Nurses Are Needed
I write this letter to support the health personnel in the Santa Barbara School districts who have received a reduction-in-force notice (RIF). As a health professional familiar with what school nurses do, I ask:
Who will clean up the vomit of an ill student?
Who will perform the catheterization of a wheelchair bound student?
Who will clarify with parents the necessary immunizations needed to enter school?
Who will calm a student having a panic attack?
Who will attend a student having a seizure and administer life-saving medication?
Who will consult with public health officials and parents on how to quell a lice outbreak?
Who will bandage a playground wound?
Who will see that an asthmatic child experiencing an attack is appropriately cared for?
Already impacted school administrators or teachers? No.
The student nurse ratio of Santa Barbara School districts currently is dreadfully below that recommended by the California PTA. For our children’s health, do the right thing and rescind the RIFs of those hardworking health workers.
