MDPH School Health Unit Update
April 10, 2020
Greetings from the School Health Unit!
While anxiety continues to ramp up over the expected surge of COVID-19 illness and the impact on our healthcare system, I find it helpful to concentrate on what is within my control. The following graphic is trending on Twitter, and although I could not find the original source, I wanted to share with you as I found it helpful:
Also to that end, let’s address what is new this week, as well as some of the most common questions our team is receiving:
UPDATES:
- Foundations class 2 is online! I’m happy to report that the cohort going through this class when the shutdown occurred will be able to complete the course needed for DESE licensure. Those that registered and attended class one have received information about the online class two. Please email Bev Heinz-Lacey at bhlacey@bu.edu with any questions.
- Medication delegation course is next to go fully online along with SBIRT! This will be a temporary fix while we are unable to meet in person and will fulfill the requirements for a medication delegation registration as well as DESE licensure.
- Virtual regional nurse leader/manager meetings are in the planning stages and we hope to hold at least one per region in late April/early May. Stay tuned!
QUESTIONS
I have new students enrolling who are unable to provide proof of physical/immunization record due to the current crisis; how should I handle this?
- Many pediatric offices remain committed to keeping up with well-child visits and have set up a structure for this. Families may also be able to access their electronic health record and download and email recent physicals and immunization records; additionally nurses can check MIIS for the immunization record. A reminder that while MDPH regulations outline the requirements for school entry in regards to physicals and immunizations, local school districts are responsible for ensuring compliance to the stated requirements. Your district could decide to allow students to enroll in order to expedite virtual education during the closure, with nursing staff taking responsibility for following up to obtain needed documentation from families as soon as possible.
What should I be doing in regards to back to school planning?
- Recovery is part of emergency preparedness planning, and it’s likely there is some general content in either your own pandemic plan, or in the state and federal resources, that you can use to begin planning. However, there is still much to be learned about this disease, and actual return to school protocols in regards to this specific disease is still an unknown. Rest assured the School Health Unit will work closely with our state infectious disease partners on this effort, and will be providing guidance once school reopening becomes clearer.
Just how far does the school nurse’s role extend during this time of physical school closure and virtual education?
- This has been a very challenging time in so many ways, and this is just one of them. I wish I had an algorithm to share with you, but I don’t. Certainly health education efforts that address the entire school community are always appropriate—see below for some excellent examples from your colleagues. Outreach to students and families that may be at greater risk due to extended school closures is another important task that can be taken in partnership with your administrative and counseling teams. I think during this time it is important to discern between tasks that address case management (appropriate for school staff) as opposed to disease management (best referred to care providers). I hope this is somewhat helpful to you!
Lastly here are some more examples of what school nursing staff are up to around our Commonwealth. Enjoy, and know that you are supported and respected!
Karen
Lexington Public School nursing staff crank out the YouTube student/parent engagement videos:
Diamond Middle School: https://youtu.be/D_bcRvi9myE
District nursing staff: https://youtu.be/SYEbNFtHCbQ
Fitchburg nurse Malcolm Lillie created this video for students:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vJ7_r1SpSa4aZjShhfMlqdoB_q5-X6GL/view
And these tips from Laura Martelle from North Berkshire School Union:
I just wanted to share some things I have been doing to keep connected. Our school is set up for virtual online classes with all our students. I join in the last 15 minutes of each grade’s class. I check in to see how everyone is and what they have been doing. I just started back to do short health classes with them. We have an all virtual staff meeting every week. I also have a nurses meeting weekly to check in and see what other ideas we can come up with to help stay connected. I send out health tips every other week to school families and send updates to our school IT person to post on our school website.
Karen Robitaille, MBA, MSN, RN, NCSN
< she, her, hers >
Director of School Health Services
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Bureau of Community Health & Prevention
250 Washington Street, 5th floor
Boston, MA 02108
MA Department of Public Health School Health Unit Contact Information
Karen Robitaille, MBA, MSN, RN, NCSN
Director of School Health
Email: Karen.Robitaille2@state.ma.us
Caitlin Pettengill, DNP, RN
Assistant Director of School Health
Email: caitlin.pettengill@state.ma.us
Juliet Sithole-Berk, MPA, MSCED
Unit Coordinator
Email: Juliet.Berk1@State.ma.us
Evelyn Levenson
Interim Medication Administration Program Coordinator
Email: evelyn.levenson@state.ma.us
Robert Leibowitz, Ph.D.
Epidemiologist
Email: robert.leibowitz@state.ma.us
Statewide Regional School Nurse Consultant Contacts
Boston
Mary Jane O'Brien, PhD, RN, CPNP, NCSN
mobrien@bostonpublicschools.org
Central
Janet Guertin-Moruzzi BSN, RN, NCSN
Metro West
Jill Connolly, MEd, BSN, RN, NCSN
jill.connolly@braintreeschools.org
Northeast
Shanyn A. Toulouse, MEd, BSN, RN NCSN
shanyn.toulouse@haverhill-ps.org
Southeast
Ann M. Linehan, DNP, MSN, RN
West
Veronica Webb Barrett, MSN, MA Ed Psych, RN, HNB-BC