School Health Update 09/11/2020
Greetings from the School Health Unit!
I remember with great clarity where I was 19 years ago today. I first heard about what was happening in NYC via a news alert on my computer, as I was one of the few buildings with access to the internet in my district. The following days were a blur of trying to explain things to my young children and supporting school staff and students, many of whom had family directly affected by the attacks. Many people are still suffering the after-effects of that day because of a personal loss, the collective trauma we all experienced, or lingering illness as a result of being “on the ground”. Today we pause to remember and reflect, and I have all those who still suffer in my thoughts.
Some of you will have students back soon if you don’t already. I would really like to hear about how it is going and how you and your colleagues are meeting the many challenges you face. Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you have found ways to operate within all the guidance that is working well for you. And, as always, we still welcome your feedback and concerns and are trying our best to find answers to frequently asked questions.
Regional school nurse leader meetings are one place to come together and share best practices in order to lighten the individual nurse’s load. The agenda for the September and October meetings is attached. We are pleased to inform you that representatives from DESE will be joining us for these meetings to update school nursing staff on the mobile testing initiative, among other things, and to provide a brief Q & A. You will note that they are joining three of the meetings in September and the remaining two in October; this is based solely on their availability. Those who will not hear from DESE in September will instead hear from the MDPH Immunization Program regarding the new influenza vaccine mandate (including Q & A) and the Immunization Program staff will join the other regions in October. Registration for these meetings is open, and we request that you limit registration to one nurse/nurse leader per school/district in order to provide the best experience:
Regional (ZOOM) Meetings
Comprehensive School Health Services (CSHS) Regional Consultants sponsor meetings for all school nurse leaders in their regions. These meetings provide networking and consultation opportunities in areas such as leadership development, policies, emergency preparedness, and the role of the school nurse leader.
Select the link under your region to register for the (ZOOM) meeting. After you register, a confirmation e-mail will come from Public Health Training Centers containing a meeting link and access code.
Northeast
September 18, 2020 | 1:00-3:00PM
https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0rc-qvrzMvHNAVWLQRQt81d2CGHgbsQcbC
Boston/Metro West
September 22, 2020 | 10:00-12:00PM
https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEqce2prD0iE9IBW93v9vrowR_13wQoDHfn
Western
September 23, 2020 | 10:00-12:00PM
https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwoc-yrrD4iH9PeORCsTQ3ALelv2ZUr4M0g
Southeast
September 24, 2020 | 10:00AM-12:00PM
https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAtf–sqDgvGtOkHOFnDlNiIhtnw0f2B1s5
Central
September 25, 2020 | 1:00AM-3:00PM
https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcqcu6gqD8qGNAWh50spSaeSxvimwUXpdQx
Also attached is the guidance on mobile testing units released by DESE today. Please note that there needs to be a point person in each school who communicates with the local health department in regards to possible clusters of COVID-19 cases and that person may be the school nurse. Regardless of your direct role within this initiative, we wanted you to have the guidance in hand so that you will be familiar with the program as in-person learning begins.
As always, your Regional Consultants and School Health Unit staff are here for you. We might not have all the answers, but we can listen, collaborate and try to find answers whenever possible. We see and appreciate all the work that you are doing for the students and families of the Commonwealth.
With gratitude,
Karen
School Nursing in the News! (please send along links you would like to see featured)
Karen Robitaille, MBA, MSN, RN, NCSN
<she, her, hers>
Director of School Health Services
Division of Child/Adolescent Health and Reproductive Health
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
250 Washington St. 5th floor, Boston, MA 02108
cell 781-675-0463