Spokane7
65°
September 26, 2010 in City
Spokane hopes to establish a school-based health clinic
Students who are well learn better and nurses are stretched thin
Salk Middle School support nurse Kim Douglas takes some ribbing from eighth-grader Steven Powell, 13, as she logs the contents of the diabetic student’s lunch on Wednesday. “Are YOU eating healthy?” he asked.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)
By 11 a.m. Wednesday, Fischer had handed out asthma plans for several students at Woodridge Elementary School, looked at a student’s rash, educated a teacher on another student’s medication, headed to Salk Middle School to help a support nurse deal with a diabetic student and rushed to help a student who was having trouble breathing. After that, she was off to Logan Elementary.
“A lot of days, there is no set plan,” said Fischer, who oversees six schools.
School nurses are stretched thin in the Inland Northwest, with many working at multiple locations, taking care of the increasing health care needs of student populations.
Health care plays a vital role in educational achievement and may even improve a district’s dropout rate, according to several recent studies. School officials would like to provide more school nurses, but there’s no money available, officials say.
Districts in Western Washington and nationwide are having success with an alternative, however – school-based health clinics, which provide a wider range of care to schoolchildren, some of whom may not otherwise have regular access to medical care. Communities in Schools, a nonprofit with a dropout-prevention mission, has landed a $50,000 grant to work on establishing a school-based health clinic in Spokane County.
“There are 1,700 school-based health clinics across the country, and we are one of the largest metro areas that does not have one,” said Ben Stuckart, director of the nonprofit’s Spokane chapter. “When we do needs assessments in the schools we’ve been in, health care is constantly in the top three needs. A school-based health clinic is something we’ve been looking at for the last two years.”
Such clinics offer a range of services, depending on their staffing.
Some are staffed with a part-time medical doctor and a registered nurse and focus on preventive care; others might have a full-time doctor, registered nurse and a mental health professional; the most comprehensive might also include visits by specialists, such as dentists and ophthalmologists. A majority of the clinics stay open a couple of hours after the school day ends and primarily serve students, but some also care for the students’ family members. Often insurance companies are billed, but some clinics offer services for free.
“We don’t want to turn kids away, so some will be billed (via their insurance) and some will be free,” Stuckart said.
Kathe Reed-McKay, director of health services for Spokane Public Schools, said a school-based health clinic would “improve what it is that school nurses aspire to do: mainstream health care for children.”
Stretched thin nationwide
The growing number of students with severe health conditions and the reduced number of school nurses started to snowball in the 1970s, officials say.
Funding failed to provide one school nurse per school in Washington at the same time many disabled children began moving from specialized facilities to mainstream schools.
Those students for the most part, no matter how severe the health condition, are entitled to do what their peers do, officials say.
For example, “we had a student that required a complex tube feeding who went on a field trip to the fair. By law, they are allowed to do that. We had to send a nurse there to do the feeding,” Reed-McKay said.
To handle the issue, “nurses are spending a great deal of time supervising staff to help with students, or training them and attending to students with high risks,” she added.
The number of school nurses is low nationwide, according to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
An estimated 66,000 nurses work in the nation’s 133,000 schools, according to the study.
Only Delaware requires a nurse in every public K-12 school. Half the states require school districts to have nurses, and only 13 states meet the federally recommended ratio of one nurse per 750 students.
Spokane Public Schools has one nurse for every 1,450 students. In Central Valley School District, it’s about one per 1,156. Mead School District has one per 1,647, and Coeur d’Alene School District has about one nurse per 1,200 students.
“A growing body of research indicates that school nurses – when present every day – advance the twin goals of improving health and educational outcomes,” the study states.
The services offered by school nurses usually include management of chronic conditions, handling life-threatening allergies and asthma events, responding to epidemics, connecting students with treatment and health care providers, developing health plans for students, administering medications and providing first aid.
That mix is missing more prevention measures such as immunizations, medical professionals say, as well as health education on topics such as sexually transmitted diseases.
“If we can establish a system of school-based health clinics, I think we can decrease teen pregnancy and prevent sexually transmitted diseases,” said Stacy Wenzl, Spokane Regional Health District’s program manager for community health assessment and communicable disease prevention. “Current data shows that children under 17 in Spokane County are contracting chlamydia at a rate higher than others in the state.”
A majority of school-based health clinics are prohibited from distributing birth control, but they do offer contraceptive counseling, as in the Seattle School District.
Wenzl is a member of the steering committee working to establish a school-based health clinic.
“I generally have a passion for adolescent health, and I think there are health problems going on in which we could do more to help,” she said. “And there is a direct link between health and academic achievement.”
Many need specialized care
Washington law does not require each school to have a licensed medical professional, and often teachers as well as support staff are trained to give out medication or use an EpiPen in an emergency.
“We train the staff to call 911” if they are unsure what to do, Fischer said.
“Asthma, severe allergies and diabetes have all gone up steeply for children, which requires more supervision during the school day,” Reed-McKay said.
Steven Powell has Type 1 diabetes. The eighth-grader is a regular visitor to Kim Douglas’ office at Salk Middle School. Douglas is a registered nurse and one of several who work part time. Powell reports to her on his blood sugar levels and insulin intake, or he’ll go to the office “if he feels funny,” Fischer said.
If Douglas, who splits her time between two schools during her six-hour shift, can’t be there, then he can call her on his cell phone to check in. “I try to see him once a day,” she said.
The teen is just one of hundreds of kids in the Spokane district with a health care plan because of a chronic or life-threatening condition, Reed-McKay said.
“Spokane is located in a medical hub area, which means an increase in the number of students with complex medical conditions,” she added.
Douglas said in situations such as Steven’s, a school-based health clinic would help immensely because if she were unavailable to help him, he could go there.
Studies by the University of Washington of school-based clinics in Western Washington have shown that students who use them do better academically, have more regular attendance and are less likely to drop out.
TJ Cosgrove, director of the Seattle and King County Community and School-Based Partnerships, said school-based health clinics there are “a great opportunity to help kids be healthy and learn better.”
The Seattle School District has 14 – 10 in high schools and four in middle schools.
Stuckart, who is heading up Spokane’s clinic effort, is looking at several models including the Seattle School District.
There, the first school-based health clinic opened at Rainier Beach High School in 1988.
“The pilot program proved successful, and gained interest and support from the city of Seattle, which led to the first Families in Education levy, a tax to support it, which passed in 1991,” Cosgrove said. “Part of that tax was to expand school-based health centers,” but it also helps fund school nurses.
Seven more clinics were opened, all in high schools. That’s a good location for the facilities because adolescents face health risks from sex, drugs and mental health issues, he said. Plus, teens are “much better positioned to access health care as opposed to a primary setting where a parent is needed to help explain,” he said.
The clinics are funded with about $3 million annually from the city tax, and four partners contribute additional resources – Group Health, NeighborCare Health, Swedish Medical Center and Seattle Children’s Hospital.
“The big picture: We are creating an access to health care for kids who would not otherwise have received it or even sought it,” Cosgrove said. “These are the same kids who populate the achievement gap – low-income families who are poorly (insured) or uninsured.”
With Spokane Public Schools’ poverty rate of more than 56 percent, the district is an ideal location for such a clinic, Stuckart said.
The grant money awarded to Communities in Schools is to plan for a school-based clinic here.
“We also need to look at sustainability funding. We don’t want to open one, run it for three or four years, then shut it down,” Stuckart added.
The goal is to have a clinic established in Spokane County by fall 2011, Stuckart said.
While plans are preliminary in Spokane and the role of school nurses hasn’t been solidified, their role is vital to the clinic’s success, said Cosgrove, in Seattle.
“School nurses are the bridge between the students and the clinic,” Cosgrove said. “This makes the school nurse’s job easier; they take care of the basic issues and the clinics take care of the more complex health problems. It saves time for everybody.”
Reed-McKay added, “The clinics increase access to health care to assist with the well-being of the students and families.”
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eagleproducer on September 26 at 8:29 a.m.
Both of my parents attended public schools in a small town in Northern Michigan during the Great Depression.
Their schools had medical and dental clinics for all students.
When there is a will there is a way. The will of U.S. citizens is much more aligned with raining bombs on civilians overseas than it is on helping their own children reach their potential.
It’s sickening.
misjustice on September 26 at 9:09 a.m.
I attended public school back east. Our district had in school clinics for vaccinations, dental exams, eye and hearing tests. Of course that was back in the day when our schools were supported, in part, by corporate taxes. The clinics helped to identify children that had health needs so that they could be addressed, not ignored. And since we all participated in the clinics, no one was singled out or made to feel less than for accessing the care.
Had it not been for those clinics, my sister’s eye sight problems could have persisted and not been addressed in a timely manner; but due to her participation in the eye exam, a problem was caught early and my parents were able to seek follow up care for her.
The in school clinics served the needs of the students, and by extension, the community also.
opiemuyo on September 26 at 10:51 a.m.
I am glad that my kids don’t go to public school and get into the mental mindset that they need the government to take care of them from cradle to grave, and that it is the responsibility of the taxpayers to provide them with everything they need. Socialism is a disease that deprives us of personal freedoms, IMO
misjustice on September 26 at 10:58 a.m.
Steve; I’m glad they aren’t in public school also.
MrNatural on September 26 at 12:05 p.m.
…Steve…my my my…I suppose it’s fashion and fad these days for a tea-brain like you to believe that everything the government sponsors or subsidized is a socialist menace…well for those of us who were in school during the 50’s and 60’s our parents of the greatest generation would have had a hard time calling Eisenhower or Kennedy a socialist. School nursing and vaccinations (even fluoride treatments too) were the norm in every school and everyone benefited in order to sustain a healthy society…I will concede one thing to ya Steve…somewhere along the line (probably the 80’s)they must have put something in the water in this country to cultivate moronic myopic malcontents…
Bob_Knows on September 26 at 12:17 p.m.
I have to ask why the SCHOOL is involved in “health care” in the first place? What part of “health care” is “education.” Seems to me that “health care” is way beyond the basic function of schools. In these times of economic reality, we need to CUT THE FUNDING for all the frills and irrelevant twaddle so the schools get back to teaching.
Dazzeetrader1980 on September 26 at 12:25 p.m.
Schools shouldn’t be in the health business. It’s only rare that something acute needs emergancy attention and there are those outpt clinics for that. Spoke…J…schools shouldn’t be clinics. There are ample resouces outside of schools.
Is there a “need”? no. Is there therapy given for “eye” problems as described? no. The system set up will take care of the kids. All they have to do is USE it where it is…not where it shouldn’t be. It’s convenient…but can a whole new batch of clinics be paid for? No…only if there ‘s an unlimited amount of money….which there isn’t. It’s very rare a service like this is needed,…not as a convenience..but REALLy needed.
Best to have the parents be parents and take care of their own children…NOT abdicate their parental responsibility to some school nurse in some achool clinic taxpayers shouldn’t and cannot afford. Just another example of a state/instiutional system overtaking the family…..too expensive, doesn’t work and is unneeded. Total liberal democratic spending…AND since it’s covered by “prevailing wage” from union scale…it’s just another way to spend like crazy and get ittle back. The article is VERY limited in its insight and scope.
eagleproducer on September 26 at 2:39 p.m.
Economic reality?
The Pentagon doesn’t seem to operate within any “economic reality” but I don’t see conservatives calling for wholesale cuts to that department of government. Why is that? Do your values lead you to believe your tax dollars are better spent killing children overseas or helping the ones in our midst achieve their potential?
No worries, Steve, us teachers in public school are just fine with your children in private ones. It removes the temptation we sometimes feel to correct the confusion children like yours bring to the classroom from their homes. Keep spreading the myth that individuality has led to your station in life and not the collective works of centuries of human exertion. Then take off your blinders.
I’ve worked in schools that had well staffed health clinics on campus. They are a proactive means of reducing absenteeism, of which health/dental issues are the primary cause. How many of you have tried to learn your ABCs with a rotting tooth throbbing in your jaw. Learning stops when such situations occur.
Claiming a child’s health care is completely within the realm of parenting ignores most parents aren’t qualified to diagnose medical problems and the fact we have a network of health care professionals that we trust with our children.
Dazzeetrader1980 on September 26 at 2:48 p.m.
AHEM Spokester…George Bush or the Pentagon don’t do eye exams…nor do they fund or defund them.
Let’s restore the famlies and let the parents work as parents. That won’t work if the governments funds everything and then relieves parents of their duties. PArents send or take their kids to the Doctor’s office all the time without truing to be diagnosticians.
It’s not the missions of grade schools, middle schools, high schools to do anything BUT teach. let’s not be extending their mission to health care. In Universiteis, it’s different. Kids are away from home and outside much parental influence …and they’re often in a city they don’t know. Student health centers there are different animals form what began this thread.
And if Steve like private school for his children, fine. From what YOU write Spoke…it’s safer being private since the public schools with you in them might be hazardous.
misjustice on September 26 at 5:35 p.m.
Children present to school with their health issues. It seems like the current way of addressing those health issues is not as efficient as it could be. Having an in school clinic could help address those shortcomings and produce better outcomes for our children.
The pilot program, in Seattle, has proven to be successful. I applaud the efforts to implement a similar program here. As the article stated, “…Spokane Public Schools’ poverty rate of more than 56 percent ” certainly indicates a need.
de3 on September 26 at 6:21 p.m.
Curious about the 56 percent poverty rate for Spokane schools.
According to the Community Indicators of Spokane (EWU) web site, the 2008 Spokane County poverty rate for those under the age of 18 is 18.2%.
Please see
http://www.communityindicators.ewu.edu/graph.cfm?id=97
Is the city of Spokane’s poverty rate so much worse than the entire rest of the County?
force_vector on September 26 at 6:54 p.m.
Spoketucky- Spare us the anti-war crap, dude. The State of Washington already provides free health care for kids whose parents are at least competent enough to take advantage of it. If they aren’t, no lesser amount of bombs dropped on Islamic terrorists hoping to destroy our civilization will make them less so. I would be willing to bet though that those same lazy fatties that can’t figure out how to get their kids seen by a doctor are the ones holding me up in the grocery store while they sort through all their wic coupons, attempting to justify that cheese cake purchase, that clearly isn’t needed for either her, or her 3 obese kids in wife beaters. Get a clue.
eagleproducer on September 26 at 7:13 p.m.
700 billion annually to the Pentagon would buy me lots of clues instead of the blues to all the children and civilians killed with those bombs aimed at terrorists. I thank forcedinvective for revealing the true morality of conservatives in our midsts. I’ve long known it, just nice to see someone so readily and caustically admit it.
spokanecougar on September 26 at 7:19 p.m.
Crazy tea baggers who think everything is socialism now.
Better to be a socialist than a fascist like you tea baggers are.
misjustice on September 26 at 7:20 p.m.
Compassionate conservatives? Indeed!
nslopeofw on September 26 at 7:39 p.m.
Having been raised in the 60’s, I remember vaccines, and fluoride in schools. The fluoride then was moved to the water system, and became a non-issue.(something people here don’t seem to want)
I’m all for vaccines in schools, but in our “lawsuit happy” world, it’s not practical. The rest of the “health care” should be taken care of by one’s own physicians, with an EMT or two on staff (the school’s can pay for this certification) to handle emergencies.
We taxpayers are already paying enough taxes to take care of the schools, free lunches, free health care, food stamps, assisted rent, assisted utilities, etc., for the less fortunate. This is something that doesn’t need to be in the school, too.
And, if some of our enemies were teaching their children to avoid involvement in war, instead of embracing the hatred, they wouldn’t be so easily taken in collateral damage. Force_vector is right spokentucky , these “children” are being used to further the islamic war machine. If they get killed while being put in harms way, so be it.
Regardless of whether you think it right or not, taking the war to them is still better than dealing with it at home.
Dazzeetrader1980 on September 26 at 7:41 p.m.
Nothing to do with compassion J. Nothing to do with Bush or any World wars. Nothing to do with African zebras either. I think that 56% number is garbage. It’s not a figure ever mentioned before. I’d like to know how “poverty” is defined. Think for a second. IF 56% of children in public schools quality as poverty stricken, there’d have to be tons of medium -rich-wealthy private schools. OK…where are they all? St Georges and Gonzaga Prep comprise the core of the privates with any size. G Prep only has 500-800 kids. St George’s is much smaller.
So if 56% of the kid are poverty stricken, they’d have to come from families that are in poverty as well…right? Impossible. Guffaaaaaauuuuuuw!
Same would apply to the grade schools as well. Guffaaaaaaaauw at you again.. There are only very few schools that have middle school aged kids. So..guffauuuuuuw again.
You libs! Just love to set up programs that might work…but not be funded because the liberal dems have run the system out of money for social programs ( most cancelled) and unions pensions and high salaries.
Let schools teach…not spend money when they have none. No child left behind is fine…if there’s a structure to support it…and afford it. Looks like Gregoire ..Lisa Brown…Chris Marr… Patty Murray…and Obama already spent it all. Nice goin libs! Now go back and cut taxes and fix unemployment..oh and fix the record deficit too. You might be onto something if you do…
Seriously, this sounds like a play for money. Take the kids to the Doctor or the Nurse Practitioner or the PA..only in their office..not the one priving big big salaries and free rent ( ie no overhead). Oh and hire your own assistants too….just a thought…a mighty dose of financial reality too.
force_vector on September 26 at 7:45 p.m.
Hooray for the “teabagger” ad hominen attack crowd! I knew you’d show up soon. Wink Wink :;) LMAO!
Spoketucky- Taking 700 billion dollars from the pentagon won’t help stupid people stop being stupid. Compassionate? Yes. Ignorant? No. When people take just one ounce of responsibility for not only their well being, but the well being of their kids as well, then yes, help is available. Otherwise, if you can’t pay your grocery bill, and can’t figure out that wic is for milk and cereal, not glazed by the dozen while you “figure it out” for the next few years, then sorry, I’m not sympathetic.
pseeger on September 26 at 10:10 p.m.
OSPI website reports that as of May, 2010, 48.3% of the students in Spokane Public Schools were eligible for free or reduced lunch. So even if it’s not 56%, it’s still close to half the kids in the district. And while it’s true that parents should be responsible for taking care of their kids, should we deny health care to those children whose parents aren’t?
nslopeofw on September 26 at 11:12 p.m.
They are not denied health care. They already get free health care. They are not denied food. They get food at school, and from food stamps. (Both paid for by taxpayers).
The Spokane school food program is based on 185% of federal poverty level:
http://www.spokaneschools.org/17422041383659530/lib/17422041383659530/_files/IncomeGuidelines2009.pdf
This pdf explains why 48.3% qualify. It is amazing at what income a family can be eligible. It also explains that a family doesn’t have to meet federal poverty levels to get this program–—>185%
de3 on September 26 at 11:19 p.m.
Ahh. There seem to be two definitions of “poverty”. The problem is that the free or reduced lunch program estimate is being used as a proxy for poverty, but they are different measures.
Here is the official US government definition:
http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/09poverty.shtml
Here is the WA State school lunch program qualification:
http://www.govbenefits.gov/govbenefits_en.portal;jsessionid=jc6nMg0Gk5hNhtmmQ1bn3ht6FfFdGMbvVHmwXQGyWXTGpxDrxT2y!746791186?_nfpb=true&locateStateFlow_1_actionOverride=%2FLocateStateFlow%2Freport&_windowLabel=locateStateFlow_1&locateStateFlow_1bid=1994&locateStateFlow_1_code=WA&_pageLabel=gbcc_page_locate_state
Comparing the two, the official US government poverty level is about half that of the school lunch program qualifications.
A family of 4 with a before tax income up to $41,000 per year, qualifies for the free or reduced lunch program. A family of 5 with a before tax income of over $47,000 per year qualifies. The govbenefits web site indicates that the children of this family would qualify for Medicaid health care assistance for their children (the income limits for that are $53,000 and $62,000 for those family sizes.
The problem is that the free or reduce lunch program is is not the same as poverty, as defined by the government.
The proper claim should be that 48% (or 56%) of students qualify for the free or reduced lunch program or that (per official data) 18.2% of students come from homes living in poverty.
Dazzeetrader1980 on September 26 at 11:24 p.m.
pseeger…that just means those kids are eligible for free foos or reduced fees. It’s a far cry from 56% being in poverty. DOn’t get your liberal bloomers ina bunch. AND…nobody has definded poverty level. Without a justifiable definition, it’s just propaganda. USefull for social program funding but means nothing to those of us in the real world.
Nslope is much closer to reality. Grow up you social spenders. The country is going broke and you just make figures up and pile on. Same in Wa St. What don’t you understand about reality based economics. gregoire / marr, brown, murray and obama are killing us with this sloppy data and absence of critical thinking. Theonly reason I’d feed you free food is so you might…just might…grow brains…..that includes YOU Force.
George Bush did it!! …next….you silly fools. Wake up..Obama/Marr/Gregoire/Murray…<they did=”” it.=”” let’s=”” correct=”” it=”” and=”” move=”” on.=”” november=”” is=”” a=”” chance=”” to=”” do=”” just=”“ that.=”“>
nslopeofw on September 27 at 2:06 a.m.
How can this statement be made without laughing, or throwing up?
““Spokane is located in a medical hub area, which means an increase in the number of students with complex medical conditions,” she added.” Huh?
Then we read the erroneous poverty numbers. Then we get comments about the goodness of this program, (all the while bemoaning the defense spending) by a teacher, who benefits from taxpayer monies being dumped into the schools for non-teaching projects.
I guess we can see the logic, after all.
Dazzeetrader1980 on September 27 at 3:07 a.m.
Just goes to show us that unions should be banned. lol..And, of course, that liberalism is a mental disorder. Well..glad we settled that one. NO on spending unless….we have the money…and if we DO have the money, we should save it for shortfalls. Oh…….just like runnning a household.
JBlim on September 27 at 7:21 a.m.
Daisy is up at 3 A.M. calling liberals names for defending school nurses. Who’s nuts, Daisy?
misjustice on September 27 at 7:28 a.m.
de3; thanks for the clarification on poverty, I found it very useful.
This “discussion” is representative of the politicalization of problems that we face as a community and a nation; one side always says NO! to anything that would help people they deem unworthy of assistance.
The fatties statement, the unions are bad rant, attacks on a teacher, and socialism is worse mindset doesn’t help kids that present at school with medical conditions; asthma, diabetes, food allergies, and other health conditions are not left at home when children go to school.
Nurses seem stretched thin under the current system. The goal of building in school clinics seems to be a better way of addressing health problems that children have (and the proposal does not seem to be all encompassing, as were the clinics that served my public schools back east). The initial grant, and discussion of how to fund a program like this are good first steps; and have nothing to do with politics. These are our kids, our future. And I believe they are worthy of an investment.
Obviously, others don’t think that poor kids and their parents deserve to have the piece of mind that while in school, should an asthma attack or other health concern arise, an effective health system will assist students that need it. Just saying NO! is not a solution, but it seems all that some have to offer to the debate. And that is a sad commentary on our community.
NO! never accomplished anything.
MrNatural on September 27 at 8:56 a.m.
WOW!…
What a bunch of “survival of the fittest and to hell with everybody else” Some of you act as if don’t really give a damn about anyone or civilization as long as your TV is on and your refrigerator is full…I just can’t believe some of the miserly misanthropic POV
I would like to see a school nurse in every school (at least schools of 200 or more students) to monitor the health and safety of our children, provide injury and illness response and also to teach them health and personal hygiene. I cannot fathom how anyone could argue with this…even the most primative tribes knew well enough to protect their children
misjustice on September 27 at 9:15 a.m.
Mr. Natural; you raise an important question. Are we to return to the “state of nature”?
Humans left the state of nature, banded together, and formed communities to address our collective needs. Now, it would appear, that many would gladly shirk the bonds of community and the responsibilities that come with it in favor of “every man for himself”.
MrNatural on September 27 at 10:52 a.m.
@misjustice… You hit the nail perfectly on how I perceive this and many issues…It would almost seem as if some were boasting toward a return to “survival of the fittest”…the irony is those who boorishly espouse to such a position would be the first to get consumed without the government to protect them.
Furthermore the hypocrisy of complaining about government not being able to sustain the civilization these folks seem to feel entitled to while simultaneously reducing its ability to maintain said civilization is mind boggling.
Foo…
jodyl on September 27 at 11:04 a.m.
The 56 percent figure, which represents the amount of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, came from the Spokane school district and it is based on this year’s enrollment.
Dazzeetrader1980 on September 27 at 12:26 p.m.
Blim…nobody is criticizing nurses. For the most part, they’re an unneeded and superfluous expense with little return.
I’m up at 6 am …3 am your time Blim. I don’t sit on my bumm…I’m up and at em every day. I work. Do you? Or do you simply criticize people who DO work long hours. I’m not a “cared for by the institution type. You are..I’m not. I relish my position. You all need to go see “Waiting for Superman”…it’s an awardable movie. I hope everyone sees it. I took my kids.
And Jody..FYI…do your own research. The union based school district have a vested interest in feeding you THEIR data so they can have an outcome THEY want. It’s a nonsense number on its very face. Trouble is that if your accept their data, you’re stuck with their conclusions and proposed outcomes….and when you write from authority, we are as well.
It’s nonsense number. Even in Harlem, that figure is plain wrong. I’d know. Experience will sharpen your sniff testing;)
Mr Natural…most don’t depend on the the government for anything but basic services. Most don’t want the government in their lives. Most want the school run by REAl teachers who teach…not union based teachers who demand too much sick time, tenure, etc. Along those same lines, most want parents to be responsible for their children’s health care….not some government paid for nurse…..because the government doesn’t pay…citizens do. More tax anyone? Give away the parental work to the nurses, the unions, government and the family dissolves. This is the fundamental problem in America…families are dying off. ….and so goes rights and responsiblities.
misjustice on September 27 at 12:34 p.m.
@ Mr. Natural; as I said a return to the “state of nature” which is just beyond the “pint of no return”! ; )
force_vector on September 27 at 1:17 p.m.
Somehow, the point continues to be missed. This is not about “survival of the fittest” in a Darwinian sense, whereby if you can’t outrun the school bus then I guess you had better hope for future adaptation if you want your lineage to continue. This boils down to individual responsibility; parental responsibility to be more specific. People seem far too comfortable with the idea of deferring all aspects of proper parenting as a convenience. Rather than teaching at home, too many allow their kids to be “taught” by TV. Rather than teaching kids how to conduct themselves amongst their peers, they set them loose with a facebook account and go about their day. Rather than being involved in the lives of their children beyond the child tax credit, far too many can’t even be bothered to ensure their kids are healthy, and find the already provided resources should they be unable to afford the cost of care. It’s just astounding to me. This is about the culture of our country, and that culture seems increasingly “me first, and me last as well, but I’m not responsible if I scew up”. So while some of you argue for an ever increasing nanny component of the government, it is in fact selfish to promote such ideas. It is selfish because you can feel like you are fighting for the cause of those who “can’t” fight for themselves, all the while denying those very same people the consequences of failing to be a responsible parent and adult.
misjustice on September 27 at 2:14 p.m.
Force; I agree with most of your points.
However, how is having an in school clinic, to address students presenting health conditions, an abdication of parental responsibility? Not all parents can rush to school when Johnny has an asthma attack or when Susie’s blood sugar plumments. And even if they could would you suggest that kids just hold on until mom or dad arrives to exert their parental responsibilities, rather than have a trained health care professional help them?
It doesn’t make sense to me to let children’s health suffer all because some think that trying to help people equates with doing them a disservice; that since they “deserve” to fail their kids deserve to fail also.
People that want to find a way to implement in school clinics will do so, despite the naysayers and opponents.
carol9081 on September 27 at 2:34 p.m.
Just another perspective: I worked as a school “health clerk,” in a small district with four elementaries, two middle schools and one high school. Each school was staffed by someone like me - we were trained to administer meds, provide first aid, log blood sugar results for diabetics, etc., etc. We were overseen by one school nurse, who spent each day at a different school and was able to go where needed. Our district provided hearing and vision testing on a yearly basis. It’s a much, much cheaper way to provide a reasonable amount of health care without paying large nurse and physician salaries. Think about it.
Dazzeetrader1980 on September 27 at 2:36 p.m.
Yes J. You’re cases indicate an hysterical personality ( look it up…it’s clinical) who lives the “Johnny Drama” life.. You’re not alone in this.
It’s so rare to have a bone fide emergancy, it would be cheaper to just send the kid to the ER or to the office. Far cheaper.
You’re geared to “heaven”…as if it should happen now at the flip of a switch. Well, no..it’s not like that.
“Ever show that kid actually died or was impaired because the nurse wasn’t there? Thought not.” Know why?..I do…it’s just rare! It’s got nothing to do with Darwinian theory..it’s just common sense. Life is not an emergency. It’s incredibly rare to even have an emergency once or twice in your life.
force_vector on September 27 at 2:44 p.m.
Misjustice: If Johnny has asthma, a responsible parent would have included the ailment on the registration form and provided the office with an inhaler in case of an attack. If Susie’s blood sugar drops, a responsible parent would have included the ailment on her registration form and provided the office with an insulen injection in case of a sudden and severe drop in blood sugar. These are the steps that are taken while either mom or dad or both make arrangements with work to get to the school to pick up their child. If the problem is even more sever than those you listed, a school nurse will not be trained to deal with it and the child will be taken to the hospital anyway. These nurses would be supplied at tax payer expense to deal with everday ailments that every parent has to deal with from time to time. Everyday ailments that are inconvenient when you have an important meeting, or a deadline fast approaching. But guess what, when you have kids, you do what you have to do. You don’t just say, well gosh, sorry you’re not feeling well Johnny. Daddy would love to be there, but since you have a nurse, go see her and I’ll be home after my 7:00 meeting. Don’t run home, there’s no nurse at the cross walk.
No kid “deserves” to be failed by his/her bad parents. However, at some point we need to begin calling a duck a duck, and negligent parents, well, negligent. To pander to the negligent parents is to deny important resources required for an effective education, since resources are not unlimited. However, if having nurses in every school is so important as failure to provide them puts children in danger, then perhaps those salaries could be paid for with part of the inflated ones enjoyed by “administrators”. If you ask me, this is all smoke and mirrors designed to get people talking about a non-issue so they forget to think and discuss the real ones.
misjustice on September 27 at 3:05 p.m.
I understand the objections but as I said earlier, those that want to build in school clinics will find a way to do it. Despite what the naysayers and opponents say; where there’s a will, there’s a way! ; )
MrNatural on September 27 at 3:19 p.m.
force vector…I understand your POV…really I do…but…have you looked around lately…you don’t need to have any parenting skills to have children…and unfortunately that’s not the kids fault…I meet some very…how can I say this nicely…some very uneducated and mentally incapable people who are parents with two or more children…these kids need as much help as society can give them…having a school nurse that can give them occasional health evaluations etc. will help them in school and I believe help everybody in the long run…I mean if this country gets any dumber and sicker than it all ready is we’re doomed.
Dazzeetrader1980 on September 27 at 5:51 p.m.
If the parents don’t, the government WILL? With the crazy spending…and the iffy need…how will this be funded? Taxes? More taxes?
Children need education and the schools should be doing it better…see that movie! Exactly what the health system should do…and we should be doing it. We have a systemin place already. Will the nurses force themselves on the system? We have MDs in their offfices who do that. Get them there. Let the schools focus on education….we can fix the “dumber” part.
Health for everyone is what Obama told us he would do with his plan. All this hope and change junk got him elected. Somebody swallowed it. Now comes the work. Social programs won’t mean health.Never has….and I doubt it ever will. SOme here think the parents don’t “parent”. Fine…throw money at it and it still won’t work. Culture needs to change. Money won’t make that happen either.
force_vector on September 27 at 5:58 p.m.
Mr. Natural- point well made. It is incredibly unfortunate though. Not that you made your point, but that so many people have become unable, or uninterested in taking care of themselves and their responsibilities. A what point, I wonder, do the backs of those they stand on break rather than bend. When does voluntary compassion become forced, and further divide us into two groups that seem to already define so many? And when those backs break, how do we compete in the world when we beg it for financing our own stupidity? Tough times ahead I’m afraid.
JBlim on September 27 at 6:13 p.m.
Daisy you say of school nurses, “for the most part, they’re an unneeded and superfluous expense with little return.”
That’s what I mean, you are a far right-wing extremist, well out of the mainstream. And sorry, I didn’t realize you were an out of state paid blogger. Most of us Dems are volunteers.
misjustice on September 27 at 7:00 p.m.
“And sorry, I didn’t realize you were an out of state paid blogger.”
What, JBlim?
If anyone is paying for those posts they are getting ripped off!
JBlim on September 27 at 7:08 p.m.
No, misj, she’s doing a good job of wasting our time and making it impossible to have an intelligent conversation.
misjustice on September 27 at 9:13 p.m.
I tend to ignore her, mostly. There’s no there, there.
Dazzeetrader1980 on September 27 at 10:19 p.m.
Ignore all you want. It’s a loser proposition quite typical of the new Dem liberal. Hiding behind “what’s best for the children”. Call you out and you just name call…no ideas or responses mind you…just off color weak insults. Grow up. DOn’t hide behind children.
No emergencies require a FTE in schools. Send them to the Doctor when they get sick….or send them home. But don’t be so hypocritical……oh wahhhhhhh…”we must protect the sick children”….go get jobs and pay taxes. Quit whining..the government won’t save you.
JBlim on September 28 at 5:58 a.m.
Hey Daisy, what do they pay you for your posts?
MrNatural on September 28 at 9:22 a.m.
Message received force vector. No argument except maybe from a biblical sense. One does carry the impression that people (parents) were more accountable in days past but then again there were orphans homes way back then too. You make a good stance on principle and I agree with you but I can’t see the solution without some form of outreach hence $$$. Sure we could find some regulatory ordinance but that too would cost $$$. I believe (as you) we should find some way to compel adults (parents) to be more accountable and meanwhile we can infuse this in future generations (and without making them socialist Daisy) some sense of responsibility…and to do that these kids need to be safe and healthy.
eagleproducer on September 28 at 9:46 a.m.
nslope: This teacher also put on the uniform and served his country in the Armed Forces. I’ll bet that is missing from your resume. Like most supposed patriot conservatives.
Daisy bleated: “Social programs” don’t mean health. That might be true only if one were able to ignore the doubling of life expectancy as the result of “social programs.”
de3 on September 28 at 4:39 p.m.
The US Census issued the latest poverty figures today. Here is their summary report.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/acsbr09-1.pdf
WA State’s estimated 2009 overall poverty rate is 12.3%, up from recent years. In 2008, EWU estimated Spokane’s poverty rate at over 18%, much higher than the State average.
Why is the poverty rate so much greater in Spokane than elsewhere in Washington?
Access to health care is a symptom of the root cause problem: poverty in Spokane.
If the 56% poverty rate were accurate (which we now know it is not), only about a dozen countries of the world would have a worse poverty rate than Spokanistan, says a quick scan of a U.N. list on poverty rates.
The Spokesman Review probably should have spotted that number as not making sense and have done some checking on it.
Thanks.
kiddoc on October 09 at 9:23 p.m.
I helped start the School Linked Health Center in Walla Walla in 2009. It is the first of its kind in eastern Washington and is funded by the community, not the school. With the weakened economy, we’ve become a medical home for many students whose parents cannot miss work for fear of losing their job. We provide a stigma-free venue for counselors to meet with students who previously no-showed for downtown appointments to deal with anger, eating disorders or sexual assault.
We have identified illnesses in students misdiagnosed by multiple Urgent Care Centers because none had the whole history on the student. We’re accessible and cost-effective. We can treat a strep throat for less than a $10 investment from our stakeholders, reducing unreimbursed care and non-emergencies in our ERs. School Based Health Centers have been recognized by the Washington State Department of Health as a highly efficient use of health care resources. The DOH is eager to expand SBHCs in eastern Washington.
Spokane is lucky to have Ben Stuckart and Stacy Wenzl spearheading the effort to bring School Based Health Centers to Spokane schools. Healthy kids are successful kids.
Warm regards and best wishes for attaining this laudable goal,
Dr. Alison Kirby
Lincoln Health Center
Walla Walla, WA