Wood County to Cut School Nursing Services (WI)

January 11, 2011

Wood County health officials are dropping nursing services for some local school districts, which now must explore new options for next year.

The county Health Department provides a limited amount of nursing services to the Pittsville and Nekoosa public school districts, Assumption Catholic Schools and several Lutheran schools, but that will change because of county liability concerns.

At a rate of $6 per student, per year, the county offers on-site staff training and assistance for minor medical procedures and mandated paperwork. The amount of time a nurse spends in a school ranges from about 10 minutes a week (Good Shepherd Lutheran) to about six hours a week (Nekoosa School District). Some of the larger districts in the county have their own nurses on staff.

Health Department Director Sue Kunferman said she has been concerned about the situation since she was hired for the director position in 2005.

"It’s definite that the current arrangement can’t continue," Kunferman said. "It wasn’t enough money for us to provide what I felt was adequate school health services."

Department leaders worry that if a school staff member who was trained by a county nurse performed a medical procedure on a student incorrectly, the nurse’s license would be at risk, and the county could be vulnerable to a lawsuit, Kunferman said.

None of the officials contacted for this story could recall an incident of a staff member providing improper treatment to a student.

Another concern: Students are going to school with more complicated health issues than ever, including those related to allergies, diabetes and seizures, Kunferman said.

"I think some of the medical issues there’s been changes to our environment; more kids have asthma, so many kids with diabetes, and we know the obesity epidemic is not helpful," she said.

The Nekoosa School District will likely look into developing an arrangement with a local hospital for nursing services, or it might be forced to create a nursing position for next school year, Superintendent Wayne Johnson said.

"I completely understand what the county is doing," Johnson said. "It’s part of doing business, and I hold no ill will."

The county nurses not only train personnel but also maintain state and federally mandated records on immunizations and dispensing medication, Johnson said.

Kunferman said the Health Department would be willing to work with interested schools next year under a different program. An option discussed at a December meeting included schools paying for services at a rate of $77,000 per full-time equivalent staff member.

According to the state Department of Public Instruction, the total enrollment of the schools that had a nurse service contract with the Health Department was about 2,800 last school year. Under the current contract, that would provide the county about $17,000 a year.

County officials met with school representatives in December, and it’s Kunferman’s hope the officials will find nursing alternatives by the end of the school year. An update meeting is scheduled with school representatives for Feb. 15.

Pittsville Superintendent Terry Reynolds said he and other district staff members still are investigating what their options are for next year, which could include working with another school district or just hiring a nurse on a part-time basis.

"Right now, I’m assuming whomever we would look at would be in the same situation the county is in and not wanting liability," Reynolds said, "so I’m not sure who, or what agency out there, would want to pick up those services."

State law now requ ires any nurse hired by a school district must have at least a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

Assumption Catholic Schools’ contract with the county meant nearly 50 minutes of services a week from the county. Carol Olson, district president, isn’t sure what action the parochial system will take next year.

If the nursing services were deemed necessary, Olson said Assumption could investigate pairing up with Catholic schools from Marshfield or Stevens Point.

"We really don’t have the (medical) needs the public schools do," Olson said. "All our staff go through first-aid training; they have to be current in that.

"We really don’t have the serious issues."