). Other Nonpublic/Private Schools should use the same report form as used by public school districts not associated with the ESHS program. (Use the second link to submit data).

BOSTON UNIVERSITY: NURSING AND THE HEALTH OF POPULATIONS
DEAN’S SYMPOSIUM: Nursing and the Health of Populations
FEATURED SPEAKERS:
Maureen Bisognono, President Emerita And Senior Fellow, Institute For Healthcare Improvement
Barbara Stilwell, Executive Director, Nursing Now
APRIL 2
3 to 5:30 p.m.
Doors Open At 2:30 P.M. Reception To Follow.
Hiebert Lounge, 72 East Concord Street, Boston
Services For Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing People Provided
Where has nursing made the most difference in population health worldwide? Where can it make a difference moving forward? This half-day symposium will address the state of nursing science and practice and its intersection with the evolving field of global population health. The meeting aims to ask questions and encourage provocative answers, pointing to future synergies between nursing and population health. Cohosted with the Nursing Now campaign and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
REGISTER

ICRC-S WEBINAR: PROMOTING SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS AMONG YOUTH
The Injury Control Research Center for Suicide Prevention (ICRC-S) is hosting a webinar on promoting connectedness among youth through social networks. The presentation will discuss how school-based social networks can impact adolescent risk and protective factors for suicidal behaviors and review the evidence behind the Sources of Strength suicide prevention program. The webinar will take place on February 22 from 2 to 3 p.m. ET. Register today

CDC HEALTHY SCHOOLS HIGHLIGHTS
For students with chronic health conditions, school nurses and other health care providers play a large role in the daily management of their conditions. School health services staff can help all students with preventive care such as flu shots and vision and hearing screening, as well as acute and emergency care. The CDC School Health Services page has more information.

FYI: STATEWIDE OUTBREAK OF HIV INFECTION IN PERSONS WHO INJECT DRUGS
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) has detected an increase in newly diagnosed HIV infections among persons who inject drugs (PWID) in multiple areas across the Commonwealth. Recent HIV transmission is evidenced by several new cases diagnosed during the acute stage of HIV infection. The primary risk factor reported among identified cases is injection drug use (IDU). Injectable substances linked to this outbreak include heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. MDPH is asking healthcare providers to enhance their vigilance for, increase their testing of, and to rapidly report new HIV infections in PWID to DPH. Prompt identification of cases and linkage to care improves clinical outcomes and is critical to reducing HIV transmission. Please see the attached advisory for more information.

SAVE THE DATE: MDPH’S IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM 2019 IMMUNIZATION UPDATES
Save the date for the MDPH’s Immunization Program 2019 Immunization Updates! Registration opens early April for both the in-person and online 2019 Immunization Program Update
In-person Sessions – Dates and Locations
• Tuesday, April 23 , State Public Health Laboratory, Jamaica Plain
• Wednesday, May 1, UMass Medical School, Worcester
• Tuesday, May 7, Bristol Community College, Fall River
• Wednesday, May 8, Holyoke Community College, Holyoke (Vaccine Confidence Project meeting to follow from 1:00 – 2:00 pm)
• Wednesday, May 15, Cape Cod Community College, West Barnstable
• Friday, May 17, Berkshire Medical Center, Hillcrest Campus, Pittsfield (Vaccine Confidence Project meeting to follow from 1:00 – 2:00 pm)
• Thursday, May 23, Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill

Webinar Sessions – Date and Module
• Tuesday, June 4, Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS) Update
• Thursday, June 6, VFC Compliance/Vaccine Storage and Handling
• Tuesday, June 11, Immunization Nurse Webinar
• Thursday, June 13 , Epidemiology of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AMONG CHILDREN AND YOUTH: UNDERSTANDING TBI AND ONE MODEL STATE PROGRAM
Upcoming Webinars & Events: Traumatic Brain Injury among Children and Youth: Understanding TBI and One Model State Program
Thursday, February 21st, 2019, 2-3pm
Hosted by the Children’s Safety Network
Register Here

REGIONAL CONSULTANT CONTACT INFORMATION:
EOHHS Region Name Office Phone Cell Phone Email
State Epidemiologist 617-983-6800
Central Cynthia Tomlin 978-567-6250, ext 10142 978-875-2009 lwaingortin@hudson.k12.ma.us
cltomlin@hudson.k12.ma.us

Metrowest Jill Connolly 781-848-4000, ext. 7841 781-603-7697 jill.connolly@braintreeschools.org
Northeast Shanyn Toulouse 978-420-1919 978-761-2307 shanyn.toulouse@haverhill-ps.org
Southeast Ann Linehan 508-580-7363 annlinehan@bpsma.org
West Diane Colucci 413-750-2511 colucci-hechtd@springfieldpublicschools.com
Therese Blain 413-750-2007 blaint@springfieldpublicschools.com

Mary Ann Gapinski, MSN, RN, NCSN
Director of School Health Services
MA Department of Public Health
250 Washington Street – 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
mary.gapinski@state.ma.us
Website: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/school-health-services