In the NASN May 2022 podcast, NASN School Nurse Editor Cynthia Galemore interviews authors Vicki Moran and Margaret Bultas about the article, "Laboratory Testing in the School Setting: Are You CLIA Compliant?".

Don't miss this NASN School Nurse article, School Nurses on the Front Lines of Health Care: Clinical Presentations Associated With COVID-19 Infection. Given the unique position of school nurses in seeing a large volume of children and adolescents, they must be familiar with the variable presentations and complications of COVID-19.

NASN's latest blog by Elizabeth Clark, MSN, RN, NCSN, and co-author Amy Dark, BA, BSN, RN, CSNT, offers highlights, outcomes, and resources from the two-hour Vaccine Confidence Bootcamp.

NASN, The School-Based Health Alliance (SBHA), and The School Superintendents Association (AASA) have created a Toolkit aimed at helping schools and healthcare providers encourage and enable families to catch up on their children’s well-care visits and all immunizations. So many families have postponed these necessary visits and shots due to the pandemic. 

Join us for a webinar on May 12, 2022, at 3:00 PM ET, to hear from representatives of NASN, AASA, and SBHA and providers who've successfully adapted their practices to get their students back on track for these vaccinations and visits.

This section highlights news stories featuring NASN and school nurses. If you have a story about school nurses you'd like us to consider including, please send it to us.

School nurses are actively monitoring vaccine uptake for student populations. The Mayo Clinic has a resource to identify U.S. COVID-19 vaccine rates by state. This resource also reports U.S. COVID-19 vaccine rates by age. Learn more. 

COVID-19 Community Levels is a tool to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high. Hospital beds in use, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area will determine community levels. School nurses can use the map of the U.S. by county to track the community level of transmission for your school(s), which is updated weekly.

The CDC recommends everyone ages 5 years and older get vaccinated to help protect against COVID-19. School nurses are strongly positioned within their communities to educate students, families, and school staff about the critical role vaccines play in preventing disease, allowing students and staff to remain healthy and in school. Here you'll find answers to commonly asked questions about COVID-19 vaccination in children ages 5 years and older.

Care Coordination is one of the five principles in NASN’S Framework for 21st Century School Nursing Practice^TM. In April 2018, NASN convened the Strategy to Action Roundtable to identify key components of a collaborative approach to managing chronic health conditions in school-age children. The resulting white paper, Translating Strategies into Actions to Improve Care Coordination for Students with Chronic Health Conditions, ended with a call to action for meeting participants to work together in the school community. The roundtable also resulted in a call to action for NASN to develop additional tools and resources to support school nurses in leading care coordination for students with chronic health conditions. This toolkit answers that call.

The Coalition to Support Grieving Students has many grief support materials, including the module on grief triggers and COVID pandemic guidance for educators.

Expanding Medicaid-Funded School Health Services

Given the growing concern about student health, NASN's partner Healthy Schools Campaign is releasing new and updated guidance to help schools expand Medicaid-funded school health services. It includes an interactive map and detailed information about Medicaid-eligible services and school nursing and behavioral health personnel in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Additional resources include a report on school reimbursement challenges and an updated school Medicaid guide designed to help states and school districts create sustainable funding streams to meet student health needs. Visit Healthy Students, Promising Futures to learn more.

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness. In May, the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), joins the national movement to raise awareness about mental health. For 2022’s Mental Health Awareness Month, NAMI will amplify the message of “Together for Mental Health.” Help spread the word through awareness, support, and advocacy activities. Find NAMI resources and learn more.

Over 32 million Americans are living with potentially life-threatening food allergies. Join FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) May 8-14 to celebrate Living Teal Food Allergy Awareness Week. The week-long event features themed activities and resources for each day of the week.

There are many ways you can help Make Lupus Visible in May. Visit The Lupus Foundation of America's toolkit page to find sample social media posts, lupus facts, and more to help get you started.

Acceptance of advertising on the ad banner in this newsletter or resource information listed within in no way implies endorsement of advertised or listed products or services by NASN. No endorsement is intended or implied.