MetroWest Newsletter
January 22, 2020 - Volume 8
In This Issue:
1. MDPH School Health Unit Communications
- Influenza and School Closings Guidance
2. CSHS Upcoming Meetings Reminders
3. Questions for the Group Section
4. Career Opportunities
5. Conferences/Training Opportunities
- Boston Children's Programs
- NEUSHA Webinars for School Nurses
- School-Based Medicaid Program (SBMP) Training
- Save-the-Date for Oral Health Equity Summit
- Narcan Training
6. Resource Section Specific to This Newsletter
- Youth Health Connection Newsletter: January 2020 Second Edition
- Upcoming National Certification Test Dates
- Children's Vision Resources
- U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain
7. Resources/Links To Be Included in Every Newsletter
- MDPH Infectious Disease Reporting & Immunization Resources
- Vaping-Associated Pulmonary Injury Update Reports
- Mass.gov Vaping Public Emergency
- Healthy Schools Toolkit
- Asthma Toolkit for Healthy Schools
- BU SHIELD Resources
- Field Trip Tool Kit
- Managing Life-Threatening Allergies in Schools Manual
- MDPH School Health Services Information
- MDPH Comprehensive School Health Manual
- CSHS Model & Affiliated Program Data Requirements
- State Reports for Both Funded and Non-Funded School
- MDPH School Health Unit Contact Information
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you to all of those that were able to join us for the MetroWest/Boston Regional School Nurse Meeting in Marlborough on January 17, 2020. It is always great to come together as a group to obtain new information about available resources, gain insight from professionals in the field of school nursing, and network with each other!
Dress Down For Charity Update: The total amount raised thus far from Dress Down for Charity is $248! ($97 from first meeting and $151 from Friday's meeting)!! This is awesome, thank you to All!! Please submit your Charity Choice suggestions Here.
A goal of the MA DPH School Health Service Unit is to promote equity in communication among school nurses across Massachusetts. This newsletter conveys important updates, news and vital information from MA DPH. It is also intended to support school nurses and enhance their practice in the specialized, independent, and often isolated school nurse role. Please share this newsletter with other nurses in your district and/or your local area who may not be receiving the information. Also, please feel free to notify me of any school nurse who needs to be added to the Listserv.
Warmest Regards,
Jill
MDPH School Health Unit Communications:
Dear Colleagues:
There are no MDPH guidelines for closing schools due to influenza. Schools/districts should work closely with local department of public health or contact the infectious disease liaison at MDPH at (617) 983-6800 to determine how to best address the situation in each community. Schools should stay open to provide warmth, stability and food for our students unless there are not enough adults to safely provide supervision.
Here are some steps recommended by the CDC to address influenza in the school community:
- Custodians may be directed to pay special attention to frequently touched surfaces with district-approved cleaning agents, but it is not necessary to close schools to “disinfect” them: “studies have shown that the flu virus can live and potentially infect a person for only 2 to 8 hours after being deposited on a surface. Therefore, special sanitizing processes beyond routine cleaning, including closing schools to clean every surface in the building, are not necessary or recommended to slow the spread of flu, even during a flu outbreak”. (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/school/guidance.htm)
- Sick people should stay home until they are fever-free for 24 hours and other disease-spreading behaviors (ie coughing, sneezing, runny nose) are under control.
- Practice and model good hygiene, including: use of tissues, teaching to cough into sleeves and HANDWASHING.
For more information see this very helpful guidance document from the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/school/guidance.htm
Karen Robitaille, MBA, MSN, RN, NCSN
< she, her, hers>
Director of School Health Services
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Bureau of Community Health & Prevention
250 Washington Street, 5th floor
Boston, MA 02108
617-624-5427
CSHS UPCOMING MEETINGS:
SCHENA:
- 2/11/2020 - Webinar: 9:00-10:30AM
- 2/25/2020 - Virtual Office Hours: 3:30-5:00PM
- 3/17/2020 - Live Course: 8:30AM - 3:00PM, DoubleTree, Westborough MA
- Attendance required for all Model grant awardees. Optional for Affiliate programs and all others. Course in progress - registration time period has ended.
MetroWest/Boston Regional Meeting:
- 04/08/2020- 8:15 AM - 2:30 PM at Assabet Valley Collaborative Training Center, 28 Lord Road, Marlborough.
- Attendance required for all Model and Affiliate grant awardees. Open to all others who wish to attend. Registration required.
- Agenda pending.
CSHS NURSE LEADER (State-Wide):
- March 05, 2020 - 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM at DoubleTree by Hilton, Westborough, MA
- Attendance required for all Model and Affiliate grant awardees. Registration required.
- April 13, 2020 (***Rescheduled from 12/17/19 due to weather***)
- May 21, 2020
*QUESTIONS FOR THE GROUP*
*If you are seeking any information from your regional colleagues please let me know and your question(s) for the group will be included here. I can also send your question(s) to the other regional consultants to include in their newsletters to allow for further outreach.
Please see the following questions from our school health colleagues seeking collaboration. Answers/Information can be sent to the contact information provided for each question. Your sharing of information and resources is greatly appreciated.
- Does your district have a written job description for the school nurse? Is it in the contract or does it stand alone? Are you willing to share it with me? Do your expectations for the school nurses include any responsibility for membership with the local Medical Reserve Corps (such as flu clinics, pandemic planning etc). Please send replies to Tricia Laham, Brookline Public Schools, email address tricia_laham@psbma.org.
- Does anyone have guidelines or a protocol for assigning 1:1 nursing status to students? Please send replies to Ruth Hoshino, Newton Public Schools, email address hoshinor@newton.k12.ma.us.
- How do other districts provide coverage for 1:1 nurses to have a lunch break away from their students? Please send replies to Mary Heater, Woburn Public Schools, email address mheater@woburnps.com.
- Seeking any information, past experiences, policy, protocol, etc., from other school districts who have used therapy dogs to decrease stress due to test anxiety during midterms and finals. Please send replies to Beth Rumley, Belmont Public Schools, email address mrumley@belmont.k12.ma.us.
- Doreen Crowe, Coordinator of Nursing Services Wilmington Public Schools, is interested in knowing how many districts Opt-in & Opt-out for postural screenings & the percentage of students that are actually screened annually. She has created the following survey if you are willing to share this information: https://forms.gle/vtnn3ekbbSakA51K6 . If you have any questions Doreen can be reached at Doreen.Crowe@wpsk12.com.
- Request for sharing of policies, procedures, IHCPs, or Medication Administration Plans related to student self-administration of IV medications. In addition, looking for those that also include self peripheral IV start for self administration of IV medication. These can be sent to me at jill.connolly@braintreeschools.org. I will share out to the requesting nurse leader and with your permission will keep them on file as a resource for future requests. Greatly appreciated!
- Barbara Singer, Director of School Health Services Needham Public Schools, would like to know if other districts are noticing an increase in vision referrals for grade 9/10 students; specifically for students who fail their distance acuity screening? Please contact Barbara at barbara_singer@needham.k12.ma.us to share this information.
- For schools/districts that have updated their phone system to VoIP (internet) lines, what are you doing about fax lines? Are you keeping an analog line for faxing? If not, what system are you using to receive confidential information from MD office (ie physicals, MD orders)? Do you have any information about the security of faxing over the internet? Please share any information you have regarding this with Kathi Garvin at kgarvin@walpole.k12.ma.us.
Career Opportunities:
CONFERENCES/TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES:
Boston Children's Community Education Initiative
For questions about payment and registration, contact:
Judi Naar
Phone: 617-355-8431
Fax: 617-730-0591
Email: judi.naar@childrens.harvard.edu
Boston Children’s Hospital’s Community Education Initiative presents:
RETELL For School Nurses
The RETELL for School Nurses program was specifically designed to meet the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s RETELL licensure recertification requirements for all educators to receive training related to teaching English Language Learners, and in effective schooling for students with disabilities and instruction of students with diverse learning styles.
The videos included in this program were filmed over the past two years at live programming at Children’s Hospital Waltham location. The RETELL for School Nurses Program will be available only over the next two years in order to provide only current information to school nurses. You will receive two contact hours and/or two Professional development Points for the program.
The RETELL for School Nurses Program was developed with the support of Boston Children’s Hospital’s Medicine Patient Services Department, the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston, and the LEND Boston program.
Choose from the two course categories below to find out more about the courses offered and to enroll in individual courses.
Each course requires a payment of $40. When you register, you will find a link to PayPal.
Course fee is non-refundable once course videos have been viewed.
NEUSHA Trainings for School Nurses
Save the dates for future Webinars
Jan 28: Diversity & Inclusivity
Nate Horwitz-Willis, DrPH, MPH, MPA, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Public Health Practice at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences University and Public Health Officer for Mass Air Nat’l Guard at Joint Base Cape Cod. Nate will discuss social determinants of health, health-related social needs, and cultural humility, connecting these concepts to the school nurse role. Registration coming soon.
Feb 5: Immunizations
Feb 12: Advocacy - The Boston, MA, School Nurse Experience
Feb 19: Pharmacology for the School Nurse
Anne Mingolelli, DNP, PMHNP-BC, APRN-BC is a Nurse Practitioner certified to provide psychiatric services to children, adolescents, and adults. She has also been a certified school nurse for 15 years. She will share her expertise on pharmacology for school nurses during the Feb. 19th webinar. Please complete this confidential 7-question survey to help her plan for a highly relevant learning opportunity! Registration coming in a few weeks.
Survey for Psychopharm learning needs; click here
March 3: Medication Errors in the School Setting
March 18: Health Curriculum for Young Adults with Disabilities
School-Based Medicaid Program (SBMP) Training:
MassHealth, in conjunction with UMass Medical School, is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the February in-person regional trainings throughout the Commonwealth! Please find information related to the training below as well as a link to register for one of the sessions.These sessions will be available in-person only, there will not be a livestream option. In-person attendance is required to ensure the best possible conversation and to take full advantage of the topics being covered in the trainings.
Please share this information with others in your LEA who would be appropriate for this training based on a review of the training topics outline included below.
What: School-Based Medicaid Program (SBMP) Training
Who: LEA stakeholders and primary contacts for the SBMP, specifically: Special Education Administrators, clinical leadership (e.g. nurse leaders and other lead service providers), Medicaid point-people.
When/Where: From 8:30 a.m.to 3 p.m., with continental breakfast and lunch provided, on:
Registration is restricted to 3 attendees per district. Click on the date/location above to register for the training. Please complete one online registration form
per individual. Registrations are due no later than January 31st. Due to hotel capacity and meal ordering, the 1/31/20 deadline is firm - please register ASAP so you don't miss out!
Training Topics
In response to LEA requests, the focus of these training sessions will be topics related to the Direct Service Claiming (DSC) program requirements. To assist LEAs in determining the most appropriate individuals to send to a training session, please review the outline of training topics:
- Medicaid and Education - shared language/vocabulary
- Diagnosis Coding
- Clinical authorization and documentation requirements
- Medical Necessity
- Monitoring program compliance
- Workgroup collaboration session
- Program Expansion Success Stories
What's next?
Stay tuned! Additional details regarding training materials will be included in an email sent in advance of your training date.
Thank you for your continued commitment to the School-Based Medicaid Program.
School-Based Medicaid Claiming Team
Commonwealth Medicine
Toll Free: (800) 535-6741
Narcan Training
How to get Narcan: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/how-to-get-naloxone
Information for community members about how to get NARCAN® (Naloxone) to help prevent overdose deaths.
Resources for School Health Staff and Others:
National Board of Certification of School Nurses Certification Examination:
Become a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN)!
The exam will be available to three testing windows in 2020:
- Spring Testing Window: March 5 – 18, 2020. Registration: November 14, 2019 – February 5, 2020
- Summer Testing Window: July 9 – August 5, 2020. Registration: March 19 – June 9, 2020
- Fall Testing Window: November 5 – 18, 2020. Registration Window: August 6 – October 5, 2020
For further information, please see https://www.nbcsn.org/ncsn/examination/
Please remember as of January 1, 2020, Eligibility Requirements changed.
Eligible candidates must:
- Submit a copy of their license as a registered nurse (RN) in one of the United States.
- Submit an academic transcript or proof of current certification, demonstrating attainment of one of the following: *A bachelor’s degree or higher in nursing or the equivalent in other countries OR current certification by NBCSN as an NCSN.
- Meet the clinical practice requirements of a minimum of 1,000 hours that have been worked within the three years prior to taking the test. 1000 hours is roughly equivalent to the hours worked by a full-time school nurse who works at least 6 hours/day for a school year of 180 days documented by a note on letterhead from your supervisor or district official. See below for more information about clinical practice requirements.
- Complete the online application to take the certification examination for school nurses.
- Pay the required fee.
For further information, please see https://www.nbcsn.org/ncsn/eligibility/
A Six Week Online Study Group is offered through School Nurse Net.
Candidates for the online study group have to be MSNO members. To join the study group, sign into School Nurse Net through NASN website, use the drop down on upper right to go to Communities and find “National Certification Exam Candidates”. The next online study group will begin on Friday, January 31, 2020! Please pass the word on to your colleagues who are interested in sitting for the exam in the Spring of 2020.
Any questions contact
Pat Hoban, NBCSN MA. Liaison
THINK OF VISION! A NEW Vision Guide for Teachers:
THINK OF VISION! A NEW Vision Guide for Teachers:
Clear vision plays a fundamental role in a child's overall development, and their ability to learn and participate fully in their world. But signs of a vision problem in children can be subtle.
The new Guide alerts teachers of students at grade school and older, to signs and symptoms that, if repeatedly observed in the classroom, may indicate an untreated vision disorder, requiring evaluation by an eye doctor.
The Guide follows THINK OF VISION: Guide for Preschool Teachers released last year by Children's Vision of Massachusetts (CVMA).
Click here to download the Teacher Guides: for Preschool, and School-aged Children.
Please share these Guides with parents and educators!
Childhood Vision Fact Sheets Available in Many Languages
Childhood Vision Fact Sheets Available in Many Languages
New childhood vision fact-sheets are available to download and print, in seven languages @ Prevent Blindness Ohio.
Find fact-sheets about Amblyopia and Strabismus in English and Spanish.
Click here to find more translations and fact sheets in Arabic, Somali, Spanish, Chinese, French, Russian and Ukranian.
A comprehensive eye exam from a pediatric eye doctor always includes a full ocular health assessment, including ocular pressure.
By detecting vision problems and treating them early, including those from glaucoma, we can help to avoid significant vision impairment.
Surgeon General Vice Adm. Jerome M. Adams advisory emphasizing the importance of protecting youth from the health risks of marijuana use. “There is a false perception that marijuana is not as harmful as other drugs. I want to be very clear – no amount of marijuana use during adolescence is known to be safe,” said Surgeon General Adams.
The Below Resources/Links To Be Included In Every Newsletter:
MDPH Infectious Disease Reporting and Immunization Resources:
INFECTIOUS DISEASE: ANY infectious disease question, report, or inquiry should be directed to the State Lab at (671)983-6800
DATA REQUIREMENTS for CSHS & NON-CSHS PROGRAMS
CSHS Model and CSHS Affiliated Program Data Requirements:
CSHS MONTHLY REPORT INFO:
The correct link to the Monthly report form is shown below:
https://mdph.checkboxonline.com/MonthlyReport-2020.survey
Questions related to CSHS mandated grant reporting should go to: dph_eshs_data@dph.state.ma.us
All CSHS Report forms and instructions can be found here: CSHS pdf forms 2019-2020 Clicking the link will download a zip file. Open your “Downloads” folder to view the zip file and extract the forms.
CSHS BUDGET QUESTIONS:
Questions related to CSHS budget and spending can be directed to Juliet Berk at juliet.berk1@state.ma.us
State Reports for Both Funded and Non-Funded Schools:
Epinephrine administration report form
https://mdph.checkboxonline.com/Epinephrine-Report-2020.survey
SBIRT data report form. This is an Excel spreadsheet that needs to be downloaded, completed, and then returned as an email attachment.
Single user version: SBIRT data collection form 2019-2020 (Single screener)
Multiple user version SBIRT data collection form 2019-2020 (Multiple screeners)
If the file does not automatically download, but opens in Excel, click “ok” when prompted then select “save as” and then save the file to a folder of your choosing (you can re-name the file if needed).
Asthma and Diabetes Survey questions may be directed via email to the project mailbox at DPH-BEH-Asthma@state.ma.us or via telephone to 617- 624-5757. Please ask for the Pediatric Asthma Coordinator.
Concussion Report:
BMI report form. This report is required of districts that are not funded through the CSHS program. CSHS-funded districts and schools should NOT submit a separate BMI report. This report is optional for non-public school districts.
https://mdph.checkboxonline.com/SchoolHealth2020.survey
Questions? E-mail your question to: DPH_ESHS_data@MassMail.State.MA.US
MDPH SCHOOL HEALTH UNIT CONTACT INFORMATION:
Karen Robitaille, MBA, MSN, RN, NCSN
Director of School Health
Phone: (617) 624-5427
Caitlin Pettengill, DNP, RN
Assistant Director of School Health
Phone: (617) 624-6058
caitlin.pettengill@state.ma.us
Juliet Sithole-Berk, MPA, MSCED
Program Coordinator lll
Phone: (617) 624-5447
Robert Leibowitz, Ph.D.
Epidemiologist
Phone: (617) 624-5474
Fax: (617) 624-6062
Evelyn Levenson (interim)
Medication Program Coordinator
Phone: (617) 624-6013
Fax: (617) 624-6062
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jill Connolly, MEd, BSN, RN, NCSN
MetroWest Regional School Nurse Consultant
Braintree Public Schools
128 Town Street
Braintree, MA
(781) 848-4000, ext. 7841
Fax (781) 843-7058
jill.connolly@braintreeschools.org
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