Northeast School Nurse Updates
Volume 11: April 1, 2020
*** Please Share with ALL School Nurse Leaders, School Nurses, and other interested colleagues**
Dear Colleagues,
I'm thinking of all of you, your families, and your communities. I hope you are safe, feeling well, and cared for. Like many of you, the Regional ConsuItants (RCs) are continuing our work from home in multiple capacities with both local and State colleagues. I continue to encourage you to keep in very close communication with your local and regional boards of health for any specific case guidance, reporting, tracking, and surveillance efforts, etc.
Massachusetts has set up a text notification system for important general community updates for all residents. To receive text updates you can text "COVIDMA" to the number 777-888.
You may wish to sign up on the Massachusetts health professional volunteer site. You should communicate and work with your school district administration and human resources department to be sure you are doing so with "approval." If you are able to register, you will be sent communications related to various volunteer opportunities in the Regions where you have indicated you are available. These opportunities, when offered, can be selected by you on a volunteer basis and you can choose to accept an opportunity or not based on your personal skills and availability. Details and links regarding both the text service and volunteer opportunities are below.
I hope you continue to take care of yourselves and remain well. I am trying to get outside and walk everyday and am doing A LOT of meditating and deep breathing. Everyone struggles on some degree. Please don't hesitate to reach out should you need support or assistance.
My best,
Shanyn
Shanyn A Toulouse, MEd, BSN, RN, NCSN
Northeast Regional School Nurse Consultant
✉️shanyn.toulouse@haverhill-ps.org
☎︎ 978.761.2307 Mobile
“In every crisis, doubt or confusion, take the higher path - the path of compassion, courage, understanding and love.” Amit Ray
Infographics from MDPH
Mental Health Crisis Support:
- Contact your behavioral health provider to see if they can schedule a telehealth visit. Telehealth is a virtual therapy session. Many providers are now offering this option.
- Contact Samaritans 24/7. Call or text our 24/7 helpline any time at 1-877-870-4673
- Contact Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741
- Visit the new Massachusetts Network of Care website to locate behavioral health resources in your area.
- Contact SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline. The Helpline provides 24/7, 365-day-a-year crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
- Contact the Massachusetts Emergency Services Program/Mobile Crisis Intervention (ESP/MCI) - 1-877-382-1609 (read more about this program)
- Take care of YOUR emotional health and help others do the same. If you need emotional support during these stressful times: Call 2-1-1 and choose the “CALL2TALK” option.
Multilingual resources on COVID-19:
- Coping with Stress During Infectious Disease Outbreaks flyer in Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, English, Farsi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. - Los Angeles County (California) Department of Mental Health
- Color in Colorado: A bilingual site for educators and families of English language learners - Infographics, factsheets, and other resources in several languages
- Novel Coronavirus factsheet in English, Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. - Washington State Department of Health
- Coronavirus print resources in English, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Dari, Farsi, Urdu, Portuguese, Bengali, French, Ukrainian, and Swahili. - U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Communication Tool:
- COVID-19 Visual Communication Tool. Medical Providers can use the icons, and communication tips, to: communicate illness prevention, determine symptoms, severity and timeframe, communicate treatment and ongoing care and learn the preferred method of communication. Deaf or Hard of Hearing Individuals can use the icons to help communicate preferred method of communication, symptoms, severity and timeframe, ask questions about care, know where to get current information regarding coronavirus. - Download the Visual Communication Tool
Families and Youth with Special Health Care Needs:
Contact a resource specialist for information on state and community-based assistance
Community Support Line (800) 882-1435 or https://www.mass.gov/service-details/contact-a-resource-specialist-for-information-on-state-and-community-based
The Division for Children & Youth with Special Health Needs toll free statewide Community Support Line provides information, technical assistance and resources for families with children and youth with special health needs and the providers serving these families.
Resource Specialists inform families about all of the public programs they may be eligible for, and about the state and community-based resources that may provide assistance. They answer questions, do a thorough assessment of family needs and eligibility for services and benefits and provide training to families and providers.
MOST RECENT STATE and NATIONAL GUIDANCE:
These resources and guidance change very frequently! Please be sure to check the websites below at least once per day to keep up to date.
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is working closely with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide updated information about the novel coronavirus outbreak.
https://www.mass.gov/resource/information-on-the-outbreak-of-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education COVID-19 Resource Page
"To be clear: ensuring compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act should not prevent any school from offering educational programs through distance instruction."
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Resources for K-12 Schools and Childcare Programs:
CDC Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA)
Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) provides timely, accurate, and credible information to clinicians related to emergency preparedness and response and emerging public health threats. COCA fosters partnerships with national clinician organizations to strengthen information-sharing networks before, during, and after a public health emergency.
COCA helps to strengthen the emergency response capacity of clinicians by:
- Disseminating evidence-based health information and public health emergency messages to clinicians
- Collaborating with clinicians to develop communication strategies that support health risk reduction opportunities during public emergencies
- Providing and promoting emergency preparedness and response training opportunities for clinicians
COCA prepares clinicians to respond to emerging health threats and public health emergencies by communicating relevant, timely information related to disease outbreaks, disasters, terrorism events, and other health alerts.You'll find some excellent recorded webinars and other resources here: https://emergency.cdc.gov/coca/
The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) COVID-2019 Resources Page:
Listervs for Nurse Leaders and School Nurses to Collaborate from Remote Locations:
Nurse Leaders (NLs) are seeking to collaborate with each other on roles, responsibilities and work from home during school closures.
Karen Rufo, NL from Lexington Public Schools, created these google sheets for sharing of ideas/collaboration. She states, "These are evolving documents, if you are interested please complete so we can be creative in our collective groups. Please feel free to share with others."
Please share these links from other district nurse leaders (NLs) who are seeking to collaborate with each other on roles, responsibilities and work from home.
Questions Regarding School Nurses Working from Home:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BwWkF959JWKaEXJ9DLq2AdYXs2N5LwMiMWNYNrUw1tQ/edit?usp=sharing
Collaboration Regarding Nurse Leader Role & Responsibilities:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B356sV4MclJIJu52w_O_TYMUkBkzaQJVbt2Nem9fydM/edit?usp=sharing
THANK YOU for distributing this update to ALL schools in your cities and towns! I will do my best to be available to you over the next several weeks. Be safe and healthy everyone!
Shanyn