Categories
Nurse Updates

October 6, 2026

BLS Nurse Blog

AFFIRMATION OF THE WEEK

Peace is possible, even in chaos.

IT

From Scott McDonald

It is Cyber October once again!

Beginning next week look for tech info, tips and tricks as we recognize Cyber October. This information will be delivered this year via “The Week” staff newsletter starting Monday.

We will also be bringing back the “Phishing Derby” with some prizes for reporting suspicious emails.  

OFFICE OF POLICY AND ADVOCACY

From Kinsey Martin

Mark your calendar: our district-wide Latino Family Night will be Thursday, November 12!  We’d love to see which school gets the most student/family participation at the event, by percentage of your school’s Latino population—more to come on that.  Remember: Staff are welcome, and dinner, performances, and activities are always provided free for everyone.

SAFE SCHOOLS – VECTOR TRAINING

Safe Schools trainings are due ASAP!

STUDENT WELL BEING

From Jennifer Hauth

Student Resources for Mental Health:

We promote 988 and Safe Oregon and they are accessible on student’s ipads. This is consistent with what our Health teachers teach in grades 6-12 through our shared slide deck. Safe Oregon is intended to anonymously report safety threats at school and  is not intended for suicide intervention or mental health crisis, so the response may be delayed. 

DATES TO REMEMBER

Upcoming Nurse Events/Meetings

DATEEVENTTIMELOCATION
10/21/26All Nurse Meeting2-330TBD
10/22/26Middle Nurse Meeting930-1030Microsoft Teams
10/27/26High Nurse Meeting930-1030Microsoft Teams
 February 5, 2027
October 9, 2026March 5, 2027
November 6, 2026April 9, 2027
December 4, 2026May 14, 2027
January 8, 2027June 18, 2027
Categories
Nurse Updates

September 29, 2026

BLS Nurse Blog

AFFIRMATION OF THE WEEK

I can care deeply without taking everything home.

OHP CHANGES

FYI – What you need to know about changes to the Oregon Health Plan

STUDENT SERVICES RESOURCE SITE

WHO IS WHERE GUIDE – On Site Staff and HDESD Staff Site Assignments

Phone Directory for Student Services

DATES TO REMEMBER

Upcoming Nurse Events/Meetings

DATEEVENTTIMELOCATION
9/30/26All Nurse Meeting2-330Caldera HS room 105 (Zocala room)
10/6/26Elementary Nurse Meeting930-1030Microsoft Teams
10/21/26All Nurse Meeting2-330TBD
10/22/26Middle Nurse Meeting930-1030Microsoft Teams
10/27/26High Nurse Meeting930-1030Microsoft Teams
 February 5, 2027
October 9, 2026March 5, 2027
November 6, 2026April 9, 2027
December 4, 2026May 14, 2027
January 8, 2027June 18, 2027
Categories
Nurse Updates

September 22, 2026

BLS Nurse Blog

AFFIRMATION OF THE WEEK

CRISIS SUPPORT – 988

From Jennifer Hauth – Director of Student Well Being

Local Crisis Support: Deschutes County Switches Exclusively to 988

Getting help in a mental health or substance use crisis just got significantly easier for Deschutes County residents. The county is officially doing away with the traditional Deschutes County Crisis Line (541-322-7500, ext. 9) and transitioning to 988 as their single, direct crisis phone number.

Deschutes County is leading the way as the first county in Oregon to pilot this shift, fully retiring local crisis phone lines in favor of the streamlined, three-digit national hub.

Here is what you need to know about the change:

  • One Simple Number: Students and families no longer need to search for or remember a 10-digit local number with an extension during an emergency. Just call or text 988.
  • Smart Geo-Routing: Thanks to recent updates in geolocation technology, 988 now automatically connects callers to local resources based on their physical location rather than their phone’s area code. Whether callers have an out-of-state cell number or are traveling locally, they will instantly reach responders who know Deschutes County resources, when calling from Deschutes County.
  • Same 24/7 Local Care: Callers will still receive compassionate and immediate support from qualified professionals trained to handle mental health crises.

If you or someone you know is struggling, reaching help is now as simple as dialing three digits. Save 988 in your phone today.

Individuals and families can also still access the Deschutes County Stabilization Center, which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

MEDICAID

Medicaid Updates

Nurse Synergy Health Log Changes

Office Staff Synergy Health Log Changes

Procedure Codes

NURSE MEETING 9/30

Looking for a site… Is your school available? Let Tami know.

NURSING POSITION

Internal posting for 0.5 FTE – in UKG (open until 9/25/26)

NALOXONE INFORMATION MATERIALS

Please let Tami know by Friday, 9/25, if you are interested in receiving printed materials for your school. Indicate how many posters/wallet cards you’d like.

How to Give Naloxone posters

How to Use Nasal Spray Wallet Card

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Feeding Seminar

Registration is now open for the 2026 Feeding Seminar, happening virtually on October 22–23, 2026.

Designed to support education-based swallowing and feeding teams, the Feeding Seminar focuses on safe swallowing and feeding supports in early childhood and educational settings. Whether you’re returning with your team, welcoming new team members, or looking to refresh and expand your knowledge, we hope you’ll join us for two days of learning and connection.

Feeding Seminar 2026
* October 22–23, 2026
* Virtual
* 8:00 a.m.– 4:00 p.m. Each day

More information can be found here.

Let Tami know if you are interested so she can find coverage for your schools.

TOILETING

Student Bathroom Cleaning & Safety Guide

DATES TO REMEMBER

Upcoming Nurse Events/Meetings

DATEEVENTTIMELOCATION
9/30/26Nurse Meeting2-330TBD
 February 5, 2027
October 9, 2026March 5, 2027
November 6, 2026April 9, 2027
December 4, 2026May 14, 2027
January 8, 2027June 18, 2027
Categories
Nurse Updates

September 15, 2026

BLS Nurse Blog

AFFIRMATION OF THE WEEK

I am capable of achieving my goals and overcoming challenges.

FAN

Our FAN Advocates provide an amazing service to our students, families, and community! If you are not familiar with FAN, this short video is a great starting point.

A few reminders about FAN services in your buildings:

Their office should be a private, welcoming space for confidential services. FAN offices should be inviting and that clothing and other resources are well-organized.  

The clothing and resources in their offices are designated for students with financial need.  They are not intended for addressing routine dress code violations or accidents. If a student experiencing financial hardship has an immediate need for clothing, shoes, a belt, or another resource and the FAN Advocate is unavailable, another staff member may help the student access the needed item. Please report the transaction to the FAN Advocate afterward so it can be documented. If a student does not have a financial need and simply needs a change of clothes because of a dress code issue, accident, etc., please contact their family instead of using FAN resources.

We welcome donations from staff!  Before bringing in clothing or other items, staff should check with the FAN Advocate to see what would be useful at your school or another FAN site.  Please don’t leave bags of donated items without coordinating with the Advocate first.

MEDICAID UPDATES

Blood Sugar Check via iPad Synergy Documentation

When doing quick blood sugar checks where all you are doing is looking at the iPad and documenting the bg number in the paper log (no other intervention needed), rather than doing a separate health log for each check, at the end of the day, you can do 1 health log and note the number of total minutes that you spent checking the blood sugar (without any intervention) in the “total RN minutes” box.

Time In/Time Out in Synergy

You will notice that the “time in” and “time out” boxes are no longer required fields. Although you should be documenting when the student arrives and when they leave, this total time may not reflect the actual number of nurse minutes. Perhaps a student was seen by the registered nurse for 10 minutes out of the 20 minutes they were in the health office. The “total RN minutes” that should be documented at the bottom of the log would be 10 minutes. If the student was seen only by health office staff, the “total RN minutes” would be 0 minutes.

“In Progress”

You may save Synergy documentation to the “In Progress” if you are not ready to finalize the health log.

We have also taken the requirement of time out away, so you may save the documentation without indicating that the time that the student left the health room. If you plan to come back to finalize documentation, please select “In Progress” instead of signing the log.

PD OPPORTUNITIES

School Nurse 2026-2027

Webinar Series

SAFE SCHOOLS – VECTOR TRAINING

Please finish your Safe Schools trainings ASAP!

TRANSLATION

From Kinsey Martin – Office of Policy and Advocacy

As a reminder, federal law, district policy, and our organizational values require us to use trained, professional linguists for translation and interpretation services to ensure accurate, high-quality multilingual communication with families. AI translation tools, including ParentSquare’s auto-translate feature, do not meet this requirement and should not be relied upon for translation. We have already seen some significant errors in AI-generated translations this school year.

For reminders about the regular, urgent, and emergency translation resources available to you, please review this information and share it with your staff.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Upcoming Nurse Events/Meetings

DATEEVENTTIMELOCATION
9/16/26Substitute Nurse Meeting2-3Ed Center room 203
9/30/26Nurse Meeting2-330TBD
 February 5, 2027
October 9, 2026March 5, 2027
November 6, 2026April 9, 2027
December 4, 2026May 14, 2027
January 8, 2027June 18, 2027

Categories
Nurse Updates

September 8, 2026

BLS Nurse Blog

WORDS OF AFFIRMATION

Words from my affirmation jar:

JUST BREATHE

I AM RESILIENT

We got this! Cheers to the new school year!

CONCUSSION PROTOCOL UPDATE

OSAA Return to Play Form Updated

Our current protocol allows our athletic trainers to progress athletes through Stage 4/Non-Contact practice, requiring medical clearance prior to Stage 5/Full contact. The recent change now requires that medical clearance be obtained prior to stage 4.

HMP UPLOAD PROCESS CHANGE

Uploading HMPs into Synergy

The uploading process has changed. STARTING AUGUST 31ST. – Please send any HMPs requiring uploading into Synergy to the Records Clerks. All you need to do is email the completed HMP to Bend-La Pine Records at [email protected] via regular email (not BLSend or encryption). A records clerk will email you confirmation of HMP received and will upload into the SIS side (and SE side if needed). Nurses should not be uploading any HMPs into Synergy.

NURSE MEETING MINUTES

Please be sure to read the September 2nd nurse meeting minutes sent out via email on Friday, September 4th. There is a lot of new information in there.

PD OPPORTUNITIES

Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel

RCH Pediatric Grand Rounds

Jos’lyn Woodard – Pediatric Neurosurgery

Thursday, September 10th, 12-1pm

Youth Suicide Prevention: Intervention Training for Medical and Primary Care Providers

Friday, September 25th, 12-130pm

SUBSTITUTE NURSES

Hello AMAZING substitute nurses! I am hosting a meeting for substitute nurses on Wednesday, September 16th, 2-3pm at the Education Center (520 NW Wall St, room 203). Some topics of discussion will include Medicaid documentation, Safe Schools trainings, and email security reminders. Hope to see you there!

VECTOR SAFE SCHOOLS TRAINING

Please remember to complete your yearly Vector Safe Schools training.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Upcoming Nurse Events/Meetings

DATEEVENTTIMELOCATION
9/30/26Nurse Meeting2-330TBD
September 11, 2026February 5, 2027
October 9, 2026March 5, 2027
November 6, 2026April 9, 2027
December 4, 2026May 14, 2027
January 8, 2027June 18, 2027

Categories
Nurse Updates

August 3, 2026

BLS Nurse Blog

WELCOME BACK!!

HEALTH ROOM TRAINING

August 25, 2026

8-12pm

Ensworth Elementary Library

Topics that will be covered:

  • AEDs & First Aid Kits
  • CPR Training
  • Narcan
  • Health Condition Training and Response
    • Anaphylaxis/EpiPens
    • Asthma
    • Seizure response
    • Diabetes
    • Head injuries/incident reports
  • Health Room
  • Medication Administration
  • Immunization Information
  • Cumulative file Information

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR STAFF WHO COVER THE HEALTH ROOM TO ATTEND THIS TRAINING.

HMP UPLOAD PROCESS CHANGE

Uploading HMPs into Synergy

The uploading process has changed. STARTING AUGUST 31ST. – Please send any HMPs requiring uploading into Synergy to the Records Clerks. All you need to do is email the completed HMP to Bend-La Pine Records at [email protected] via regular email (not BLSend or encryption). A records clerk will email you confirmation of HMP received and will upload into the SIS side (and SE side if needed). Nurses should not be uploading any HMPs into Synergy.

MEDICAID – SYNERGY UPDATES

Changes have been made in the Synergy health log area to enable automatic billing for Medicaid. (No more going into DSCtop.)

  1. Required Fields
    • Health Code
    • Time In
    • Time Out
    • Notes (to capture the visit/activity/what was done)
    • Procedure Codes (examples sheet)
    • check box at the bottom
  2. No edits to the health log can be made once it has been saved.

IPOCs

Please remember to develop an IPOC (individual plan of care) for each of your students who has ongoing care (ex. diabetes care, toileting, medication administration, safe feeding plan, seizures, tube feedings, etc). IPOCs do not need to be made for “one offs”such as a health room visit for headache, head injury, etc.

Directions for how to make an IPOC can be found here.

Examples of IPOCs can be found here.

NARCAN ACCESS

FYI

Anyone, including community members that are not engaged in services at Mosaic, can stop by any of Mosaic’s clinics or SBHCs and pick up Narcan free of charge. Individuals do not need to provide any demographic information, and the process is confidential. Narcan can be picked up at any Mosaic site as long as the clinic is open during regular business hours.

NSM UPDATES

Cystic Fibrosis HMP updated

Clean Intermittent Catheterization HMP

PARENTSQUARE TRAINING

BLS New communication and engagement platform

Tuesday, September 1st

10-11am

Meeting link to come.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Upcoming Nurse Events/Meetings

DATEEVENTTIMELOCATION
9/1/26District Welcome BackTBDVirtual
9/1/26ParentSquare Training10-11Meeting link to follow
9/2/26Professional Learning Day830-330Caldera High School (More information to come.)
9/3/26HIGH SCHOOL NURSES ONLY Shared practice training12-330TBD – Email to follow
9/30/26Nurse Meeting2-330TBD
September 11, 2026February 5, 2027
October 9, 2026March 5, 2027
November 6, 2026April 9, 2027
December 4, 2026May 14, 2027
January 8, 2027June 18, 2027
Categories
Nurse Updates

June 9, 2026

BLS Nurse Blog

MONDAYS LEFT

HEALTH MANAGEMENT PLAN REVIEW

Please take a look at the proposed Cystic Fibrosis HMP and provide feedback to Tami by 6/11/26.

IT

From Chad Brewer in IT

BLS BYOD

Here is our website on getting iPhones, Android phones and other devices connected to BLS BYOD. You can just select your device type and follow the instructions.

https://byod.bend.k12.or.us

Additionally, if your nurses have any trouble, please have them reach out to us – either by contacting our Help Desk at 1200 or by contacting their school’s Client Services tech.

MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT

Please be sure to submit any outstanding mileage reimbursement forms to Kristan by June 12.

Mileage Report Form

AP 106 Form

OUT OF OFFICE AUTOMATIC REPLIES

Please remember to change your email to automatic reply indicating that you are out for the summer and will return August 28.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Upcoming Nurse Events/Meetings

DATEEVENTTIMELOCATION
6/11/26Last day of school!!! Happy Summer!
6/12/26Last workday for nurses Woo Hoo!!
June 12, 2026

Categories
Nurse Updates

June 2, 2026

BLS Nurse Blog

Nurses in grades 5 and 8…

Please upload editable HMPs for incoming 6th and 9th graders here. Please check the NSM to make sure that the HMP template has not been updated. If it has been updated, please use that version.

SPED Nursing Evaluation Summary – can be used for IEPs or 504s

Choking Risk HMP – to reflect the changes to updated CPR guidelines to give 5 back blows first followed by 5 abdominal thrusts. * You may want to consider incorporating the updated choking guidelines into your Comprehensive Health Training at the beginning of the school year.

Our primary family messaging and engagement tool will be changing from School Messenger to ParentSquare. Nurses, please plan to attend the virtual basic training on Tuesday, September 1st, 10-11am. A Teams link will be shared at a later date.

DCHS Substance Overdose Response Briefing 5/13/26

Minor change to the Synergy health log page.

Due to upcoming Medicaid documentation configuration, all nursing narrative notes should now be written in the “Notes” box.

Upcoming Nurse Events/Meetings

DATEEVENTTIMELOCATION
6/11/26Last day of school!!! Happy Summer!
June 12, 2026
Categories
Nurse Updates

May 26, 2026

BLS Nurse Blog

MONDAYS LEFT

ASTHMA

“First aid providers should assist a person with asthma who is having difficulty breathing with the administration of their own prescribed bronchodilators as needed.”

“If a commercially available spacer is not available, it is reasonable to use an improvised spacer when assisting a person who is having an asthma attack to use their own inhaled bronchodilator medication.” Examples include: plastic bottle, toilet paper roll, paper cup (the container should be clean and dry)

CPR/CHOKING

Did you know…

For children and adults with severe foreign-body airway obstruction, it is now recommended to provide 5 back blows (first) alternating with 5 abdominal thrusts until the object is expelled or the child/adult becomes unresponsive. This change has been updated on the Choking Health Management Plan in the Nurse Services Manual. Update signage in your schools with the infographic included with the Choking HMP in the NSM.

HEALTH MANAGEMENT PLAN MOVE UP

Nurses in grades 5 and 8…

Please upload editable HMPs for incoming 6th and 9th graders here. Please check the NSM to make sure that the HMP template has not been updated. If it has been updated, please use that version.

HEALTH MANAGEMENT PLAN REVIEW

Please take a look at the proposed Encopresis HMP and provide feedback to Tami by 6/1/26.

HEALTH MANAGEMENT PLAN UPLOAD

When uploading any completed HMP into Synergy Documents, please email the HMP to records clerks through regular email (no encryption needed). In the subject line write “Please upload”. Records clerks will upload the HMP to the SE side.

[email protected]

MEDICALLY FRAGILE DATA COLLECTION

Friendly reminder that your numbers are to be submitted here by Monday, June 1st. See Tami’s email from May 11th.

NSM UPDATES

Choking Risk HMP – updated

Abdominal Pain HMP – update coming soon

Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome – update coming soon

Abdominal Problems section (page 113-120) – check it out

DATES TO REMEMBER

Upcoming Nurse Events/Meetings

DATEEVENTTIMELOCATION
5/27/26Nurse Meeting2-330High Lakes Library
6/11/26Last day of school!!! Happy Summer!
June 12, 2026
Categories
Nurse Updates

May 19, 2026

BLS Nurse Blog

MONDAYS LEFT

C.A.S.T. FOR KIDS EVENT

C.A.S.T for Kids – Prineville Reservoir

This is a C.A.S.T. for Kids event designed to provide children with special needs (minimum age 6) the opportunity to enjoy a quality outdoor recreational experience through the sport of fishing. Join us for an unforgettable morning of fishing, boating, and celebrating amazing children!

CONCUSSION PROTOCOL UPDATE

Bend-La Pine Schools Protocol and Procedures for Management of Concussions – May 2026/27 update

HEALTH

Reproductive Health and STI Testing Resources – Central Oregon (English/Spanish)

HEALTH MANAGEMENT PLAN REVIEW

Please take a look at the proposed Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome HMP and provide feedback to Tami by 5/26/26.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Upcoming Nurse Events/Meetings

DATEEVENTTIMELOCATION
5/25/26Memorial Day No School!
5/27/26Nurse Meeting2-330TBD
June 12, 2026