School Nurse Shortage Puts Students at Risk

That’s the conclusion of a new report from researchers at Sacramento State’s School of Nursing, presented at the California School Nurses Conference on March 28.

The study found that California schools are ill-equipped to meet the healthcare needs of the state’s 1.4 million children with special health needs. While those students may require routine care like urinary catheter insertion, ventilator monitoring, tracheotomy suctioning, insulin injections or blood glucose testing, trained providers are in short supply.

Outdated Assessments

The study also found that public schools are often unaware of their students’ health needs. Unless a student qualifies for an individualized education plan under the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Education Act of 2004 (which only about one-third of students with special health needs do), there is no requirement for schools to even identify a student’s health needs. Health assessments are currently required only when entering the first grade. HIPAA and other federal privacy rules also complicate the process of obtaining necessary health information.

What should be done? The report offers a variety of recommendations, including:

• An additional student health assessment prior to entering the seventh grade
• Increasing the number of school nurses with the goal of achieving a 750 to 1 student-nurse ratio state-wide
• Proper training for all school personnel providing health services
• Requiring schools to establish systems to identify and support students with special health needs.