By Saundra McCauley R.N.
West Haven School Nurse
May 12, 2021 is National School Nurse Day. The first school nurse was hired in New York City in 1902 as an experiment to see if a nurse in the school setting made a difference in the absentee rate. The experiment was wildly successful, and prompted the hiring of 12 more school nurses. As a result, the school district saw a 90% decrease in absenteeism.
The first records for school nurses in West Haven date back to 1930. There were two nurses at that time who serviced approximately 10 schools. They traveled from school to school, one of them by bus. Their duties included screenings, vision and hearing, height and weight. Underweight children were a concern, and so the Junior Women’s Club and the Red Cross teamed up to fund a daily breakfast milk program in the schools.
School nurses would also assist the school physician with physical exams, vaccinations, diphtheria treatment, and prevention. School attendance was negatively affected by outbreaks of flu, measles and scarlet fever. Nurses consulted with parents regarding the care of children during these illnesses and advised when the child could return to school.
In 1965 there was a full-time nurse at West Haven High School and 7 or 8 other nurses who traveled to the remaining public and private schools in West Haven. Children were now being immunized from a number of childhood diseases, and physicals were required for school entry.
The nurse’s responsibilities now included making sure all children had the correct number of immunizations to be in school and guiding parents to the proper resources if they did not. Screenings continued to take up a large portion of a nurse’s time, referrals were made, and parents were assisted with follow ups on referrals. In 1972, West Haven High School began holding double sessions, and a second nurse was added.
In 1986 Mayor Sal Guerra decided that there should be a school nurse in every school. That year, a full-time nursing supervisor was hired. By December of 1986, there was a full-time nurse in every public and parochial school in West Haven. Since then, school nurses have taken on even more responsibilities.
Over the years, an increasing number of children have been coming to school with serious health problems: asthma, diabetes, and food allergies to name a few. The nurses, with the help of the parents, plan for each child’s care in their school. The nurses also advise the teachers as to any health problems in their classrooms and what they need to know to help keep the child safe.
Pre-pandemic recess in the elementary schools was always a busy time in the nurse’s office. Now, at the height of the pandemic, nurses are contact tracing, quarantining, and educating students staff and parents. The school nurse role continues to change year after year with the ultimate goal of keeping the children safe, healthy, and in school.