Plea made for nurses in schools

A state senator and the Utah School Nurse Association brought some scary statistics to legislators Wednesday, hoping to further their plea for more nurses in public schools. But amid a statewide nursing shortage, is there any way to make their dream a reality?

"I have to say I'm really optimistic and say yeah, it is possible," nurse association President Carla Lott said. "But it won't be easy."

The matter came up at the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee, which will hammer out the schools' budget in the 2007 Legislature beginning Jan. 15. So did other questions, including who — the local school districts? County health departments? Legislature? — ultimately are responsible for the dismal school nurse situation in Utah and, therefore, for turning it around.

Utah has 129 nurses and more than a half million students. Between part- and full-time nurses, that means more than 6,100 students for every full-time equivalent — the worst ratio in the country. The National Association of School Nurses recommends one nurse for every 750 students.

Twenty states have laws regarding school nurses — Utah isn't among them, the national association reports.

But not having a nurse in school with children can be a scary prospect, according to an American Federation of Teachers study of 20 Utah school districts that make up 87 percent of the state's enrollment.

Schools are giving more than 1,600 medications to students, plus 4,000 more that are prescribed "as needed," every day, the study states. Yet most often, medication is administered by a school secretary or teacher. A University of Iowa School of Nursing study shows schools are three times more likely to err in medicating students when someone other than a nurse is involved.

Utah's school nurses have been in short supply because districts, which often contract with county health departments, haven't filled vacancies, said Sen. Ed Mayne, D-West Valley, who unsuccessfully carried legislation last winter to study the school nursing issue.

Lawmakers — who first gave money for school nurses in 1998, money later rolled into a block grant — easily could mandate that school districts hire nurses, even if there's no money attached to it, Rep. Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley and House budget chairman, said.

"Some of that responsibility (for hiring) has to go back to the local school districts," he said, adding he wants to address students' health safety.

The plea for school nurses came a little over a year ago, when Tooele mom Paula Tuck circulated a petition to put one nurse in every Utah school — there are well over 900 — after her daughter accidentally overdosed on asthma medication when no school nurse was on hand.