School Health Services Update: May 17th, 2019

Dear Colleagues,

It is the season for award ceremonies and graduations! Please see the section on School Nurses in the News for a listing of School Nurses and other colleagues who have been recognized for their achievements!  It is amazing the impact and accomplishments of School Nurses have our students and families across the state due to the dedication of these professionals!  Please continue to send me any exciting news of colleagues that I can share!

Hope to see many of you at the School-based Medicaid program for school nurses this coming Thursday, May 23rd.  Just a reminder that this program is being held to discuss Nursing services in schools (including pre-planned services, 1-on-1 nursing, unplanned visits, and health screenings, etc.):

• When: 8:30AM – 11:30AM
• Where: UMass, Worcester campus

Thank you for all you do, every day! And all that you accomplish beyond the school day!

Mary Ann and the School Health Team

“All you need is one person to say yes to an idea.” — Joy Mangano, inventor and entrepreneur

SCHOOL NURSES IN THE NEWS!

• Sarah Delconte-Consentino, RN, School Nurse in the Nashoba Regional School District, coordinated effort for the American Heart Association – High School Hands Only CPR Challenge.  A feature article appeared on the front page of the local paper, The Item:   https://www.telegram.com/item/20190510/hands-free-cpr-program-expands-nashoba-students-reach
• Last week, David Narkewicz, Mayor of the City of Northampton, proclaimed Wednesday, May 8, 2019, as National School Nurse Day and to honor the Northampton Public School Nurses.

• Shanyn A Toulouse, MEd, BSN, RN, NCSN, Northeast Regional School Nurse Consultant, and Rita Casper, MBA, RN, Director of Nursing for the Andover Public Schools, are both quoted in the article below discussing immunization clinics to prevent measles outbreaks in the schools in the Northeast.

Precautionary measures | Merrimack Valley | eagletribune.com

A record-breaking comeback of measles has sparked local efforts to stop the extremely contagious disease from forging into Merrimack Valley homes. Andover, Haverhill, Lawrence, Methuen, North …

www.eagletribune.com

• School Nurses who recently became Nationally Certified as a School Nurse!  Congratulations to all!
  • Suzan Allen, M.Ed, RN, NCSN,  Billerica Public School Nurse
  • Maureen Battcock BSN, RN, NCSN, Billerica Public School Nurse
  • Rebecca Blanton, BSN, RN, NCSN, Assabet Valley Collaborative School Nurse
  • Mary Ellen Carroll-Reed, MBA, RN, BSN, NCSN, Barnstable Public School Nurse
  • Pamela Ciborowski, RN, MBA, RN, BSN, NCSN,  Barnstable Public Schools Nursing & Wellness Coordinator
  • Janice Roberts, BSN, RN, NCSN, Billerica Public School Nurse
  • Katy Smith, RN, NCSN, Deerfield Elementary School Nurse
  • Patricia H. Stacy, BSN, RN, NCSN, Narragansett Middle School
• Nancy Boutin, MSN, RN, School Nurse in the Nashoba Regional School District, recently graduated this past weekend from Southern New Hampshire University as a member of Sigma Theta Tau with her Masters in Nursing, Nurse Education
• ​​​Susan M. Lofquist, MSN, RN, NCSN, School Nurse at the Oakmont Regional High School, received her Master of Science in Nursing from Southern New Hampshire University in January.
• More Exemplar School Nurse Websites from the Dedham Public Schools:  https://sites.google.com/dedham.k12.ma.us/dpshealthservices/home
• Congratulations to Doreen Crowe, MEd, BSN, RN, Director of Nursing Services for the Wilmington Public Schools, on receiving her Initial Administrator License as a Supervisor/ Director from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)!  Doreen is willing to share her experience with other Nurse Managers seeking a Supervisor/Director licensure following the same path

CDC CLINICIAN OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITY (COCA) ON MULTI-STATE MEASLES OUTBREAKJoin the CDC COCA call on May 21, to hear measles experts discuss the current multi-state outbreak. During this COCA Call, clinicians will learn what makes 2019 a historic year for measles, and what they can do to help identify cases and stop measles transmission.Date: Tuesday, May 21, 2019Time: 2:00 – 3:00 p.m., ESTA few minutes before the webinar begins, please click the link below to join:
https://zoom.us/j/118484474Or iPhone one-tap:  US: +16468769923,,118484474# or +16699006833,,118484474#
Or Telephone:  Dial: US: +1 646 876 9923 or +1 669 900 6833Webinar ID: 118 484 474The closed captioned video for this COCA Call will be posted here soon after the live call.Free continuing education (CE) is available for this COCA Call.At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to accomplish the following:

• Identify the clinical presentation of measles.
• Discuss current measles epidemiology in the United States.
• List measles vaccine recommendations.
• Describe measles guidance in health care settings.

At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to accomplish the following:

• Cite background information on the topic covered during the presentation.
• Discuss CDC’s role in the topic covered during the presentation.
• Describe the topic’s implications for clinicians.
• Discuss concerns and/or issues related to preparedness for and/or response to urgent public health threats.
• Promote health improvement, wellness, and disease prevention in cooperation with patients, communities, at-risk populations, and other members of an interprofessional team of health care providers.

SAVE THE DATE:  SPRING 2019 REGIONAL FAMILY ENGAGEMENT STAKEHOLDER COALITION MEETINGS

School Nurses are requested to attend!

Background: Massachusetts state education, health and human services agencies are working collaboratively to create a comprehensive Prenatal-to-Grade 12 Family Engagement Framework for use in home visiting programs, early intervention services, early education and care programs, public school settings, and more. The Spring 2019 Regional Family Engagement Stakeholder Coalition Meetings will bring together members from a variety of fields to provide insight, guidance, and feedback on the work currently underway to draft the Framework and its implementation plan.

Who: Community organizations, parents, grandparents, practitioners, school and district personnel and other stakeholders with an interest in informing a Prenatal through Post-Secondary family engagement framework are welcome to participate.  Here are some examples of state, regional and local organizations that may want to join:

• ICC Parent Leaders
• Home Visitors
• CFCE/PCHP coordinators
• Head Start Family Engagement Coordinators
• Preschool Expansion Grant Coordinators
• Family Centers (CT)
• Family Resource Centers (DCF)
• Early childhood and after-school  programs
• Museums
• Libraries
• Businesses
• Philanthropic
• Judicial Branch organizations
• ABE/GED programs
• McKinney Vento liaisons
• SEPAC members
• PTA members
• School committee members
• MSAA
• State SAC
• PCEI members
• Teachers Union
• Pediatricians
• Mental health clinicians
• MASCA
• Advocacy Organizations

When/Where:

Additional Information: To register please click here.

If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Student and Family Support at DESE at achievement@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-3010.

FOR SCHOOL-BASED MEDICAID PROVIDERS

Please be advised that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has recently published an updated version of form 28M/12 for the purposes of providing service delivery information for submission of interim claims when reimbursable Medicaid services are provided to students placed in Out-of-District programs. Please see Special Education Administrative Advisory SPED 2019-3: http://www.doe.mass.edu/sped/advisories/2019-3.html for additional information.

NEW LGBTQIA+ RESOURCE TOOLKIT

Thanks to Linda Cahill, DNP, MSN, RN, Nursing Supervisor, Brockton Public Schools, and Kim Fallon, BSN, BA, CPN, a resource for school personnel to provide appropriate gender sensitive interactions and responses to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersexual, Asexual (LGBTQIA+)* (the symbol “+” stands for any additional group not represented by the LGBTQIA acronym) has been created and  posted under Social Emotional Health in SHIELD resources – located here: https://www.bucme.org/node/1139#4

Thank you to Linda and Kim as well as contributors to this toolkit, Kelly MacNeill and Karen Rufo, from the Natick Public Schools for their willingness to share this valuable resource with school personnel!

 NEWS FROM ELMS COLLEGE

Attached is the information about concerning the Elms College MSN Summer semester courses. Classes start on July 9 so there is still plenty of time for school nurses to touch base with Cindy Dakin, Director of the Graduate Nursing Studies or to sign up for a class to try the program out. As a reminder:  school nurses are welcome to take up to 9 credits before they need to apply to the Elms MSN program. For more information contact:   Cynthia L. Dakin, PhD, RN, Professor, Director Graduate Nursing Studies, School of Nursing, Elms College, 430 Berchmans Hall, 291 Springfield Street Chicopee, MA 01013-2839; phone: (413)265-2455

MIIS SCHOOL SURVEY WEBINAR

Introducing the Redesigned School Module

Webinar

Thursday May 30, 2019

12:00pm-1:00pm

Register Now

This webinar will review:

• MIIS Registration
• Simplified access to the School Immunization Survey
• Results from the 2018-19 School Immunization Survey
• Live Q&A

Questions? Contact Us:

617-983-4335 p. | miishelpdesk@state.ma.us | 617-983-4301 f.

REGIONAL CONSULTANT CONTACT INFORMATION

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