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Published Wednesday, January 28, 2009 in Local
Readers speak out about school nurse cuts
The Times-Herald
Gov. Sonny Perdue's proposal to eliminate $30 million in school nurse funding for the 2010 fiscal year struck a chord with The Times-Herald's readers, judging by results of a Times-Herald poll.
The Quick Vote Poll, which asks questions related to hot news topics, asked Friday: "With the impending cuts by Gov. Perdue, does Coweta County really need a school nurse at every school?"
More than 1,500 people responded to the unscientific poll online, three times more than any other Quick Vote Poll, including past questions posed about some hot local topics such as Starship's business permit and Sunday drink sales.
Several Coweta parents, including Melody Farmer and Michele Meyer, are two of many who appreciated why the question provoked such an overwhelming response in favor of nurses at each school (1,357 voted yes, 196 voted no).
Farmer, a registered nurse who works at Elm Street Elementary, is also the parent of a child who has suffered since childhood with diabetes. The young man is now a junior in college.
"He was diagnosed at 4. He went to elementary school without a school nurse, so one of the reasons I didn't work was to be able to go to the school and monitor him," she said.
Farmer, who is married to local school board member Frank Farmer, explained how she stayed at home to be available for their son's care until the Coweta County School System hired school nurses for each of their schools in 2000.
Before then, Farmer stayed on alert and on call. She went to his school daily to monitor his blood sugar at lunch, accompany him on every field trip, attend every party or school event that offered food, and was at the school each time his regular teacher was out and a substitute was called in for the class.
"Many times I'd go five times a day to check his blood sugar," she said. "I would go at lunch time and give him a shot. If I had an errand I had to do, I'd do it immediately as soon as he had lunch because that was before everyone had cell phones."
Back then, Farmer even started working as a substitute teacher to ensure his medical care was never compromised, especially when substitute teachers unfamiliar with his medical condition or history were in his class.
"We stayed very nervous," she explained. "I would pretty much be at the school a lot just because I felt uncomfortable with him as a small child."
"That was one of the main reasons why I became a school nurse -- because I saw, as a parent, how important it was and how needed nurses were in the school system," she added.
Meyer, another parent of a diabetic child, said Farmer's anxiety nine years ago was what she experienced before she moved from Texas about a year ago.
"That was my world before I moved to Georgia," she said. "They weren't equipped to deal with that. I took him to school, and I went back an hour and a half later for snack time, an hour and a half later for lunch, for every field trip, for any unusual type of exercise, and if it was a rainy day and he wasn't going to get any exercise. I needed to know that because (monitoring the blood sugar) was a constant."
Her first grade son uses an insulin pump, and Meyer said it's a huge benefit that Coweta has a nurse on staff at his school because the nurse is trained on how the pump works, including his dosing requirements and the pump's mechanics.
"If there's a problem with... any of the workings of the pump, she was able to fix it," she said.
At her son's school, there are not only students who suffer with diabetes, but sickle cell anemia, hydrocephalus and other conditions that need a health care professional's attention.
"[The nurse] is able to administer to them and knows what to do, whereas with a teacher, it would consume her day and consume her mind so much that she had to be so alert with everything going on with that child that it would really be difficult to teach a class. It is integral to the safety and welfare of these children to have a nurse on hand."
While both Farmer and Meyer were able to stay at home as well as get work at the school where their children attended, Meyer said it's not a practical solution for every parent who has a child with a medical condition.
"I wouldn't be able to work unless I could get a job at the school, and how realistic is that for that many people to be able to do that. A lot of families would not be able to deal with it. It'd be very hard. And a lot of times you've got to work to be able to carry insurance."
Commenting on this story has ended.
As a person who works in a school, I can tell you our school nurse means alot to us. How do we expect our teachers to get test scores up and make GA's students more desirable to colleges and the job market if they don't have time to teach. Teachers and clerical staff do not have the medical knowledge to care for most of these children. I know that in one month our nurse saw 370 students for either illness or injuries, gave over 500 medications, and did over 250 vision screens on all 3rd & 5th graders (as required by the state), that does not count any of the breathing treatments for our asthmatics, classes she is to teach to certain grades, or the EMS calls for children that happen to have a seizure, or stop breathing due to anaphalactic shock from bee stings or coming in contact with peanut products and have to use an Epipen. Are we also going to require teachers to be CPR certified for these cases? Like they don't have enough to do. What about indigent families that have no vehicle, I know our nurse has gone to the pharmacy to pick up a childs medication because the parents had no way. Mr Scott needs to know that due to circumstances, parents may not have any other resources. The school nurse is not in the school system to retire a millionaire, they care about these children like they are their own.
Posted by ch at 8:56 PM
Scott obviously doesn't have a child in the school system because if he did and that child was insulin dependent diabetic he would want someone their for his child during school hours. I think that if you had to do the thing that we do to make sure that our children are taking care of so that we can work and earn a living you would learn to keep your mouth shut
Posted by Melissa Brown at 5:08 PM
Scott obviously knows nothing. It can mean life or death for some of these children. Do you know how many of these children have juvenile diabetes and are on pumps and their sugar has to be monitored by a nurse 3 to 4 times a day. A parent and/or teacher cannot spend their day babysitting those children and nor can the state afford to lose one out of carelessness. So, a child with a medical need doesn't just touch our hearts, they need assistance in the schools. Take a look at the coach that's getting sued for the heat stroke death of one of his athletes.. I suggest that you visit one of the schools and see the extent of the needs of these children.
Posted by Flash5 at 2:53 PM
If the state wants to save money in education, cut all Board of Education salaries by 3%. The majority of these employees make $75,000 per year or more.
Posted by A fellow teacher. at 1:23 PM
We used to have one room school houses with wood burning stoves too. Lets just get rid of the cafeteria workers, janitors, office staff too! Teachers used to clean their own rooms and bathrooms, students carried their lunches. My dad walked to school. We could go back to that era and even save tax money used for buses and gas! Get real!
Posted by kb at 12:58 PM
There is no doubt a child with medical needs touches the heart of everyone. However there are multiple ways for their parents to own the responsibility of caring for their children. If there is a budget shortfall for nurses in a government schools then remember you are the parent to take care of your child. Not government. Maybe we should ask how much our commissioners paid the attorney to write their new ordnances to try and stop Starr Ship. Maybe Starr Ship could help fund nurses in school by sales taxes in the county. We need to start questioning what our local government spends money on and then tell them where we want it spent.
Posted by Scott at 12:47 PM
Not all school nurses are RNs. I have seen how busy the nurses are. I know the high school nurses are overworked and the high schools really need to have 2 nurses. If you don't think they are needed then you've not spent any time in the public schools lately. There are students at schools with feeding tubes, catheters and many other serious medical needs. There are also many students who must take perscription medication during school hours and that is best distributed by medical personnel rather than the clerical staff. The nurses are a vital part of any emergency preparedness plan for the schools. They also must maintain the immunization records (which are required by the state - and if not maintained CCSS could be fined) for each student. They have quit a work load that would NOT be easily obsorbed by other staff members.
Posted by If you could only see at 12:13 PM
Have seen the salary of the RN's and LPN's hired by the school system? The salary is the same across the board-no $$ difference between the two degrees. The salaries are lower than the hositals, doctors offices, and home health companies. The county gets more than their money's worth with our nurses. I pray your child never has a medical emergency at school but when and if they do, they will get the best care around. These nurses are required special training on school oriented cantagium that even the health department doesn't require. I consider it money well spent.
Posted by kb at 12:12 PM
Obviously the people who are for taking the nurses out of school don't have kids that depend on them. What do you suggest we do with the children that need daily medication and professional supervision? Let them sit at home. These children deserve the same kind of education that a normal child gets and if that means having a nurse at the school to monitor them so they can attend classes, then so be it. I sure hope that your child doesn't require medical attention when they are gone. I'm sure you will be the first one to complain.
Posted by me at 12:07 PM
Hey taxed, look before you leap. RN's and LPN"s make the smae pay in coweta county schools. Now, do you want to resubmit. It's the job taxed.
Posted by THOMAS MONROE at 11:32 AM
Do you hire an engineer turn on your lightswitch. We need only LPN'S or EMT'S in schools, not RN'S. RN'S are simply overkill. It is time to put things in perspective and stop demanding that the government support us. The Farmers could of continue to care for their child at home before nurses were put in the schools. Diabetics as physicians tell you can be monitored without having an RN around. What do you do after school, at night or on weekends? You obviously care for them yourselves. This is how it should be. We are heading towards a depression and yet people demand that the government care for them. Mexico is soon falling. Iceland has already fallen. Norway and Finland are teetering. What are you going to demand when the country (US) goes belly up? Quit whining and take care of your own, or all of us will be in the crapper. Think about it.
Posted by over taxed at 10:19 AM
It is amazing what our students go to the nurse for because the parents allow them to come to school when they don't feel well or the children are just aggravated by minor aches and pains that the parents should deal with. But those little aches and pains disrupt the child from learning and no one else has the time to deal with all these issues, except for the nurses who are so very caring and knowledgeable. It would be a shame to cut the nurses from the schools.
Posted by Becki at 9:33 AM
I hope that the Times-Herald forwards this article to our governor and legislators who, in their infinite wisdom, want to cut school nurses. These women have sacrificed for their children and, as a diabetic myself, I understand their worries. Think of all the other ailments that children have that need monitoring...as well as the common colds and viruses. Please send this on to the "powers that be".
Posted by Jennifer Harkleroad at 7:23 AM
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SCHOOL NURSES
1/30/2009
Link To This Comment
To Overtaxed. Did you mean my son should have been kept at home and not been given the opportunity to attend school? My wife was contacted by the newspaper and she was not whining. We both did and still do everything in our power to keep our son alive and healthy. Diabetes is a matter of life and death. You know nothing of what you speak. We were lucky to be in a position to care for our son at school. Many parents don't have that as an option. You and Scott are not as smart as you think. Frank Farmer
Posted by FRANK FARMER at 9:42 AM