Board hears Health and Nursing Services report; nurses flag rising diabetes, concussion care and emergency response steps

The Franklin Board of Education on Sept. 24 heard the district’s Health and Nursing Services report covering the previous school year. Nurses Laura Plautz and Lauren Chong, joined by Director of Student Services Leo Ekman, described the scope of school nursing work and rising medical needs among students, including an increase in students with diabetes who require ongoing nursing support.

“Our district, our students are generally very healthy,” one nurse said, while noting that certain diagnoses require significant nursing involvement. The presentation said diabetes cases are increasing and require routine monitoring and delegated tasks; nurses described frequent use of insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems and the district’s ability, with parent permission, to monitor numbers via a tablet and follow app.

Nursing staff said they handle concussion evaluation and coordinate with athletic trainers and parents to make accommodations for affected students. The district maintains emergency response teams in every building and conducts drills with the local fire department twice a year. Nurses also described how they support individualized education program (IEP) and 504 plan meetings by providing medical updates and collaborating with teachers and therapists.

On daily operations, nurses said they train and support office staff who help in health rooms and are expanding teacher awareness about what can be handled in classrooms to reduce unnecessary health‑room visits—an effort meant to keep students in instructional time when clinically appropriate. The nurses said some health‑room visits may indicate underlying mental‑health or attendance issues and that staff will refer students to counselors when appropriate.

On staffing, the district uses a nurse sub‑pool to provide coverage when nurses are needed on field trips, to cover absences, or to support buildings with higher needs. Nurses said they are increasingly encouraging older students to build independence in managing diabetes while partnering with families and using technology to monitor care when parents give explicit permission.

Board members asked about severe food allergies, the graduate school club’s health supports, and how the district is addressing mental‑health needs that surface in the health room. Nurses said last year had no reported severe food‑allergy incidents and attributed that to parent plans and staff vigilance at elementary schools; they also said mental‑health concerns show up regularly and that existing student‑services staff are available to follow up.

The report included a mention—during public questioning—of approximately 25 students in the district with type 1 diabetes; nurses confirmed the trend toward earlier adoption of insulin pumps and described a process for family permission to allow staff to follow pump/CGM readings via an app.

Speakers on the report included Leo Ekman (director of student services), Laura Plautz (nurse) and Lauren Chong (nurse). The item was informational; no board action followed.