On Monday, April 28, 2003, school nurses, parents, children, colleagues, physicians, and community agencies convened at the State House to thank legislators for their past support of school health funding and to implore legislators to protect funding for school health services in Fiscal Year 2004. The focus of the program was to invite advocates from a variety of associations with children and/pr health services in schools to speak on behalf of the need for the continuation and expansion of nursing services to school children.

Kathy O'Neill, President of MSNO welcomed those in attendance and urged everyone to become informed about the level of care that is provided by school nurses on a daily basis to children with extremely complex and ongoing medical conditions. As medical science identifies children with health problems through better diagnosis and has improved treatments for those children through the use of modern technology, we are witnessing a tremendous increase in the number of these children in the public schools in Massachusetts. The increase in the number of children with asthma, life-threatening allergies, Type I Diabetes, and now, due to the crisis of obesity in children, Type II Diabetes, demand daily assessment and treatment by a registered nurse who is certified to practice in Massachusetts. She encouraged the audience to meet with their legislators and "tell their stories."

Marcia Buckminster, Legislative Liaison of MSNO and moderator of the morning's events, reported on the funds that have been allocated in the FY04 House Budget for Essential School Health Services. She thanked the legislators for their support and introduced Senator Richard T. Moore (D), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health. Senator Moore noted that the Senate is looking at other ways to fund school health services. One of these possible alternatives is the use of Municipal Medicaid funds that are generated in schools by school nurses and others. These funds are then distributed to cities and towns based on the services that have been provided to children on Medicaid.

Other speakers included Steve Perla, from the Parents Alliance for Catholic Education (PACE), Katherine Martin, a Newton resident, and parent of a child who receives frequent nursing care during the school day and Joseph Majzoub, MD, Chief of Endocrinology at Children's Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Majzoub identified school nurses as the absolutely essential link between the physician, parent and child in the ongoing monitoring and treatment of children with Type I Diabetes. Physicians relay on their expertise to care for more and more children with insulin pumps in the treatment of their diabetes.

Senator Marian Walsh and Representative Robert K. Coughlin-both of whom represent Dedham-presented a citation to Gail Kelley, RN from Dedham High School. Ms. Kelley was instrumental in saving the life of a tutor through the use of an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) when the tutor experienced a heart attack last month.

Michelle Carrick, representing the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of New England, spoke of the difficulties of having a child with asthma in a school with a part-time nurse. As a parent, she felt that she had to be available during the school day because her child did not have access to his inhaler in the event of an asthma episode. Ms. Carrick is a leader in the field of asthma education and a strong supporter of school nursing.

Theresa Normile, a parent from Belmont, related how she initiated a grass roots group of parents who were concerned that there was no full-time nursing coverage in schools. Ms. Normile is the parent of a child with a life-threatening peanut allergy. As a result of her efforts, Belmont will have full time nurses in all of the schools as of September 2003.

Lucy Meadows from the Children's Health Care Access Coalition reminded the audience to remember those children who have no health insurance. Currently, there are 4000 children on the waiting list for the Children's Medical Security Plan (CMSP). This program, which is partially funded by the Federal Government, lost its state funding last December. As a result, most uninsured children see the school nurse as their source of health care.

MSNO Fifth Annual School Health Advocacy Day
Monday April 28, 2003
Massachusetts State House
Boston, Massachusetts

These are thumbnail photos. Click on a photo to see an enlarged version. (This page may take some time to load depending on your browser. Please be patient.)