School Health
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School Health Topics

  • Allergies and Chronic Health Conditions

  • Blood Borne Diseases

  • Concussions

  • Emergency Medical Response

  • Flu and Other Contagious Conditions

  • Health Assessments

  • Health Room Care

  • Individual Health Plan

  • Medication

  • Special Health Care Procedures

  • Vision Screening

About School Nurses

  • School Nursing is a specialized practice of professional nursing that advances the well-being, academic success, and life-long achievement of students.  The major responsibility of the school nurse is to provide the necessary professional expertise, so that student health needs can be identified, assessed, treated, and monitored by acquiring first-hand knowledge of prevailing health problems and the availability and accessibility of services.  Cooperation between school nurses and school personnel is essential in providing comprehensive and effective school health services. 

    The role of the school nurse includes, but is not limited to:

    1. Assure that the school is prepared to deliver a safe and appropriate response to medical emergencies and all health-related procedures, and treatments and that medication administration is performed safely and accurately by trained school personnel. 
    2. Act as a child advocate by developing Individual Health Plans to assist students with health-related barriers to learning.
    3. Identify health risks and initiate health promotion activities that foster optimal physical, psychological, and social development conducive to learning.
    4. Maximize the quality of students' educational experience by reducing the incidence of health-related absenteeism. 
    5. The school nurse works collaboratively with all stakeholders and other community resources to deliver health services within the schools. The principals, guidance counselors, school psychologist, and social workers all work closely with the school nurse to ensure that the physical and mental health needs of the students are met.  

    School nurses are required to have a bachelor's degree, and be nationally certified within three years of employment.  Many of the nurses also have advanced practice or master's degrees in nursing. School nurses are also certified in Vision Screening, CPR and Suicide Intervention Protocol (SIP). Nurses train unlicensed assistive school personnel in CPR, First Aid, and Diabetes Care Management.  

    Quality of the School Health program is maintained through nurses attending continuing educational opportunities, performance improvement goals, and ongoing evaluation and quality improvement to ensure that the practice is up-to-date and evidence-based. 

    School nurses are employed and governed by Union County Public Schools.