Rx for school nursing: some districts are trying creative approaches to fill critical nursing needs
School Administrator, Jan, 2003 by Rachel Smolkin
Mejdell-Awbrey of the Visalia, Calif., Unified Schools applied her training from the institute to strengthen her district's advisory committee that coordinates school health programs. The committee includes school representatives, parents, pediatricians and county health agency representatives.
Concerned about the increasing number of unfit children in the community, the committee started a program in which the school nurses identify overweight students and refer them to the local hospital. Staff at the hospital's rehabilitation center offer fitness and nutrition classes for the students and their parents.
"You just need those partnerships," Mejdell-Awbrey says. "We find ways to work on these issues together so that the district is not out there alone."
Resources
These organizations can provide useful information relating to school health programs.
* American Cancer Society (contact: Neely Tolbert, program coordinator, National School Health Leadership Institutes), 1599 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30329. 404-982-3672. www.creatinghealthyschools.org
* American School Health Association, P.O. Box 708, Kent, OH 44240. 330-678-1601. www.asha@ashaweb.org
* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Adolescent and School Health, MS K31, Atlanta, GA 30341. 770-488-6130. Runs a Healthy Youth Funding Database with information on federal, private and foundation funding for school health services. www2.cdc.gov/nccdphp/shpfp/index.asp
* National Association of School Nurses, Eastern Office, P.O. Box 1300, Scarborough, ME 04070. 877-627-6476. Western Office, 1416 Park St., Suite A, Castle Rock, CO 80109. 866-627-6767. www.nasn.org Website has links to state affiliates, government resources, school health resources, liaisons and professional partners.
Rachel Smalkin is a free-lance writer based in Arlington, Va., specializing in health and education. E-mail: rsmolkin@erols.com
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