Texas School Nurses Organization

President's Message

This school year has been challenging to say the least! We continue to experience so many daily changes and COVID has definitely affected our day to day care of students. As much as we cannot control the day to day decisions made by our government, administrators and school boards, what we can do is continue to be NURSES! It is what we do best when providing care, educating, collecting data and most of all applying the nursing process to all we do! Additionally, during these stressful times, be sure to care for you and your basic needs! You cannot care for others unless you take care of yourself first!

Registration for TSNO November 12-14, 2021 Conference is now open! See the announcements and fabulous speaker line up! The registration brochure link is below! The plan for now is to proceed with an in person conference. If students can come to school everyday, surely we can meet to learn, collaborate and promote our profession. And we will do it safely with distancing and masking suggested! For more information, visit https://www.txsno.org/conferences/tsno-2021conference.

Hoping you are having a great start to the 2021/2022 school year!

Karen S. Schwind, BSN, RN, NCSN

TSNO President

Candidate for Office of Secretary

Cindy Moore, RN

Present Employment: School Nurse, Sealy Elementary, August 2019 to Present

Education: Graduated from Wharton County Community College, Wharton, Texas in May 2011. Pursuing BSN at UTA, Arlington, Texas with expected graduation date of December 2022.

Membership and Achievements: TSNO and NASN member Red Cross Sponsor, 2016-2019 Campus Based Leadership Team, 2016-2019 Included in presenting at the Region 6 2021 Conference, Transitioning to School Nursing.

Previous Employment: School Nurse at Clements High School from 2016-2019 School Nurse at Bellville Junior High School from 2013-2015 Home Health Case Manager from 2012-2014 and 2015-2016 Medical Surgical Floor Nurse from 2011-2012

Statement of View: I am passionate about School Nursing! I feel this profession is a true calling, and I am blessed to serve, educate, and advocate for the health needs of students and staff in our school systems. School Nursing is often misunderstood, and it is my desire to bridge the gap between school nurses, administrators, school boards and government agencies. A true focus of mine is school nursing policy and procedure and representing all school nurses professionally. In this position of Secretary, I see opportunity to support the Executive Committee while upholding the mission statement of TSNO, “To enhance whole student wellness and learning by strengthening school nursing practice”. I would love the opportunity to professionally advocate for all school nurses, school communities, and school nursing practice.

Office of NASN Director

Adalia DelBosque, MSN, RN, NCSN

Professional Experience: Sixteen years McAllen ISD Director of School Health Services oversees 33 campuses, approximate 25,000 students and 39 registered nurses and 14 nurse assistants. Seven years McAllen ISD Wellness Specialist. Eleven years McAllen ISD School Nurse and eight years acute care nursing at Edinburg Hospital.

Education: University of Pan American University, Bachelor of Science in Nursing (1997); University of Texas Brownsville, Master of Science in Nursing (2014); National Certified School Nurse (2019)

School Nurse Organization Membership: National School Nurse Organization, Texas School Nurse Administrator Alliance Organization, Texas State Nurse Organization, Texas State Nurse Organization- Region One Member, TSNO; Vice-President 2006, President –Elect 2007, President -2008, Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International, Texas School Nurse Organization- Executive Board Member- Secretary 2016

Awards and Community Involvement: National Award for Voices of Meningitis Challenge 2010 - Vaccinate Before You Graduate Vaccination Campaign, Awards for Excellence in Texas School Health 2012- Discovery Award “Improving Asthma Knowledge in Schools”, Speaker for TSNO “Voices of Meningitis”– 2011, Speaker for IZSA Immunize San Antonio “Voices of Meningitis”- 2012, Program Speaker for Sanofi – Sklice, Presenter Texas Medicaid Board 2013, 2014, South Texas Immunization Coalition Committee Member, Asthma Coalition Project Committee Member, Board member for South Texas Juvenile Diabetes, American Heart and American Cancer Association, March of Dimes – Executive Leadership Committee Member

Power of the Purse is TSNO's state conference fundraiser

We have established the TSNO Disaster Relief Fund. This fund will provide assistance to nurses that have experienced a natural disaster.

Please bring your purse for donation to the conference registration desk upon check-in to the conference.

Please sign up your donations here: https://forms.gle/13JdxZYcME3ABhoh9. Only complete ONE form for each donation.

Thank you so much for your donation and making this successful so we can support our communities and School Nurses in need.

NASN Director News

Texas School Nurses Weather the COVID-19 Storm

The Delta variant has placed increased demands and stress upon school nurses as they face yet another school year of the COVID-19 pandemic. You are all COVID-19 Champions at your school and in your school community: You have faced the storm, time and time again, in leadership, advocacy and expertise while navigating uncertain waters, keeping students and faculty safe. The school nurses’ resilience is a vital part of coping with the many challenges this climate brings, for without resilience, a school nurse may burn out or seek other employment elsewhere. Support from your professional nursing organization is a part of that vital component of building nurse resilience. Always remember, you are NOT alone, TSNO and NASN care about you and can help in providing the education and resources you need. Your professional nursing organization is steadfast by your side, offering networking, evidence-based practice, continuing education, position statements, webinars/podcasts, and much more. Here are a few recently released resources by NASN:

The Behavioral Health and Wellness of Students (Revised June 2021)
Human Trafficking (Adopted June 2021)
School Nursing & School-Based Health Centers in the United States (May 2021)
School Nursing Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines: Medication Administration in Schools (NASN Learning Center)
Strategies to Support the Return to School for School-aged Children (NASN Learning Center-webinar)
COVID-19 Prevention for K-12 Schools-Updated Guidance (NASN Learning Center- webinar)
A Model for School Nurse-Led Case Management (NASN Learning Center-Toolkit)
Back-to-School Toolkit (NASN Learning Center-Toolkit)

Finally, I encourage you to seek out other fellow school nurse colleagues that are not members to join TSNO/NASN. You have known the value of school nursing resources and professional growth that translates into improved student outcomes and enhanced school nursing practice: Be sure and share that experience with others.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.

In your service,

Francis Luna

Texas School Nurses Organization-NASN TX Director

Francisluna.tsno@gmail.com

From the NASN Weekly Digest:

NASN and school nurses have been widely represented in the news media over the past few months and we are now including a section in the Weekly Digest to highlight some of those stories twice a month. If you have a story about school nurses you'd like us to consider including, please send it to us.

Kristi Rice and Liz Pray: Now more than ever, we need school nurses (Source: The Spokesman-Review)

Georgia’s school nurses chart new territory in pandemic (Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The connection between the Texas Administrative Code and Texas Education Code

Below is an explanation of the function, difference, and connection of these two guiding documents.

Texas Education Code is the 'law' book - it contains all the laws that govern education that are passed through the legislature. When a bill passes through the legislature, it becomes a state statute (law) as part of TEC. Almost all bills (laws) point to a state agency to write the 'rules' on how to enact the goal of the bill. And here's where TAC comes in...

Texas Administrative Code is the 'rule' book - any state agency that has rulemaking authority puts their rules in TAC. This includes all topics: insurance, health, education, transportation, finances, etc. Education is Title 19, and TEA is Part 2. So, any rule made by TEA or SBOE goes in TAC Title 19 Part II. Similarly, any DSHS rule that we have to follow is in TAC, Title 25, Part I. Most often, education-related bills leave rule-making up to TEA, but a lot of school health-related bills go to DSHS or HHSC.

Therefore, district policy (legal and local) will reference pieces of TEC and also TAC in their descriptions of the policy.

Addressing the Health-Related Causes of Chronic Absenteeism: A Toolkit for Action

The Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) released a toolkit to address chronic absenteeism. The toolkit focuses on providing educators with knowledge and practical guidance for creating meaningful change to health-related chronic absenteeism. The toolkit explains the relationship between chronic absenteeism and student health and provides evidence-based methods to find and address any problems.

Reaching for Excellence Grant Application Opens September 1, 2021

Starting September 1, 2021, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) will be accepting applications for the Reaching for Excellence (RFE) in Texas School Health FY2023 Grant. Two RFE grants are available that will fund up to $10,000
(in reimbursement funds) for a district level or school campus project that focuses
on nutrition education, physical education, or injury prevention. A district can only receive one grant. To learn more, sign up for a live webinar on Sept. 1, 2021, at 3:00 p.m., Sept. 9, 2021, at 11:30 a.m., or Sept. 16, 2021, at 3:00 p.m.

Asthma and Prevalence of Stock Bronchodilator Programs in Public Schools Survey

Greetings, School Nurses,

I am a former school nurse and current student at Texas Woman’s University in the Nursing PhD program. I am interested in the school nurse's perception of the state of asthma and prevalence of stock bronchodilator programs in public schools. I am seeking participants to complete a survey I have created to explore these topics. The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. If you are willing to participate in this anonymous survey, please click on the link below. You will find the consent form as the first message on the survey link. Your participation is voluntary and no identifying information will be collected. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Survey Link: https://utexas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eo3FvY7fPSbiblQ

Thank you for your consideration!

Brittany Christiansen, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC/AC, FNP-C, AE-C, CNE

bchristiansen@twu.edu

Oliver Foundation- Healthy Choices Grant

Oliver Foundation works to encourage children, families and community in Texas to improve the nutrition and physical activity of K-12 students. The Healthy Choices Grants will be awarded to non-profit organizations, agencies and schools. They will need to demonstrate the greatest need and likelihood of a sustainable impact on children’s nutrition and activity levels through innovative programs. Applications are due April 15, July 15, and October 15, 2021.

Looking for #COVID19 Testing, Therapeutics, or Vaccine Providers in Texas

The Texas Division of Emergency Management has maps for that!

Testing Locations: http://COVIDtest.TDEM.Texas.gov
Vaccine Providers: http://meds.TDEM.Texas.gov
Therapeutic Providers: http://meds.TDEM.Texas.gov

Members Needed

Did you know that less than half of school nurses in Texas know about TSNO and all of the benefits? We challenge you to ask! You could be the one who introduces them to those precious vision vouchers for their students or to other school nurses who can support them. Tell them what being a member of TSNO means to you! Feel free to give them our TSNO infographic.

Care for Your Students and You

VSP Vision Care's Sight for Students program is open to NASN members. Through this partnership, NASN members receive gift certificates they can share with qualifying students 19 years of age or younger.

The best professional liability rates available are extended to NASN members through NASN's partnership with Lockton Affinity.

The UnaRxCard is a discount prescription drug card that can lower the cost of many prescription medications and things like diabetes supplies, hearing aides and glasses. The card is available to NASN members and can be shared with others including students and their families.

Did you know...

The TSNO website has a "Resource" link with so much valuable information in just one click of the mouse! Examples include advocacy tools, AED's, asthma resources, confidentiality, diabetes care manual, federal agency links, food allergies, models, IHP Templates (my personal favorite), position statements, Scope and Standards, and so much more! Check it out at this link:

http://www.txsno.org/tsnoresources