About Health Services

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The Department of Health Services is under the direction of Shanna Groom, MSN, RN, NCSN. All full-time RCS school nurses Registered Nurses and several are nationally certified school nurses (NCSN).

The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) defines School Nursing below:
School nursing, a specialized practice of nursing, protects and promotes student health, facilitates optimal development, and advances academic success. School nurses, grounded in ethical and evidence-based practice, are the leaders who bridge health care and education, provide care coordination, advocate for quality student-centered care, and collaborate to design systems that allow individuals and communities to develop their full potential.  Adopted by the NASN Board of Directors February 2017. https://www.nasn.org/nasn/about-nasn/about

School nurses are responsible for gathering health information for each student in the school system and identifying students' health needs at school. The school nurse communicates with parents regarding the health information received and develops an Individualized Health Care Plan (IHP) for the student based on parent input, orders received from health care providers, and knowledge of the disease process.

The school nurse's primary objective is to improve the health of all students, thereby improving their ability to succeed. The nurses see sick and injured children in the schools and provide health-related services to students with chronic health needs. These services may include diabetic care, gastrostomy tube feedings, urinary catheterizations, and tracheostomy care, among other types of nursing care.

The school nurses train First Responder Team members in First Aid and Heartsaver CPR, which includes defibrillator (AED) training, and they monitor the AED(s) in each of their assigned school(s). They train and monitor the medication administrators in their schools and are the resource persons for annual bloodborne pathogen training.