The Importance of School Nurses in Students’ Mental Health

EHR, School nursing

  The Importance of School Nurses in Students’ Mental Health  Mental health is an issue in today’s fast-paced environment, and it affects children as well as adults. Many of the key institutions of America such as (ACMH) have released a study that reveals that 1 in 5 children in America shows symptoms of diagnosable behavioral, emotional and mental health disorders. School nurses work with healthcare experts, community healthcare professionals, students, and families to identify children with mental illnesses and create a better healthcare system for those who require behavioral health services.   They are ideally suited and capable of identifying students with potential behavioral health difficulties due to their direct access to pupils. School nurses serve as advocates, facilitators, and counselors for behavioral health services both in and out of the school.  Let’s explore a little deeper by reading more about this topic.  How does it all start?  The first few minor symptoms of student mental problems are refusal to attend school as well as difficulty studying and concentrating in class. Children exhibit disruptive behavior, eating and sleeping issues. While some of these symptoms are temporary, moderate, or mild, others cause significant discomfort, confusion, and loss of control that becomes unmanageable.   Poor academic performance, a lack of enthusiasm for school, a loss of enthusiasm in homework, or poor interactions with peers or teachers can all be indicators of what the child is going through at school.  What are the mental health concerns in students?  Children, like adults, are affected by the same mental health issues and respond differently to them. For instance, when an adult is depressed, he has trouble concentrating and enjoying activities that used to engage him. If a child is going through depression, he/ she may show signs of irritability more than sadness. Behavioral issues often come out as symptoms that are manifested by children who are dealing with mental issues.[/vc_column_text]Children are also more prone to exhibit behavioral abnormalities as a result of mental health problems. For many youngsters, this emerges as behavioral disorders such as oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD), or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).   Some of the behavioral health issues that trouble students are: Anxiety Disorder  Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)  Mood Disorders  Eating Disorders  Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)  Anxiety Disorders:  Anxiety is normal for just any individual, child, or adult. When it hinders the child’s ability to succeed in school or social connections, it may be an indication of something more serious. Some of the most prevalent types in children are obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and social phobias.  Autism spectrum disorder:  Another difficult-to-define and understand mental health condition is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is a developmental disorder that influences a child’s speech and behavior. Every kid with ASD is unique, but many have difficulty speaking and connecting with others.  ADHD:  An attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a medical condition that affects a child’s capacity to process his or her own emotions in order to comprehend the needs and feelings of others. The major symptom is trouble concentrating; nevertheless, youngsters typically display impatient and fidgeting behavior, difficulties following directions, and frequent daydreaming.  Mood Disorders and Eating Disorders:  Eating and mood disorders can affect children of all ages and are often caused by stress or trauma. Anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder are all life-threatening eating disorders. Mood problems can lead to suicidal and even violent ideas. What can school nurses do to help? A crucial strategy here for a school nurse is connecting, sustaining, and engaging with parents for implementing and supporting excellent outcomes in students. Assessment and screening for students who have mental health problems is an important part of school nursing practice. School nurses continue to interact with students and their families regularly, helping to build essential and long-lasting bonds.   With strong relationships with parents and other support personnel, school nurses strive to keep parents involved in a range of activities and opportunities by addressing typical challenges and hurdles.  Screening and assessment of mental health issues at school:  Most screening procedures, at most, provide a preliminary sign that something may be wrong. When considering formal diagnosis and prescriptions on how to solve the problem, more valid data from evaluation methods are required. Many mental health problems are identified by nurses when students visit their office or while being screened for other health issues. Such issues are also brought to the nurses’ notice during attendance and discipline reviews, assessments for special education placement, crisis interventions, or when others (staff, parents, students) express worries about a specific child. A nurse’s responsibilities also include teaching educators, classmates, parents, and others how to correctly identify and refer students. What appears to be a learning handicap, or an attention problem may be emotional; behavior problems and hyperactivity can occur as a result of learning challenges. Troubles at school may be the result of problems at home. The initial assessment report will identify the child’s trauma symptoms and causes.  School nurses collaborate with parents and the community.  School nurses can educate parents about mental health and help them treat their children. Nurses use school assessments to ask parents about their children’s health needs and interests, and how they want to take part in the school’s health activities, services, and programs.   They collaborate with school officials to develop policies and procedures to increase parent involvement in school health programs. They also create school health programs that cater to parents’ concerns, such as student wellness seminars.  Schools and nurses educate parents about mental health issues.   School nurses give parent education seminars on depression, suicide prevention, and student resiliency, either on their own or in collaboration with community organizations. They provide information to parents on the same mental health problems that they discuss with students. They provide and promote school-sponsored mental health resources in neighborhood libraries, community centers, and other public places.  How can school nurses keep parents involved?  School nurses can ask parents to participate in school decision-making through parent-teacher associations, school health councils, or other groups. They collaborate with teachers to create family-based education techniques that engage parents in health talks with their children. For example,…

The Advantages of Digitizing School Health Records

covid-19 resources, EHR

  The Advantages of Digitizing School Health Records  Digitalization of documents is becoming more popular. Every business we know is rapidly moving away from paper, as proven by online transactions, grocery stores, doctor’s offices, gas stations, and airlines. The digitization model is also being implemented in schools, as it is gradually replacing the use of paper documents in the school setting for all functions.  Schools in the U.S, from K-12 to higher secondary education collect many types of documents related to student health and medical information. It includes student immunization records, records of allergies, health conditions, regular medications, immunization records.  Such immense volumes of sensitive information are subject to the privacy and lifecycle regulatory authorities of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act).  Digitizing school health records can help schools overcome the gap. Not only will it facilitate greater security compliance and privacy requirements than paper documents, but it also provides improved data gathering, control, and auditing access, as well as expedites approved release in an emergency.  Let us look at why schools need to digitize their school documents.  Why Is It Necessary To Digitize School Health Records?  Schools face significant challenges in keeping a record of their student’s data. Thousands of children come through the school system each year. Academic institutions must maintain massive amounts of data that grow year after year. This data includes everything from attendance sheets to exam report cards, academic transcripts, exchanges, and papers linked to student loans, sponsorships, and scholarships.  Paper records administration is resource-intensive and time-consuming, and it frequently relies heavily on the knowledge of a few employees. If a key employee leaves or retires from the service, the entire staff will be in a predicament because they may not know where the specific file is kept. The monthly cost of expensive storage space compounds to that same closed system.  Digital technology is fast becoming the norm in the business world. The digital transformation approach and adaptability are helping all of the world’s major sectors in generating growth and success. Education is one of the world’s major industries, and it is benefiting greatly from digitalization. The use of digital technology has assisted many academic institutions in improving student experiences, promoting data-driven decisions, increasing competitiveness, and optimizing resources.  The covid-19 epidemic is another reason that has necessitated digitalization and digitized teaching in schools. Schools are better equipped and prepared with digitized learning experiences such as online classes, online assessments, eBooks, video conferencing, and, in some situations, virtual reality.   Post-pandemic schools gather much of their data in digital files and are moving forward by decreasing the need for paper to keep records. Benefits of Digitizing School Health Records   Quick Accessibility:   Document digitization allows an institution to access data in digital form from anywhere, breaking down the constraints of geography, time, and simultaneous access. Data accessibility promotes data flow inside the school, resulting in increased productivity.  Cost Cutting:  Document digitalization enables schools to reduce the use of physical records, which consume resources such as space, security personnel, employees, and a decay-free environment. Once the data is digitized, we can optimize these resources to save money.  Information Security:  Because the documents have been digitized, access to digital material is simple to specify. Digital access not only decreases the time required to provide access but also lets you specify the level of accessibility. This improves data security and safeguards against data leaks. It is simple to keep data safe with the right type of cyber security.  Higher Productivity:  Data may be accessed by different departments inside the organization at the same time; but, if the data is not digital, accessing it requires more time and effort.  Data Backup and Restore: Digitized data is easy to store in different spots, improving data security. Data storage in various places provides additional protection against data corruption or loss. Physical papers are more likely to be harmed in natural calamities, but digitized data is safer and easier to copy. Natural disasters are frequently unpredictable, therefore storing them in several, secure locations increase the reliability of your records.  Ecofriendly:   There is no need to print digital data for distribution, and it is also simple to handle. To eliminate excessive printing, an email is all that is required to share the data. This will eventually result in the conservation of natural resources.  Strategic Advantage:  When you have access to digitized data, it is much easier to find records and information instantly. You can perform an analytical diagnosis, which can provide useful information.   Ultimately Digitization Secures and Protects Student Records   “Misplacement, inaccurate filing, and accidental deletion of paper records are all disadvantages of managing paper records.” This problem is instantly solved by digitizing the records. Digital files are safely stored, indexed, and instantly recovered when required. These documents are saved on a third-party cloud platform. There are various levels of access permission, each requiring a security key.  A secure digital student record is only accessible and managed by authorized persons. This safeguards a student’s privacy by preventing anyone who does not have the appropriate authorization from reading the academic records.   More importantly, it safeguards a student’s academic record against unauthorized modification, theft, or destruction. Digital records are resistant to tampering and misuse. Final Thoughts on Digitizing Student Data with EduHealth EHR systems, such as EduHealth, offer advanced functions such as efficient data administration, scanning and aggregating data from physical forms and medical documents, and analyzing student health data. It can help assess health trends such as communicable diseases.  School population health data shared via EduHealth EHR can be used to track vaccine compliance, environmental and chronic health issues, and effective prevention measures. EduHealth also streamlines and simplifies the school nurse’s documentation tasks, making it easy to gather, review, update, and delete data as required by various laws.  The significance of digitizing information in terms of confidentiality, security, privacy, and regulatory compliance cannot be understated. In today’s world, converting your students’ records to digital format is a crucial advancement for tracking, managing, and transferring medical records. Using digital innovation, EduHealth can help your school’s health system in progressing and providing better health care.

What is a school nurse’s role in aiding students with ADHD?

EHR, School nursing

  What is a school nurse’s role in aiding students with ADHD? ADHD is a behavioral disorder that affects one in every twenty children in the United States, with around 80% of adolescents experiencing symptoms throughout adolescence and into adulthood. Children with attention deficit disorders exhibit symptoms such as impulsivity and hyperactivity, which affect their academic and behavioral performance at school and at home. School nurses can play an important role in raising awareness of ADHD by improving the service delivery model for distressed children and their families. In this blog, we will learn how school nurses help students with ADHD, and how they help parents of both affected and non-affected students in empowering themselves and their children to live a quality life. ADHD in students, and what challenges they may face at school Children with attention deficit or hyperactivity disorder have even more personal struggles than average students. They typically exhibit symptoms such as inability to pay attention, difficulty controlling impulses, and difficulty sitting still, such conditions cause students to perform poorly at school. Around 5% to 9% of children aged 9 to 17 have serious behavioral problems that hinder their ability to function at home, school, or in the community. ADHD is one of these concerns. To educate such students, schools must implement measures that will support their treatments while still allowing them to learn with their classmates. How can schools support ADHD students? ADHD treatments in schools usually involve behavioral classroom management and organizational training. Students with disabilities receive special education programs in schools. Schools are also taking the necessary steps to limit the effects of ADHD on their learning. The Role of the school nurse in helping children with ADHD School nurses are the main care providers in schools and provide primary prevention for students who show symptoms of ADHD. They play an important role in raising awareness of ADHD by enhancing the health service delivery model for afflicted children and families. School nurses perform as ADHD educators for families and their children who are affected by the condition. They encourage families to seek therapy for their children at healthcare institutions since most parents are scared that their children will be labeled and stigmatized because of their child’s mental health issues and need for treatment. School nurses create and implement programs and workshops to fight the stigma associated with ADHD and raise awareness about child behavioral programs. They also develop culturally relevant methods to care for affected children and provide support, education, and information to families, children, and communities. They also collaborate with other health care providers to initiate national screening programs for identifying behavioral issues in children and ADHD in school-age and younger children. Children who show symptoms of ADHD are subsequently evaluated individually and clinically by skilled, highly trained professionals in this field. If a child is diagnosed with symptoms of ADHD, the school nurse can assist in implementing the following framework in school and at home to ensure better care for them. 1. Accepting a child as an equal and interacting with him based on his current level of functioning: It will help the child grow milder, allowing him to express his thoughts and emotions and helping him to respond more properly considering his condition. 2. Using clear and simple instructions Repeating instructions several times and using visual aids and images can improve a child’s learning. Such short lessons will benefit the child’s education and help him adjust better in school, despite his short attention span. 3. Implementing a daily routine schedule Repeating the exercises in a regular and ritualistic manner will improve his individuality and responsiveness to learning. 4. Creating a non-distractive environment for the child Setting a quiet and non-distractive environment at schools will prevent the child from being hyperactive and distractive. 5. Encourage the child positively and allow him to do physical activities Giving him rewards and praise for reaching a goal can help encourage him while decreasing his tolerance and impatience. Encouraging the kid to participate in physical activities can also help him expend his energy productively and get a good night’s sleep. 6. Educate families to take better care of ADHD students at home School nurses also help families in gaining information about home care instructions for students with ADHD. It involves helping the child to develop a sense of belonging and appreciation for his or her efforts. Promoting a student’s academic success will help the child’s social, academic, and personal development. Additionally, preparing the child to develop patience, creative thinking, and persistence will help him to learn new skills and accomplish tasks at home and at school. Final thoughts on school nurses caring for ADHD students School nurses must play an important part in raising awareness of ADHD by improving the health service delivery model for affected children and their families. Through research, workshops, community activities, and national screening programs, they can build on a solid foundation of analysis to improve the benefits. Students who are diagnosed with ADHD need medicines to help them learn, focus and stay calm in class. A school nurse must maintain contact with the student’s doctor and keep a close eye on the child while he or she is taking medication. Another important aspect of their treatment is behavior therapy, which helps the child to do better at home and school. A comprehensive school health tracker platform, like EduHealth, will help school nurses in conducting their regular school health responsibilities while also accurately managing the medications and therapy of ADHD students. EduHealth also has functionalities for tracking hospital visits, treatment charting, and doctor appointments. It also records health screening information in pre-built forms and has effective tracking systems for notifying and monitoring medicine treatments. School nurses can use the EduHealth school EHR system’s features to provide better health care for students at school. Learn more about our school health care system here.

Role of School Nurse in Managing Chronic Health Conditions in Students

Student Health Care

EduHealth can help you here Role of School Nurse in Managing Chronic Health Conditions in Students There is no denying that a school nurse plays a vital role in schools by improving student health and supporting better health standards in schools. They are invaluable when it comes to managing and caring for students who have chronic health conditions.   Students with chronic diseases may have complex and sensitive healthcare needs. The school nurse is usually the only healthcare practitioner in a school for both emergencies and the everyday treatment of chronic health conditions.  Continue reading to learn how school nurses help students with chronic health issues.  The importance of school nurses in schools  Health services in American schools are accepted as an important element to meet the health care needs of students and faculty. According to the current guidelines from the national American associations of school nurses and pediatricians, every school district must appoint one school nurse for each school facility.  Students with chronic health conditions may have complex and ongoing healthcare needs. School nurses are the only health professionals in the schools for both normal and emergency management of chronic health disorders.   What challenges do students with chronic health issues face?  Children with chronic illnesses, also known as kids with special healthcare needs, are at risk of developing chronic illnesses that affect their physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional well-being. They also require more and higher-quality health and related services than the other children.  Diabetes, cystic fibrosis, asthma, severe allergies, seizures, sickle cell disease, and spina bifida are among the ailments that students with chronic health conditions may experience.  Chronic illnesses will negatively impact the student’s behavioral and emotional health and increase anxieties in them. It is seen in children who have frequent hospitalizations or in kids who have little or no social support within their families.    EduHealth can help you here See How The school nurse roles for students with chronic needs  School nurses play an important role in supporting children with chronic health concerns in schools and staying healthy and ready to study. They also work with parents and families to provide good care for children while they are in school.  Here are some of the key responsibilities that school nurses play in helping kids with chronic health issues.  School nurses as direct caregivers  School nurses play an active role in ensuring that your kid receives immediate treatment for any health concern in school. A school nurse can aid in the treatment of a wide range of chronic health disorders, including asthma and allergies.  They can also provide emergency treatment in case of an allergic response. The seasonal allergies can cause a sudden rise in number of allergy cases than the usual time and the school nurse may need to manage the history of each student Because school nurses play such a vital part in the management of health difficulties, the school will require current health forms as well as pharmaceutical prescriptions or medications for the child, which parents will be asked to provide.  School nurses as care practitioners  School health nurses are important in coordinating care for a student’s medical condition. Parents should cooperate with the school nurse at all times to ensure that the school has the prescriptions, health forms, and equipment needed to treat their children’s health conditions.  School nurses also communicate with parents since they have the right to know about changes in the student’s treatment plan, health status, and medicines. Doctors frequently interact with parents and propose adjustments or updates to school health programs to improve the student’s health.  The school health nurse takes care of students by working with partners, educators, doctors, and the community. It ensures that the child stays healthy and that, as a student, they make progress while learning at school.  School nurses serve as student and family activists.  A school nurse will also act as a go-to advocate for parents and students, providing an extra voice to help them get answers to concerns and questions regarding their child’s health condition and how the child will be supported at school. For example, if your child has a gluten allergy, the school nurse will advocate for more gluten-free meals at the school. They will also advocate raising awareness among students and parents to include more gluten-free food options in their packed lunches.  With the support of a school nurse, students with various health concerns will get appropriate accommodation, regular restroom access, an allergy-free environment, and access to drinking water. If a child is suffering from a chronic health issue at school, the school nurse can be a lifesaver. School nurses can also assist families and children in obtaining health insurance.  What else can a school nurse do to help students with chronic health conditions?  School nurses can help improve academic achievement and decrease absenteeism  Higher standardized test scores, graduation rates, and low dropout rates are all associated with students daily attendance. Students with chronic health concerns will struggle to maintain proper attendance in school, often known as chronic absenteeism (missing 10 percent a month’s school year). It will affect their academic achievements.  A school nurse’s services with thorough care and coordination can reduce chronic absenteeism among students with chronic health conditions. They advocate for a school-centered approach to discuss chronic absenteeism in students with chronic health conditions and develop a health care plan to avoid school absences. School nurses advocate for students and provide organized case management.  School nurses are capable to lead the school health system by acting as a link between the school, school physicians, families, community health providers, and health groups in the district.  Many of the local organizations include healthcare systems, health departments, and hospitals. In some regions, district hospitals and clinics provide school nurses with secure electronic health medical records (with the permission of parents). Once school nurses have access to diagnoses, treatment plans, current medications, and precise care instructions for sickness, surgery, and hospitalizations, they will be able to provide consistent and high-quality health care to students with chronic health issues.  School nurses pay close attention to developmental stages. Identifying a chronic health condition in students at the…

Tips to Improve Your Student Immunization Tracking Process

EHR

The school health care system in the US is evolving with the adoption of mobile and electronic health systems for tracking student’s immunization. With the introduction of new immunization programs, such as the covid-19 vaccination programs, it is necessary to collect up-to-date student immunization information for confirmation and accurate tracking. Efficient immunization tracking can help in better student health care and ensure students receive proper immunizations on time. The Importance of student Immunization trackers Student immunization tracking will ensure coordination, quality, and order to prevent delays in student health care, allowing school health programs to run more smoothly. Regardless of the number of students, it will help in improved data collection from students using required documentation and delivers up-to-date and accurate student data to health officials. Some of the great benefits that student immunization tracking helps you are as follows. Better compliance: The immunization tracker’s built-in data security features comply with HIPAA and FERPA guidelines, ensuring the school health program is on good terms with clinical affiliates and audit requirements. Reduced delays: An immunization tracker will remind you with automated reminders and resources to collect and validate the student’s submitted health data. Less legal and financial risks: An efficient immunization tracking process prevents you from getting involved in lawsuits and paying fines for non-compliance, helping you from not losing your reputation. Tips to improve student immunization tracking: The standard student immunization tracking program takes time and requires the cooperation of both your school’s students and clinical affiliates. The steps outlined below will assist you in efficiently managing student immunization monitoring and making it easier to gather and verify student data. Set a reasonable timetable for students to respond: A well-communicated timeline decreases the possibility of students or your program running out of time to gather information. It helps to keep your data sorted and allows you to catch up on any incomplete or inaccurate information in the records. Students have many busy schedules and many information requests throughout the school year. To increase student responses to requests for immunization data, an ideal period of 60 to 90 days to submit the required documents should be provided. Make your requirements clear: When admitting students, hospitals or clinics in a locality may not require the same vaccine requirements. As a result, make your immunization obligations clear. Establish which immunization documents require acceptable substitutes and which can be excluded from the requirements. Students must be given clear guidance on which documents are required and what formats are acceptable for immunization documents. and what they should do if they missed any vaccinations. Along with routine immunization documentation, the following may be requested. Confidentiality agreement. Immunization waiver Medical history form. Any form of valid identification, such as a photo ID or Driver’s license. Approval form for background screening at the clinical site. Antibody or virus test findings for COVID-19, a requirement asked by most schools and universities. Involve medical professionals: Having a dedicated team of healthcare specialists who understand the medical requirements of immunization and testing will help your immunization tracking operations greatly. Your immunization compliance providers can put you in touch with HIPAA-trained specialists and medical professionals who can help your team, when needed. They are trained to read health reports and ask appropriate follow-up inquiries. Rather than simply acknowledging the student data at face value, you can benefit from the services of a knowledgeable specialist who will verify the student immunization data and save you the trouble of discovering a student who did not follow the standard procedures. Create a safe and secure reporting system: Using a safe and secure digital platform can help you acquire and store sensitive information and examine the results without violating student privacy. All schools and student immunization recording systems must obey HIPAA and FERPA guidelines for storing, exchanging or using highly sensitive student health information. Working with a compliance partner can therefore help you in learning about specific standards for the use of electronic health records in educational settings. Manual processes should get Automated: When you depend on manual processes and paper records to manage immunizations, you run the risk of inefficiency and inaccuracy. To increase data accuracy and make efficient use of time, automate your immunization tracking process and reduce your dependence on paper. An automatic immunization tracking system can help you streamline your immunization management processes and procedures. Simplifying recurring steps, like information requests and status notifications. Minimize the need to enter the same student information several times. Create a preset schedule and send reminders on time. Setting the rules and guidelines for recognizing the issues that must be addressed, such as when students fail to meet specified requirements and therefore must retest and receive boosters. Make use of modern technology: The latest student immunization tracker technology enables school health staff and students to exchange confidential health information, reducing the possibility of important details falling through the gaps. It also connects you with resources and compliance partners who can assist you in interpreting and verifying incoming health information. Some of the core benefits of implementing a cloud-based secure application are as follows: You can access student data from any location, at any time, 24/7. Centralized spot for recordkeeping and communication Modern designs and easy navigation Features for tracking a variety of clinical sites and serving them to capacity. Customizable tools to adapt to the changing health and safety regulations Dashboard reporting to keep you updated on student compliance metrics Integrate with relevant systems: Integrating school immunization tracking systems with relevant systems and services can benefit your immunization efforts. When dealing with a large amount of student health data from numerous sources, you need dependable integration with those other systems to speed up the flow of data and limit data entry repetitions. Integrations with the following allied systems and services are possible with school immunization tracking solutions. Associated clinical site systems: You can share student data directly with clinical sites. State immunization registries: Get access to the student medical information in particular state registries. Programs for Background Checks:…

How to safely reopen schools after COVID-19 closures?

covid-19 resources

  Several school districts in the US have been shuttered for more than a year and are struggling with how to open schools safely. The stakes are massive. With coronavirus rates still high and more variants of the virus emerging, schools, parents and children are equally concerned about school reopening safety.   In February, President Joe Biden issued the set of COVID-19 prevention guidelines as proposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for safely reopening schools. The guideline deliberates important points of safe K-12 school operations for in-person learning. The President also emphasized that the price of protecting children, families, and educators is nothing when compared with the price of failure to act. He added that mental well-being and educational disproportions due to remote learning are growing concerns of the country and this is one of the reasons why schools need to reopen under stringent settings.     Safety measures should schools adopt on reopening The CDC has recommended school districts to ensure 5 key prevention strategy namely for school reopening viz.:   Universal and correct wearing of masks Physical distancing Handwashing and respiratory etiquette Cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities including ventilation improvements Contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine. The following guidelines were also issued to ensure safety while reopening: 1. Community data assessment To determine whether school districts should proceed with in-person learning, it is important to analyze the data of community-level transmission. The CDC K-12 operational strategy has recommendations about threshold of community transmissions, based on which schools should take associated actions to reopen school safely. CDC has pointed out 4 categories of COVID-19 community transmissions: 1. Low (blue) 2. Moderate (yellow) 3. Substantial (orange) 4. High (red) These categories are derived from metrics such as total new cases/100000 persons in one week and rate of positive diagnostic and screening viral tests that are NAATs and RT-PCR tests. On the basis of these thresholds, school districts can take the first step towards implementation strategy:   2. Require universal masking: Encourage universal and correct wearing of masks that provide necessary protection. Students and staffs preferring in-person learning should know how to correctly wear disposable/cloth masks. Schools should determine how to best support staff and students (including the narrow subset of students with disabilities) who cannot correctly wear masks. 3. Use of school space Ensure classroom layouts have sufficient safe space for physical distancing. School administration has to conduct school walk-throughs for identifying spaces where additional changes are to be made. Schools can identify and utilize safe spaces in their community like libraries and community recreational centers to follow the instruction regarding maintaining physical distancing. Extra planning time should be provided to schools for redesigning classrooms and familiarizing new routines among staff to support physical distancing. 4. Use healthcare tools that lets you stay compliant to DOH directives and privacy laws Using healthcare management software that are FERPA and HIPAA compliant, which also lets you collaborate with public health departments can help you meet diagnostic testing, communication and tracking needs – which are critical as school reopen. When school staff or students test positive, it is important to quickly coordinate with all important touchpoints like parents, healthcare providers, health departments and so on to ensure impact is low and school functions go undisrupted. In situations as such, a school nurse EHR software like EduHealth with contact tracing features can be beneficial for you. 5. Facility improvement: Ensuring proper ventilation, open windows, and doors, using fans where safe and feasible, consistent cleaning of the facility, auditing existing ventilation systems, and improving ventilation wherever necessary are all part of the facility improvement plan. There should be frequent checkpoints to ensure timely changing of ventilation filters and ensuring proper air circulation. Good ventilation is one key to control a virus known to be airborne 6. Sports, events, and extracurricular activities The format of additional school activities should strictly adhere to the CDC guidelines and events that require close contact between competitors pose a high risk than others – it is best not to conduct such events. Other events that involve the least physical contact can be played outdoors with strict adherence to physical distancing guidelines.     Transmission of COVID-19 among students: What we know The transmission of COVID-19 among students is substantially lower when compared with community-wide spread, according to CDC. Other studies also revealed that in controlled environments like schools, transmission rates are lower compared with community levels. The CDC also pointed out that one of the school districts in North Carolina held in-person learning and adhered to strict mitigation measures like wearing masks and social distancing. It was noted that the transmission rate in this school district was low, even when community transmissions were at high rates. On analyzing the school-based transmission rates, experts say that transmissions were more common in adults than in children. The COVID-19 infected children were asymptomatic and possessed high risks of spreading the disease to parents and grandparents. However, shreds of evidence suggest that children under the age of 10 transmit it less efficiently than children of 10+ age.     Should schools reopen? According to UNESCO, the lockdown led to partial or full closure of schools, affecting more than 90% of the student population across 186 countries around the world. In USA, the Biden administration is apprehensive about the negative consequences of remote learning like forfeited academics and mental struggles of children. During the onset of the pandemic, it was assumed that children are susceptible to get infected and were likely vectors of disease spread. However, there is very little evidence on transmission in schools, outside of indoor practices and competition events. Only 3.7% of Covid-19 cases in students resulted from the in-school transmission. This is backing the decisions of those in favor of in-person schooling. On top of this, parents are having a tough time managing kids at home while working. 20% of full-time employed parents have a child younger than 9 at home, of which 61%…

Top-performing Electronic Health Record software with contact tracing feature

Softwares

Table of Contents   Schools in the US are expected to reopen in the fall and while parents remain concerned about children’s safety when in-person learning resumes, school health administrators are looking at ways to keep school environments safe to ensure there are no disruptions to in-person learning. Public health authorities in the US have received around 8.2 million reports for COVID-19 as of May 25. And as schools prepare to open, school health authorities need to anticipate such a crisis as well and prepare with the best tools to manage the crisis. A COVID 19 tracker tool with advanced contact tracing features is the technology schools need to have in place to efficiently manage this crisis. But how can you mitigate the spread of communicable diseases like COVID-19 using an EHR tool? By putting in place an EHR software that facilitates the exchange of important health information between parents, school health authorities and medical professionals in real-time on one single system. This is very helpful when there are lots of student health monitoring, reporting, and cross-platform communication to tackle. However, recent surveys say that school nurses are finding it hard to manage student data in EHR software. The reason? Bad user experience! Not every EHR software can give a pleasant user experience. Which is where a simple-to-use system that meets a school’s end-to-end school health needs like EduHealth can help. The system is so easy to use even if users are not particularly good with technology systems. The EduHealth team recently conducted a school nurse survey and 86% responded that user-friendliness is very important for school EHR systems. And now, in the present context, what schools and school nurses are expecting in EHR software are added features like contact tracing and COVID-19 tracking. EduHealth, in this aspect, is all set to make things stress-free for school nurses. According to a December 2020 survey of US adults, 31% of respondents believed that a contact tracing software on their mobile phones to trace the spread of COVID-19 would be very effective at slowing its spread. Only 7% believed that contact tracing software are ineffective in tracing COVID-19 spread. This indicates that EHR software with contact tracing and COVID-19 tracking may finally get their moment! Let us have a quick glimpse of the top-performing school EHR software in 2021 and how EduHealth is different from those, especially in the context of the global pandemic.     Top EHR software of 2021 We evaluated some of the top EHR systems available today and have a list for you to look into as you invest on a new EHR software for your school. All observations are based on user feedback. EduHealth: EduHealth supports K-12 school health clinics in improving student health care. It digitizes students’ health information, making the right information available in a single button click and with features like bulk scanning, health information management within the system is simple and hassle-free, easing the efforts of school nurses. EduHealth can ensure utmost healthcare for children and helps school nurses proactively manage their tasks on any device. Comprehensive student health record management COVID 19 tracking and contact tracing capabilities Real-time communication with important touchpoints on one system Charts are similar to medical charts, allowing nurses to adapt to the system faster System can be custom-built to school’s unique needs Infinite Campus: Infinite Campus is a Student Information System (SIS) that has on-boarding support, parent and student portal, academic planner, and access to the inbuilt Learning Management System (LMS) platform. While Infinite Campus has great flexibility, and, is regarded as a great tool for student data tracking and parent communication, it has certain areas to look into like: Lack of a user-friendly interface Additional payment for added features Character limitation in fields EHR module is not comprehensive PowerSchool: PowerSchool SIS is a powerful tool that helps students, teachers, and parents maintain their schedules. It offers cloud-based software solutions for K-12 education in North America. It can manage instruction, learning, grading, assessment, and analytics among others. While PowerSchool has all such benefits, there are aspects of health record management to improve: Long page loading durations User has trouble understanding icons Technically challenging Lengthy training sessions Less intuitive in terms of finding shortcuts and system tools Customization is challenging EHR module is not comprehensive SNAP Health Center: SNAP Health Center is a management tool designed for schools of all sizes for health monitoring, screenings, appointment scheduling, and more. SNAP is a cloud-based student health surveillance tool. Certain schools don’t find SNAP Health Center as a feasible option because of its disadvantages such as: No free trial/version No training/help tools, only call/email support Less intuitive in terms of the complex names in menus User interface is difficult to maneuver Skyward Skyward is a K-12 SIS that offers academic planning, a portal for family engagement tools, and task management for admin and students. It is an ideal solution for schools and districts looking forward to an intelligent SIS for student data collection, organization, and ease of communication. Here are some suggestions it needs to look at: Software is not user-friendly and looks outdated Customization difficulties Not comprehensible Reporting is confusing Synergy With over 10,000 users, Synergy is a well-known web-based software that improves the health outcomes of school students and saves school nurses’ time and effort. It is quite the software required for educational looking forward to a SIS solution, but Synergy too has certain shortcomings such as: Design imperfections Saving downtime not up to the expectations Software hanging issues  

How COVID 19 tracking is helping students’ return to school plans

covid-19 resources

  The number of COVID 19 cases and deaths in the US have dropped to their lowest levels in nearly a year, and the number of people vaccinated continues to grow, CDC says. As of May 27, 2021, nearly 133 million people in the US are fully vaccinated, and the national percentage of COVID-19 tests that came back positive over the last 7 days was less than 3%. This is one of the lowest rates the United States has seen since widespread testing began. The CDC now recommends everyone 12 years and older should get a COVID-19 vaccination to help protect against COVID-19. And widespread vaccination is a critical tool to help stop the pandemic. However, a recent study tracking return to school states that only 3 in 10 parents are comfortable with their children returning to in-person learning.   The study implies parents are prioritizing the safety of their children over in-person learning. Most parents say that schools need to be cautious about opening for in-person learning before it’s safe, even if it gets in the way of children’s education It’s clear why parents have this fear. When many schools and campuses opened in September 2020, there was a spurt in outbreaks in school, infecting thousands of students and employees, with the virus spreading to the wider community. It necessitated the need for social distancing, hygiene management and COVID 19 tracking in the school environment to keep the spread of the virus from going out of control. Tracking of COVID 19 has a very critical role to play in reopening schools. A system to track COVID 19 can help school nurses and administrators manage safety of the school environment and ensure children and staff are in a healthy learning environment. Teachers’ unions and other educator groups agree. They say controlling the virus is necessary to reopen schools safely, even for partial in-person classes. And they say that having more comprehensive data on the virus in schools could provide stronger clues about how to do so.     What is a COVID 19 tracker? COVID 19 tracker is a software solution that enables an organization to track and manage the spread of COVID 19 in their community. A COVID 19 tracking system for schools is a critical tool that can help in reopening schools safely and making learning stress-free for students and parents.     How can schools benefit from COVID-19 Tracker? The EduHealth COVID 19 tracker is a single system for COVID 19 tracking in schools with two important modules – a COVID 19 tracker and contact tracer. The COVID 19 school health tracking system on EduHealth is built to assist school re-opening plans by tracking and monitoring cases of COVID 19 in the school environment. The system enables school health authorities to track cases systematically and take necessary next steps to stop a spread in the school and associated community. To help schools achieve this goal, school nurses can use the COVID 19 tracker system for schools to collect staff and students’ symptom-related data, as well as monitor the health and status COVID 19 positive cases. Once a student starts showing symptoms of COVID 19, school nurses will suggest that they undergo a COVID 19 test. This starts the tracking process. The system will inform school nurses when 48 hours have passed since the student started showing symptoms and school nurses can contact the student concerned to know the status of the test. If the student tests negative, the school nurse marks the case as a false alarm, and if tested positive, they are moved to the COVID 19 positive stage. In this stage, school nurses must ensure that the student moves from in-person learning to a remote learning environment. Even in a remote learning environment, parents can update students’ symptom-related information on the system, keeping school health authorities updated on their students’ health information. Two weeks after testing positive, the student moves to the Returns Expected stage, where once again the school nurse can check on the status of the person. Once the student tests negative and are well, they can return to in-person learning, and school nurses can change the status of the student to Returned. At any given time, the tracker shows the real-time status of the number of potential positive cases and COVID 19 positive students and staff. The COVID 19 tracker: · Tracks suspected cases · Monitors symptoms of those found positive and quarantine monitoring · Checks symptoms of students and staff daily with a comprehensive symptom checklist · Manages confirmed cases workflow, suspected cases, and contact information · Tracks false positives · Automates status updates, workflows, and status change reminders · Patient outcome monitoring · Has integrated reporting The contact tracer on EduHealth assists school nurses in identifying the close contact groups of an affected student and staff. With the EduHealth contact tracer, school nurses can collect important contact data and are have the right information for fast decision-making that’s critical to keep the school safe. The EduHealth contact tracer decreases the chances of a disease spread within the school environment with: · Contact tracing · Cohort management · Risk and exposure assessments and status reporting · Reporting and analysis of the case · Emergency contact data information and notification provision     COVID 19 tracking helping keep schools open COVID 19 tracking system for schools like EduHealth COVID 19 tracker are going to play a critical role in helping keep schools open. It provides school health authorities with the right data that enables them to take faster decisions that helps to keep the school environment safe. Schools using the COVID 19 tracker on EduHealth have found the system helpful in keeping children learning in a safe environment. To learn more about managing COVID 19 in your schools with a comprehensive tracking system, talk to us today.    

The indispensable school nurse

School nursing

School nurses play a vital role in students’ health and well-being. And without them, it’d be difficult for schools to manage the increasing number of students coming to schools with a myriad of health-related concerns.   School nurses have the professional expertise to help children with their health-related concerns and help to restore them back to health. This way, they help build a happier environment at schools that motivates students to show up and learn well.     School nursing and student health   Health and learning go hand-in-hand, and so does school nursing and student well-being.   Students come from various backgrounds. Some face several crisis situations, homelessness, immigration, poverty, and violence which can be detrimental on their physical and mental well-being. In these cases, school nurses help by addressing the major health and mental problems they experience. The areas of intervention include preventive and screening services, health education and assistance with decision-making about health, and immunization against preventable diseases. In fact, for many children living in or near poverty, the school nurse may be the only health care professional they access regularly.   It doesn’t end there. The school nurse’s responsibility also extends to providing interventions for acute and chronic illnesses, injuries and medical emergencies, communicable diseases, obesity, substance use and abuse, adolescent pregnancy, mental health, dental disease, nutrition and sexually transmitted infections. Which means, only with the physical presence of a school nurse at the point of care can these issues be addressed appropriately.   Improved student outcomes directly co-relate to the presence of a full-time school nurse. However, fact remains that only 40% of schools only budget for a part-time nurse and 25% have no nurse at all. It needs to be recognized that school nursing shortage ultimately affects children.   A quarter of all young children suffer from some type of chronic illness like diabetes and asthma. Add to the mix a raging pandemic that’s affecting life as we know it. In this scenario, it helps to have a medically trained professional onboard. It, in fact, is no longer an option.     Recognizing the importance of a school nurse  It needs to be recognized that if a school nurse is present to meet student needs, parents and school administrators can rest assured that children and youth can focus on learning.   So, this school nurse’s day, EduHealth recognizes the vital role school nurses play in bringing up a healthy new generation and salutes our school nurses for being true heroes, serving school communities to ensure students are healthy and able to learn.   We recognize how important you are and have your contributions have been critical to ensuring students’ continued learning in safe and healthy environments.  Thank you from all of us at EduHealth and wish you happy school nurse day.  

School nurses’ role in bullying prevention

School nursing

Bullying is a common issue faced in schools that needs to be addressed on priority by students, parents, school nurses, and the entire school community. Physical violence, name calling, cyber-bullying and any aggressive behavior that is intended to harm, intimidate, or humiliate a peer are forms of behavior that come under bullying. While schools are uniquely positioned to educate students and staff about the effects of bullying, the fact remains that bullying is prevalent even today in most schools in the US. It has been estimated that one of out four students in the US is a victim of bullying, and three quarters of the population are being regularly bullied both verbally and physically. Of those students who reported being bullied, 13% were made fun of, called names, or insulted; 13% were the subject of rumors; 5% were pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on; and 5% were excluded from activities on purpose – National Center for Educational Statistics.   How school nurses can help in the prevention of bullying The school nurse’s role in preventing bullying includes the identification of students who bully, are bullied by others, or both. You can collaborate with school personnel, parents, healthcare providers and community members to create a safe school environment. As a non-disciplinary, non-academic staff member, school nurses like you can engender trust and accountability in students. You can build a unique rapport with students, that allows them to confide in and build trust in you. When students talk to you about themselves, it will allow you to intervene into and address actual or potential school violence. Since you are a part of the school-based interdisciplinary team, you will come across students with health issues, attendance problems, discipline, or behavior issues and more. Students regularly designate the school nurse’s office as one of the safest spots in the school. Knowing that there is someone like you to talk to, who also has the power to do something, can be reassuring for children. Utilizing your expertise in assessments, you can identify behavior that could be perceived as malicious, such as angry outburst, running away, sleeping in class and so on as possible effects of violence. You will also come across physical symptoms that could be cased by violence, such as headaches, stomach aches and injuries. This knowledge will enable you to intervene when necessary and make appropriate referrals.   The school nurse can assist in several ways. You can: 1. Stay aware and have knowledge about bullying, aggressive behavior, victimization and the long-term consequences of bullying. 2. Be knowledgeable of why it is not okay to label students as “bullies” or “victims. 3. Put together a school team and act as a key member identifying bullied students or those who bully others. 4. Share information and observations on how to identify students at risk. 5. Screen students with recurring episodes of somatic complaints for bullying and stress. 6. Create a safe environment in the school, where students can openly talk about bullying or other incidents of violence. 7. Build strong relationships with other staff members so they can share concerns about bullying in schools.   School nurse’s role in bullying identification and intervention While any student can be bullied at school, students with disabilities, academic difficulties, speech impairments are particularly at risk. Students may even be bullied based on their physical appearance such as glasses, hair color and weight. Students who bully and get bullied can face serious and often, long-term consequences. 1. Increased absenteeism 2. Diminished educational achievements 3. Behavior issues 4. Low self-esteem 5. Sleep deprivation 6. Depression 7. Anxiety 8. Self-harm 9. Dropping out of school 10. Mental health issues   Bullied students are also at risk or physical symptoms like: 1. Stomach pain 2. Sleep disturbances 3. Headaches 4. Tension 5. Bedwetting 6. Fatigue 7. Decreased appetite School nurses can identify cases of bullying based on these symptoms and intervene with bullying prevention approaches that include crisis management and school violence prevention using a multi-tiered prevention approach.   Crisis management interventions must include: 1. Training school staff to assist in bullying incident response 2. Assessing, planning and implementing programs for after crisis intervention both in initial and long-term phases of treatment and recovery 3. Coordinating the medical response disaster plan until emergency medical services arrive 4. Providing nursing care for affected students 5. Applying crisis intervention strategies that help de-escalate a crisis situation and help resolve the conflict.   School nurses can develop school-based bullying addressal programs that educate students and staff and advocate for student support. 1. Multi-tiered support system: A framework which includes universal programs or activities for all youth within the community or school, selective interventions for groups at risk for being involved in bullying, and preventive interventions that specifically address students already involved in bullying. 2. Integrate bullying prevention efforts into school activities: Bullying prevention efforts that are well-integrated into the school’s activities create effective communication and establish social-emotional learning practices. They work towards creating positive school environments that prevent bullying, suicide and other student concerns. 3. Social emotional learning: Helping build self and social awareness, fostering relationship building and guiding effective problem solving. These practices help in understanding and appreciating differences in others and development of self-management skills. 4. Setting clear behavioral expectations: An awareness and understanding of behavioral expectations in all environments is essential. Students tend to feel safer and more supported in classrooms that are managed effectively. 5. Establish reporting and response policies: Policies should include topics such as how to address bullying-like incidents as well as training for school staff on bullying prevention and intervention. Educate family members on how to talk to their children about bullying and the importance of talking to the school nurse in case of such an incident. 6. Collect data on incidents on bullying: Periodically surveying students to understand incidents of bullying they have experienced or witnessed can help in its prevention. School nurses can use a school nurse software like EduHealth that track help school…