Operation Education: 60 percent of US public schools don't have recommended nursing staff

If something happens to your kids at school, you want them to get the best care possible.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that schools have at least one registered nurse on staff, but the reality is that 60 percent of public schools nationwide have a part-time nurse or no nurse at all.

People tend to think nurses only deal with bumps and bruises.

One school nurse tells us one of the hardest parts of her job is dealing with all the misconceptions around what she does.

A quarter of all children now suffer from some type of chronic illness like diabetes or asthma, and it's school nurses who help keep them in class. They also address anti-bullying efforts, mental health promotion, sex education and substance abuse.

“Sometimes people will say, ‘Well, what do you do?’” said Stacey Pavlovic, Concord Community Schools Nursing Coordinator.

As a school nurse at Concord Ox Bow Elementary and the nursing coordinator for Concord Schools, Pavlovic is accustomed to people dramatically underestimating what she does.

“People tend to think of, you know, kids will have a stomachache ache or scrape a knee,” said Pavlovic, “Sure, we’re there for that too, but there’s so much more.”

The days of school nurses only attending to bumps and bruises -- if those days ever even existed -- are gone.

"The kinds of health problems we’re seeing in schools has changed dramatically,” said Laurie Combe, National Association of School Nurses President.

As the list of requirements for school nurses has gotten longer, there's now a nationwide shortage.

Nationally, 39 percent of schools have a full-time nurse, 35 percent have a part-time nurse and 25 percent don't have one at all.

The Indiana Department of Education sent out a survey to public schools. Of those that responded, 32 percent had a part-time nurse or no nurse at all.

The ratio is one registered nurse to roughly every 1,000 students. That may sound reasonable, until you consider what they're dealing with.

“We see a lot of students with Type 1 Diabetes, seizure disorders, food allergies and other severe allergies that may impact students during the day,” said Andrea Tanner, Indiana Association of School Nurses President.

School nurses also treat students with mental health conditions, disabilities, concussions, gender transitions, tube feedings -- the list goes on and on. Besides treatment, they coordinate health education programs for the entire school and coordinate care between students, parents and doctors.

We asked Pavlovic if she kept any data about nurse-student interactions -- and what she shared was stunning.

“We saw, in our seven school buildings, all of our clinics, with our eight nurses, we saw 41,800 students,” said Pavlovic.

To put that in perspective, when you divide 41,800 student visits by 180 days in the school year, that's 232 visits across all 7 schools each day.

Divide that number by the eight nurses working full time at Concord schools, and that's 29 visits for each nurse per day. If that's not enough evidence that school nurses are vital to the schools they serve, there's also this.

“There is research to support that when a school nurse is in the building, caring for students, their attendance increases, their test scores increase, they’re more likely to graduate from high school because of this,” said Tanner.

School nurses are especially needed in low-income school districts. Tanner says for many of these students, a school nurse is the only healthcare access they have.

But they are often cut for budgetary reasons.

Wednesday at 6, Tolly investigates where schools without a registered nurse turn instead and why employing a school nurse can save a school money in the long run.

If you have a story you'd like Tolly to look into, call our Operation Education tips line at 574-344-2580 or email operationeducation@wsbt.com.