Wow,

Are we having a crazy start to spring, or what? How many of you ever thought we would all be doing distant learning? It is something new for most of us but as I read stories about how school nurses across the state of Texas are stepping up it makes me so proud to be part of this profession. I commend each of you for stepping outside of the box and learning new ways to teach and encourage.

NASN elections are open and I want to remind you all to go and vote. There are 4 candidates, including our own Lisa Sicilio, running for vice president and 3 candidates for nominations coordinator. Make your voice count!

TSNO and NASN have been working on ways to help you through Covid 19. The resources can be found on the home pages of both organizations websites. NASN is currently working on guidelines for when schools do re-open.

I pray that you are all well, physically, mentally and spiritually, and that you have found ways to enjoy your time at home. Covid 19 has certainly made us all slow down and take notice of the things around us. Take this time to be kind to others, reflect on where you are in your goals for life, lend a helping hand where you can and stop and smell the roses.

Stay Healthy,

Lisa--

Lisa Formby, RN

TSNO President

WE ARE LIVING A DEFINING MOMENT OF HISTORY

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a profound health, social and economic pandemic with, as of this writing, over 1 million confirmed cases and more than 60,000 deaths globally (World Health Organization). The stress, fear and anxiety of this disease can be overwhelming, but remember, we are all in this together. Reach out to family, neighbors, or colleagues, and check on them. Kindness in action contributes to healing mind, body and soul. I have seen and read many stories of school nurses taking the lead in providing expert knowledge and action in prevention/mitigation, preparedness, and response. School nurses are at the table of discussion with their school leadership team, government agencies, local health department, and other professional organizations. Thanks to you, school nurses, for being resilient, motivated, and innovative in meeting the challenge. Have you seen all the news coverage at the local, state and national level of our practice? I’m grateful to see the light shine on our specialized nursing profession and the importance school nursing makes for students, parents, and the school community. Feel free to share your stories by contacting us so we can highlight them in our newsletter and/or social media. TSNO/NASN advocates for a school nurse to be present in school all day, every day, to optimize their student health, safety and education.

NASN offers members many resources on COVID-19 and visit NASN SchoolNurseNet community for the latest discussions from school nurses around the nation and overseas on this topic.

Stay well and safe. In your service,

Francis

Francis Luna, MSN, RN, NCSN

NASN-TX Director

To learn more visit https://www.nbcsn.org/

DSHS posted this guidance regarding Screening Reports in the latest issue of the Friday Beat. You can subscribe to the Friday Beat here.

VHSS Vision, Hearing and Screening Reporting Update

Due to the uncertainty of school closures, please enter and submit your vision, hearing and spinal screenings for this school year as soon as possible. We understand you may not have all of your screenings done at this time, therefore for this school year, you will be allowed to go back and edit and resubmit your screenings if necessary. This change will allow schools to report now, and if and when schools resume you will be able to finish screenings and edit the screening reports. If you have any questions you may email them to vhssprogram@dshs.texas.gov.

Laurie G. Combe, MN, RN, NCSN

President - National Association of School Nurses

Do you know a great nurse? Share all that she (he) does for students, faculty, and community by nominating that nurse for Texas School Nurse of the Year. One applicant per region, must be submitted through the Region President. For application go to: http://www.txsno.org/abouttsno/awards/schoolnurseoftheyear

Is your School Nurse Administrator head and shoulders above the rest? Do you want to recognize him or her for their leadership in school health? Then recognize them for the School Nurse Administrator of the Year award. For more information go to: http://www.txsno.org/tsno/abouttsno/awards/schoolnurseadministratoroftheyear

Applications due by June 15th.

http://www.txsno.org/membership/jointsno

This is just one example of how membership pays for itself! Stay tuned for more examples!