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District health director says health offices handled more than 46,000 visits this year; highlights diabetes and immunization work
Summary
Priscilla Whitaker told the Los Banos Unified board that health offices logged 46,659 visits in 124 school days, with 1,180 diabetes-related visits and 27 students with type 1 diabetes. She urged outreach and noted immunization compliance remains below the 95% goal at two sites.
Priscilla Whitaker, the district's director of student health services, told the Los Banos Unified School District board that school health staff have been managing a heavy caseload this year, reporting 46,659 health-office visits through 124 school days.
Whittaker said the district currently has four credentialed school nurses, eight LVNs, eight health assistants and an LVN assigned to the LEAP program. "We're very busy," she said, summarizing the scope of daily first-aid care, chronic-condition management and medication administration across 14 staffed health offices.
She highlighted diabetes care as a notable workload: staff recorded 1,180 health-office visits for diabetes-related care, and 27 students in the district have type 1 diabetes. "Children with type 1 diabetes require a lot of care," Whitaker said, noting the district coordinates training, care plans and family communication for students with pumps and insulin needs.
Whitaker also reviewed medication management and health-condition counts: the district houses 428 distinct medications in site health offices and has 2,731 students reported with health conditions (about one-quarter of total enrollment), with 690 students having more than one condition. She thanked health staff for their communications and cited parent messages praising staff at specific sites.
On immunizations, Whitaker said the district aims for at least 95% compliance for TK/kindergarten and seventh-grade Tdap reporting; she identified Lorena Folasco and Mercy Springs as the only sites not yet at that target and explained that some students are conditionally admitted while on a make-up schedule. The board asked how students remain in class while immunizations are completed; Whitaker explained conditional-admittance procedures and special considerations for students on IEPs.
Trustees praised the health staff for emergency supplies and a wide set of services including AEDs, epinephrine and naloxone on site, and Whitaker described plans to expand vision partnerships and a summer TDAP clinic.
The presentation closed with board appreciation for school nurses and health assistants and a reminder that the work extends well beyond "ice packs and band‑aids." The board did not take a vote on the presentation; Whitaker took follow-up questions about immunization rates and next steps.
