School Health Nurse Spotlight

Hello School Nurse Managers,

Congratulations on bringing another school year to a close.  I’m writing to you today to once again welcome you as recipients of Model or Affiliated Comprehensive School Health funding beginning July 1, 2019, and to give you an update on the School Health Unit at the Department of Public Health.  Despite our many staffing changes, the Department remains deeply committed to school health services and to providing support to all of you as you serve the students of the Commonwealth.

All Model School health programs should have received contracts for next year; if you have not yet returned those to the Department please do so as soon as possible.  Affiliated School Health program contracts will be issued soon and we will ensure a start date by early fall.  Funding for school health is set by the state legislature in their annual budget process; although the budget for FY20 is not yet final, we are confident that funding will be adequate this year and going forward for the duration of the contracts, as the legislature, the Governor, and the Department are committed to the importance of school health services.

We are moving forward as quickly as possible to hire for the vacant positions within the School Health Unit:

• We have identified an excellent candidate for the Unit Coordinator position and hope to make an offer soon.
• The Director position is still open and we encourage you to send excellent candidates our way:  https://massanf.taleo.net/careersection/ex/jobdetail.ftl?job=190003M2 Interviews will begin in late June/early July.  Mary Ann’s last day in the office will be June 28^th.
• Caitlin remains on medical leave, and we send her best wishes for a healthy pregnancy and birth.
• The Medication Administration Coordinator position will be posted in the next few days.  In the meantime, we have identified temporary help, and this person will be supported by two of our Regional Consultants to ensure continuous support for this critical role.  Janet’s last day in the office will be June 25^th.

Throughout the transition, I encourage you to reach out to me directly or to your Regional Consultant with any needs or concerns.  Regional Consultant positions under the new contract will begin August 1, 2019; below is the contact information that we have at this time:

• West Region (Region 1):  Veronica Webb Barrett webbv@springfieldpublicschools.com
• Central Region (Region 2):  A Model program to house the Central Region Regional Consultant has not yet been identified, but the Department is committed to identifying this support for Central Region schools.
• Northeast Region (Region 3):  Shanyn Toulouse shanyn.toulouse@haverhill-ps.org
• Metrowest Region (Region 4):  Weston Public Schools is in the process of finalizing the hire for this position.
• Southeast Region (Region 5):  Ann Linehan annlinehan@bpsma.org
• Boston Region (Region 6):  Boston Public Schools has posted the Regional Consultant position.  Please refer qualified applicants to https://bostonpublicschools.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=15793 to apply.

Thank you for all of the work that you do.

Best,

Jill