Snowline health services describes training, telehealth pilots and emergency readiness
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Summary
District Health Services Director Julie Galbraith told the board the department has standardized protocols, expanded staffing coverage and piloted remote diabetic assessments, while rolling out stop‑the‑bleed training and Medi‑Cal billing to recapture funds.
Julie Galbraith, director of Health Services for Snowline Joint Unified School District, told trustees the department has undergone “a significant transformation” over the past four years and now emphasizes consistency, emergency readiness and data-driven care. At a board meeting, Galbraith listed new steps including a district health office manual grounded in National Association of School Nurses protocols, annual competency testing for health technicians, and partnerships to stabilize staffing.
Galbraith said the district has partnered with two registry nurses to maintain coverage across sites and has added AED maintenance, Narcan and EpiPens districtwide. She also detailed plans to expand life‑saving training, noting that “in January on January 16, health technicians are doing stop the bleed training” to increase trauma readiness.
The presentation highlighted pilot technology intended to reduce classroom interruptions for students with chronic needs: Galbraith said the district has tested iPad‑enabled remote diabetic assessments, allowing staff to assess students without removing them from class. “We do over 3,000 assessments a year on students,” she told the board, noting that Medi‑Cal billing for nursing interventions is under development to recapture partially unreimbursed costs.
Galbraith described other partnerships with San Bernardino Community Public Health for on‑site vaccine clinics and with Big Smiles for on‑site dental screenings and treatment, which she said improves attendance and keeps students in class. She also reported changes affecting special education supports, including assignment of LVNs for medically fragile students and updated diapering/toileting policies to preserve dignity and privacy.
Following the presentation, trustees asked about student workforce pipelines. Superintendent Ryan Holman and Galbraith said pandemic‑era changes to fingerprinting and program requirements opened a pathway for students in CTE medical programs to work alongside health technicians, which Galbraith described as both an instructional opportunity and a recruitment pipeline for school health jobs.
District leaders said they will continue data collection to track why students visit health offices, how long they stay, and whether interventions are reducing classroom time lost to healthcare needs. The board did not take formal action on the presentation; trustees thanked Galbraith and administration for the update and for work to align health services with student supports.
