Emergency or rescue medications are an important life-saving tool in the school nurse’s office. NASN’s new toolkit supports school nurses in implementing evidence-based practice for emergency medication administration and includes resources for policy development, model protocols for medication administration, algorithms for management of medical emergencies, and checklists for practice concerns, medication management and delegation for medication administration.

NASN’s Back-to-School Toolkit has been updated to include new resources specific to COVID-19 including a flowchart for prioritizing school nursing activities; 2020-21 school year suggested school nursing practice activities; and links to NASN’s COVID-19 symptom screener for students; COVID-19 Sample Tracking Tool; and Return to Video Series.

NASN and school nurses have been widely represented in the news media over the past few months and we are now including a section in the Weekly Digest to highlight some of those stories twice a month. If you have a story about school nurses you'd like us to consider including, please send it to us.

NASN received news from CDC DASH staff on the Community Interventions & Critical Populations Task Force. The task force pulled together cleared information and resources for school nurses and other healthcare personnel working in schools and childcare settings for the purpose of creating a new informational webpage that will be added to the landing page about Schools and Childcare. Please see the new webpage here.

Did you know the USDA is extending free meals to children for the rest of the 2020-2021 school year? Regardless of household income, all children can access free and nutritious school breakfast and lunch each day. Participation in school meal programs is important for several reasons:

Use the USDA’s toolkit to help spread the word. It contains additional background about the USDA waivers, sample social media posts, graphics, and newsletter text.

Schools and districts nationwide are challenged with creating vape-free and tobacco-free campuses that support the health, well-being and academic success of the next generation. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, in partnership with the CVS Health Foundation and the American Heart Association, launched the Tobacco-Free Schools Initiative to strengthen school policies that support tobacco-free environments and the use of restorative practices to curb tobacco use. Access the Tobacco-Free District Model Policy and Tobacco-Free District Assessment.

GetUsPPE is a nonprofit organization working to get PPE to schools that are open or plan to reopen in the coming weeks or months. GetUsPPE is the largest national nonprofit delivering PPE where it is needed most, free of charge. So far, the organization has delivered more than 3 million units of PPE to people in need. Indicate the average weekly PPE needs of your school and/or school district, even if you are currently closed or possibly closing soon, by filling out this form.

Allergy & Asthma Network is working with the CDC to develop a communication and education campaign to support their CCARE- Controlling Childhood Asthma and Reducing Emergencies objective. This objective works to prevent 500,000 ED visits and hospitalizations due to asthma in children ages 0-17 in the U.S. One of the key components is to create a tailored resource package for school nurses and school personnel. Please complete this 5-minute questionnaire by November 26 to help us understand more about your schools.

Join us at noon EST on December 8 for a PTA Learning Lab discussing the challenges schools and families are facing this school year when it comes to staying safe and healthy, as well as the latest cleaning, disinfecting and hand hygiene best practices, with actionable advice for school staff and parents. Join with experts, both from the health and school community and from companies who make the products we rely on to clean and disinfect. No matter how your child is learning this year (virtual, in-school or both), you won’t want to miss this critical conversation.

Health and climate change are linked. Learn from 120 world-leading experts, including authors from 35 academic institutions and UN agencies spanning every continent who have looked at more than 40 indicators for the 2020 report. Join them online at 2 p.m. GMT December 3 to discover new findings.

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