School nurse bill advances

Paula Tuck has four children who suffer from asthma, and she has taken it upon herself to get a nurse in every Utah school.

Her crusade began in September that her worst fears were realized. Tuck's 10-year-old daughter suffered an asthmatic attack, then waited unsupervised and without care for an hour outside the main office of her school because there was no nurse to care for her.

Before Tuck could reach the school, her daughter gave herself too much medication, doubling her heart rate and sending her to the hospital.

"No 10-year-old should ever be put in a position where they have to medicate themselves with a potentially life-threatening medication," said Tuck, who moved to Tooele from Texas last April.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Ed Mayne, D-West Valley, would take steps to ensure that more nurses are available for Utah schools and no child would be placed in a similar situation.

SB48 advanced out of the House Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday. Previously, the Senate approved it on a unanimous vote.

The bill would require the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee to study the school nurse shortage while authorizing four additional interim meetings of the subcommittee. A final report would be filed with the Legislature during the 2007 session.

Because there is limited funding, the interim subcommittee meetings are going to look at alternative methods for acquiring more school nurses.

"(The meetings) are going to promote thinking out of the box; it's creative," Mayne said.

Mayne said Rep. Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, suggested that stay-at-home moms who are registered nurses may be willing to volunteer their time to help at schools.

"This bill would allow for this debate to come forward. There are things we can do," Mayne said.

Rep. Steve Mascaro, R-West Jordan, said the blame for the lack of school nurses lies with the Legislature.

"I think our educators are trying to be the best they can be with the funding we give them up here at the Legislature," he said. "There needs to be more funding."

"I'm not giving up until we get (more funds)," Tuck said.

Her daughter's heart rate is still too high five months after the overdose.

"I have been adamant that something good has to come out of something bad. A child could die," she said.

With just an additional $56 per household, or "less than two meals at McDonald's for a family my size," every Utah school could have a nurse, Tuck said.

Rep. Pat Jones, D-Holladay, said because of the large class sizes in Utah, school nurses are even more important as teachers can't intuitively know children's physical needs.

"This is a very, very important bill," she said.

It now advances to the House floor for a full debate and a vote on final approval.

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E-mail: pnagy@desnews.com