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Sioux Falls district reports rising medical needs; nurses created 2,300+ individualized care plans last year
Summary
The district reported increases in students with diabetes, seizure disorders and life-threatening allergies and said school nurses provided tens of thousands of contacts and daily medical treatments across 38 buildings.
Molly Satter, representing district health services, told the Sioux Falls School District board on Jan. 27 that school nurses created more than 2,300 individualized care plans during the past year and provided a wide range of medical and behavioral-health support across the district’s 38 buildings.
Satter said the district has 32.5 full-time equivalent school nurses who completed 280 daily scheduled treatments such as catheterizations, tube feedings and respiratory treatments; those numbers exclude intermittent treatments that vary day-to-day. She reported specific caseload figures: 93 students with diabetes (an increase of 32 over five years), 253 students with seizure disorders (up 26 in five years), 416 students with life-threatening allergies and 1,304 students with asthma.
Satter highlighted prevention and coordination work: nurses made 20,277 parent contacts last year for health education and referrals, administered 476 student flu shots and 759 staff flu shots, and partnered with community organizations for screenings and services. The district partners named include the Lions and Sertoma Clubs for vision and hearing screens (about 5,700 first-, third- and fifth-grade students), Falls Community Health for school-based health centers at Hawthorne, Terry Redlin and Hayward elementary schools, and Dakota Dental Mobile, which provided dental care for 386 students with an estimated $394,882 in direct dental services.
Board members thanked nursing staff and asked questions about partnerships and capacity. One board member suggested the district’s strong regional health systems may attract families with children who have critical needs; Satter agreed that the district often sees families move to Sioux Falls for care. Board members then acknowledged the health services update.
The board’s acknowledgement does not create new policy or funding; district staff will continue to operate health services and coordinate with partners to meet student needs.
