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School nurses outline cardiac emergency plan and rising caseloads as Richfield consolidates LSN coverage
Summary
Health services staff told the board July 13 that licensed school nurse coverage will be restructured (three LSNs reduced to two) with nurses supervising health paraprofessionals, described a new cardiac emergency response policy with AED deployment targets, and reported district health metrics including medication counts and special-education screenings.
Michelle Whiteside, the district's health services supervisor, and licensed nurse Darby Swank presented the Richfield Public Schools health services model and data at the board's July 13 meeting.
Whiteside said the district will move from three licensed school nurses (LSNs) to two LSNs this year; those two nurses will be responsible for licensed school nurse duties across nine school programs while supervising health paraprofessionals at the four elementary sites. Whiteside described nurses' responsibilities as overseeing public health at system, community and individual levels, supervising health paraprofessionals, training building staff, and serving as the primary point of contact for medical concerns.
The presenters reviewed student-health metrics: elementary buildings managed about 140 medications this year (about 35 per elementary), secondary schools managed about 87 medications (about 44 per secondary), the district reported roughly 26 elementary students and 25 secondary students requiring daily medications (including Type 1 diabetes cases), and the team said it wrote about 212 special-education screening reports last year. In different places during the presentation staff used two close but inconsistent counts for individualized health care plans (one slide referenced reviewing 277 plans while a later statement cited a total of 253 plans); presenters did not resolve that discrepancy on the record.
Whiteside also introduced a cardiac emergency response policy requiring designated trained response teams at each site, swift 9-1-1 activation procedures, deployment of AEDs within three minutes of recognition of a cardiac emergency, and annual drills integrated into each building's crisis procedures.
During board questions, Whiteside and Swank described how the health services team coordinates with the Richfield Health Resource Center (RHRC) for referrals and insurance enrollment in critical cases; they explained that inhalers are treated as rescue medications (elementary inhalers are kept in the health office; older students who can self-administer may carry them with staff awareness) and that head injuries and possible concussions are handled with parent notification and referral to providers for evaluation.
Board members thanked the health team for on-site support during field trips and for the everyday work of keeping students in class. The presentation closed with the board's opportunity to ask clarifying questions; no formal board action was requested or taken on the health-service reorganization during the meeting.
What to watch next: if staffing or scope changes require policy or budget amendments the administration will report back to the board; any planned changes that affect licensed staffing ratios will come with recommended budget adjustments.
