North Allegheny review finds rising school-health workload; nurses request staffing, equipment and professional memberships

Bridget Walinski, health services chairperson for the North Allegheny School District, told the school board on March 12 that health office use and medical needs have grown substantially and recommended a staffing review, targeted equipment purchases and paid professional memberships to support nurses.

The review, based on 2023–24 data, found 87,133 visits to district health offices during the school year, an increase of about 17,000 visits annually since the department's last review in 2018. Walinski said the visits include care for medically complex students who require skilled nursing interventions such as catheterizations, tube feedings, diabetes management and seizure care. "The purpose of our review is to examine the Health Services Department and identify where our strengths and our areas of needed growth are and to ensure that we are providing the very best possible care to the North Allegheny community," she said.

The presentation listed staffing and workload details: 10 certified school nurses; seven full-time support nurses and two part-time support nurses (seven of the support nurses are registered nurses and two are licensed practical nurses); a collective 525 years of nursing experience among department staff; and an average of 27 years' experience per certified nurse. The review reported that 1,984 students were identified with at least one serious chronic health condition in 2023–24 and that 508 of those students required specialized nursing services. Walinski also reported the department administered about 23,000 medication doses last year, an increase of 56 percent since 2018.

Walinski and the team grounded the review in the 2024 National Association of School Nurses practice framework and said they followed Pennsylvania Department of Education and Pennsylvania Department of Health guidance, Allegheny Health Department advice, and professional nursing licensure requirements in compiling findings and recommendations.

Key recommendations presented to the board were: pursue funding for district-paid memberships to the National Association of School Nurses and the Pennsylvania Association of School Nurses and Practitioners (Walinski said the cost would be $130 per certified nurse and could be claimed in the district's SHARS reporting where applicable); replace or upgrade specific health-office equipment (including locked medication storage at Peebles Elementary and nine new cots across several health offices); and conduct a multi-year review of health services staffing to match growing student needs. Walinski said constrained coverage during the school day limits nurses' access to professional development provided by the district and argued memberships would increase access to resources and continuing education.

Board members asked clarifying questions about definitions, workload and priorities. School board member Mrs. Blackburn suggested the public slides explicitly note that many support nurses are registered nurses: "I might make that in the public presentation just so if anybody is looking at this, they would understand these are real nurses." Dr. Giggs asked the presenter to identify the most critical needs; Walinski said staffing and professional development were priorities: "Honestly, right now we're, we would need nurses as far as, you know, to try to support the student just because of the busyness." Mr. McClure asked what conditions counted as "serious chronic health conditions;" Walinski said the category follows the district's SHARS reporting and includes diabetes, life‑threatening allergies, seizure disorders, blood disorders and other comparable chronic conditions. Dr. Zinkowiak asked about the nature of the 87,000 visits; Walinski said those primarily reflect acute illnesses and injuries handled in the health offices and do not include routine medication administrations, which the department records separately.

The presentation included several small, low-cost facility requests intended to improve safety and infection control in health offices (for example, replacing torn cots), and it urged that health-office needs be considered in future capital planning and renovations. Walinski asked that nurses be consulted on health-office design during planning for building projects.

No formal motions or votes on the recommendations were recorded during the presentation. The board's discussion praised the nurses' work and asked for additional information on cost and implementation prior to taking action.

The Health Services Department concluded by asking the board to consider the staffing review and modest one-time equipment purchases as the district plans future budgets and renovations.