Category: Nurse Updates

BLS Nursing Blog

Have a great week!!

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT WEDNESDAYS

The first school improvement Wednesday starts on September 13th. Schools will be on their early release schedules.

WHEN TO STAY HOME/NURSE COMMUNICATION AFTER SCHOOL HOURS

The information below was sent out to level leaders to send out to their school principals last week. 

COMMUNICATION TO THE SCHOOL NURSE AFTER SCHOOL HOURS

Non-Urgent Student Matters For any non-urgent student health matters, please email your school nurse and they will get back to you on the next school day. Please do not phone or text after school hours.

Urgent/Emergent Student Matters For any urgent/emergent student health matters that need to be addressed immediately, please contact Tami Pike for assistance. (please text first 541-350-8387)

Employee Health Related Questions. For any employee health-related questions/concerns, please reach out to Human Resources at 541-355-1100.

WHEN TO STAY HOME REMINDER

Illness Symptoms and When to Stay Home. Bend-La Pine Schools follows the Oregon Health Authority/Oregon Department of Education’s Communicable Disease Guidance for Schools. This guidance includes when an individual should be excluded from attending school on site (including any school-related activities such as clubs and sports). 

For information on symptom-based exclusion guidelines, see page 8 of the Communicable Disease Guidance for Schools. 

• Fever – An individual must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications.
• Diarrhea/vomiting – Must be 48 hours since last episode.

COVID-19 is no longer an excludable disease (unless symptoms of fever, vomiting, and/or diarrhea are present).

Parents/guardians/staff are no longer required to report positive cases of COVID-19 to the schools. COVID-19 test kits and medical grade face masks are available to students and staff upon request. Check with your school nurse about how to obtain a supply for your school.

You may also refer staff to the Health and Wellness section on our Bend-La Pine Schools website for more information about when to stay home.

ROCK CHUCKS, MICE, SQUIRRELS AND OTHER CRITTERS

From Walt Norris: Rock Chucks, and Mice, and Squirrels—Oh My!  

As you all know Central Oregon is home to many critters who like to set up camp in and around our school buildings.  Each year the Custodial and Maintenance Dept fields many phone calls and receives multiple work orders regarding various pests.  Here is the newsletter created by Oregon State University Extension Service regarding Intergrated Pest Management and what you can do to avoid these critters in your schools. (cliff notes: ALL food should be stored in plastic tubs with tight fitting lids!) Wes and Walt appreciate the seriousness in which you take these guidelines, as it truly does help keep the pests at bay.

CONCUSSION CORNER

CONCUSSION REPORTING

Return to School Project

Please complete the Concussion/Brain Injury Reporting Form for any reported student concussion/brain injury in your school. *This is a new form to reflect the 23/24 school year. Not only will this help with tracking district wide concussion numbers, but Tami will be reporting these injuries to the Return to School Project. Per Katie Legace, passive consent letters have gone out to all families on August 18th. 

LINKS

All About You Form

BLS Check-in Survey

FAN Advocate Assignments

Return to School Project, Concussion/Brain Injury Reporting Form

Student Incident Reports

Who is Where Quick Guide

TRAININGS/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• QPR Training – Mandatory (if you haven’t taken the class within the last year)
  • Wednesday, October 25, 2023
  • 230-4pm
  • Location: TBD
• Mandatory nurse staff /meetings trainings on the following non-school days:
  • Friday, February 2, 2024 
  • Thursday, April 11, 2024
  • Friday, April 12, 2024. 

NURSE MEETINGS

You can find the dates/times of upcoming nurse meetings in the Nursing Schedule 23-24, Google Sheets (select the Nurse Meeting tab).

DAY OFF REQUESTS

• Day off requests – Get your requests in ASAP for any time you wish to take off. (This includes school conference days.)
  • Classified Staff – Per HR, no more than 5 unpaid days can be used for personal time (vacation, recreation, etc.) during the school year.
  • Certified Staff – Per HR, there is no option for unpaid days for personal use. Certified Staff can only use personal leave. 
  • Please remember when requesting an extended period of time off for personal time (greater than 5 days), your team is affected by needing to support your assignment.  
• Dates not available to request time off *Please do not request time off during these times. 
  • Friday, February 2, 2024 (non-school day)
  • Thursday, April 11, 2024 (non-school day for elementary and middle schools)
  • Friday, April 12, 2024 (non-school day all schools)
  • Thursday, April 18, 2024 (OSNA Spring Conference)
  • Friday, April 19, 2024 (OSNA Spring Conference)

BLS Nursing Blog

CONCUSSION CORNER

CONCUSSION REPORTING

Return to School Project

Please complete the Concussion/Brain Injury Reporting Form for any reported student concussion/brain injury in your school. *This is a new form to reflect the 23/24 school year. Not only will this help with tracking district wide concussion numbers, but Tami will be reporting these injuries to the Return to School Project. Per Katie Legace, passive consent letters have gone out to all families on August 18th. 

HEALTH SERVICES COMMUNICATION

The following information below went out to all school principals on Friday, September 1st.

Our district student support needs have shifted over the summer.  We have seen increasing numbers of type 1 diabetes diagnoses along with an increasing number of students with complex medical needs starting school. With these increased needs, I wanted to send out a reminder to schools about how best they can support their student population. 

• Health Room Responsibilities
  • A (non-nurse) staff person and a backup staff member, (designated by the school administrator) are responsible for the health room duties. This includes medication intake and administration, first aid, students presenting with rashes, supporting ill students, etc. Staff should follow the Communicable Disease Guidance for Schools to help determine if a student should be excluded from school.  (Pages 9-10 in the CD guidance specifically address symptoms that are criteria for school exclusion.)
  • Administrators, please remind your designated staff about their role in health room management. The school nurse can be notified for an urgent/emergent situation such as: broken bone, breathing difficulty, profuse bleeding, loss of consciousness, etc. 
• Student support
  • Due to the increased number of students with type 1 diabetes attending sites throughout the district, a (non-nurse) staff person and a backup staff member, (designated by the school administrator) should be identified to support diabetic  matters in the absence of a school nurse following the student’s health management plan. The school nurse (or designated substitute nurse) is available by phone for guidance. Nurses will do their best to assist with direct care diabetes support. However, most nurses have more than 1 site they are responsible for and unfortunately cannot be at multiple places at once. 

School Nurse Responsibilities: School nurses are responsible for developing, maintaining, and/or updating health management plans for students with chronic illnesses and disabilities (including obtaining health care provider orders for care),  staff trainings (health plans general and student specific, delegation and follow up of specific health service tasks, scheduled and emergent medication administration), direct care support, concussion management, care coordination between school teams and community health partners, suicide screening, IEP/504 participation, communicable disease prevention/management, etc. 

Thank you for your understanding and continued support!

SAFETY

Culture of Safety Goal

Please review the BLS Culture of Safety document on the Staff Portal.  Key safety policies and procedure information are included in the document. 

• All staff that are visiting schools or facilities outside of their primary duty location (i.e. attending training at a school other than their own), need to sign in and out with their staff ID badge at the visitor management kiosk in the front of the school during duty hours.
• All staff need to visibly wear their staff ID badges at all times during duty hours.

School Nurse Responsibilities: School nurses are responsible for developing, maintaining, and/or updating health management plans for students with chronic illnesses and disabilities (including obtaining health care provider orders for care),  staff trainings (health plans general and student specific, delegation and follow up of specific health service tasks, scheduled and emergent medication administration), direct care support, concussion management, care coordination between school teams and community health partners, suicide screening, IEP/504 participation, communicable disease prevention/management, etc. 

Thank you for your understanding and continued support!

Wild Fire Smoke

Indoor Mitigation Strategies

1. please keep your doors and windows closed during smoke events.  I know this seems simple, but our facilities have lots of doors and windows, so it’s best to walk the building and check.  If you have smoke in the building, opening doors and windows will not help the smoke leave the building.
2. Let the filters do their job.  The filters in our air handlers will filter interior air 4 to 6 times per hour.  The units will also pull a small amount of outside air 4-6 times per hour, which is filtered as it enters the building.  Please do not shut off the air handler units! 
3. Use the air scrubbers provided to each school by our Custodial Department (541-355-6601).  This added filtration can help in areas that may be smokier than others (ie entryways).  If the smoke in the facility appears to be excessive, please call our Maintenance team at 541-355-4700 and they will evaluate the system. They may ask you to shut down the air handler system with the shut-off button at that time.

TRAININGS/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Sexual Abuse training offered by PACE

• Child sexual abuse is a pervasive societal problem that requires ongoing conversations. Learn about child abuse statistics, the grooming process and how to identify a predator in educational settings. Head into the new school year with a baseline understanding of how to prevent sexual abuse and bring your questions! There is a current training planned for Aug. 31 at 12:00 pm. If you are interested, you can sign up HERE. McKenzie Nix is a great resource and she can come to talk to staff or do trainings during the year. Email [email protected]. 

QPR Training – Mandatory

• If you haven’t taken a QPR training within the last year, please mark your calendars.
  • Wednesday, October 25, 2023
  • 230-4pm
  • Location: TBD

Nurse Trainings – Mandatory

• Please note that these are non-school days for all elementary schools.
  • Friday, February 2, 2024 
  • Thursday, April 11, 2024
  • Friday, April 12, 2024. 

NURSE MEETINGS

You can find the dates/times of upcoming nurse meetings in the Nursing Schedule 23-24, Google Sheets (select the Nurse Meeting tab).

DAY OFF REQUESTS

• Day off requests – Get your requests in ASAP for any time you wish to take off. (This includes school conference days.)
  • Classified Staff – Per HR, no more than 5 unpaid days can be used for personal time (vacation, recreation, etc.) during the school year.
  • Certified Staff – Per HR, there is no option for unpaid days for personal use. Certified Staff can only use personal leave. 
  • Please remember when requesting an extended period of time off for personal time (greater than 5 days), your team is affected by needing to support your assignment.  
• Dates not available to request time off*Please do not request time off during these times. 
  • There will be mandatory nurse meetings/trainings on the following non-school days:
    • Friday, February 2, 2024 
    • Thursday, April 11, 2024
    • Friday, April 12, 2024. 

BLS NURSE CHECK-IN SURVEY

Having a stressful week? Need some extra support? Suggestions for nurse meeting ideas. Please complete the BLS Nurse Check-In Survey

ALL ABOUT YOU

Please complete the About YOU form.

LINKS

FAN Advocate Assignments

Return to School Project, Concussion/Brain Injury Reporting Form

Student Incident Reports

Who is Where Quick Guide

WELCOME TO THE FIRST MONTH OF SCHOOL WHERE YOU’RE SOMEHOW ALREADY 3 MONTHS BEHIND IN PAPERWORK.

WEEKLY BLOGS

If you haven’t reviewed the Nursing Blog from 8/21, please take a look. There is important information included in that blog.

YOUTH SUICIDE INCREASE

From Deschutes County

Call to Action from Deschutes County: Oregon Health Authority recently notified us that the state is seeing an uptick in younger youth suicides (ages 14 and younger). While the number of overall youth suicide deaths has not changed from the year prior, this change in our younger population is concerning.

We are sharing this information with you to place emphasis for those serving students, grades 4 to 9, to be vigilant in watching for warning signs and to follow your school’s protocols/Adi’s Act when they see signs for suicide risk. We want to encourage our school districts to continue to support school staff and ensure they are receiving suicide prevention/intervention trainings as we move into this coming school year.

We have the benefit of knowing how diligent you all have been when it comes to this state-level call to action and we encourage each district to carry on with your district’s policies and protocols when it comes to suicide prevention. 

Below are some key reminders to help support each of your districts and schools in order to help keep a vigilant eye, steps to take, and the resources available. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. 

Warning Signs

• Verbally (directly/indirectly) stating they do not want to be here, are burdensome, etc.
• Indirect verbal example for younger ages: “I want to go to sleep and never wake up.”
• Direct verbal example for younger ages: “I want to die.”
• Giving away prized possessions.
• Examples for younger ages: giving away Pokemon cards they historically have cherished or a stuffed animal.
• Shifts in mood, affect, academics, socialization.
• More warning signs, including risk factors, can be found here. EACH SIGN SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

Resources Available

• First Step App
• YouthLine: 877-968-8491 or text “teen2teen” to 83983
• 988: available via call or text for both English and Spanish, 24/7
• Deschutes County Crisis Line: 541-322-7500 ext. 9
• Deschutes County Mental Health Resource Page

TRANSPORTATION ACCIDENTS

Health Related Emergency Response Guide for School Related Transportation Accidents. – per BLS nurse request

*Approved by BLS legal *

INCIDENT REPORTS

NEW SYSTEM for Incident Reports  

• Incident reports are going digital this year. Once the school year starts, we will not be accepting any incident reports via paper copy.   
• All incident reports must be completed using the Student Incident Report Form 
• The form can be found on the Safety Portal, in the Safety Drive, and in the Self-service UKG Portal (UKG widget coming soon.)
• Please spread this information to your teachers, EAs, and anyone else who commonly fills out an incident report. 
• If nurses need to assess a student for a head injury, they can document their assessment in Synergy under the Health Log tab. There is no longer a “Nurse Head Injury Report Form”.

RELEASE OF INFORMATION FORMS

Please remember to send completed Releases of Information to the records clerks to upload into Synergy. Please email forms to:

[email protected] via BLSend. A good idea is to cc yourself in that email, so you have record of when it was sent. Records clerks will upload the ROIs in Synergy (under the documents tab as well as in the SE student SpEd Docs tab).

HUMAN RESOURCES

Safe Schools Trainings

Accessing Safe Schools Trainings

Paul Dean has created a help document and help video for employees to access the Safe School’s Trainings in UKG.  Here is a link to the help video and this is a document that staff can use to guide them through the process. 

The basic system is to login from their district UKG screen and go to the learning module. Because of the varied nature of the trainings, employees need to go select the training that they need- it isn’t auto-populated. If staff need access to other trainings than this, please email [email protected] for assistance.

UKG

Information on how to submit a time-leave request from a prior period time sheet can be found here.

FAN / LIAISON / SLP / PT / OT

FAN

Important Information from Central Oregon FAN

Being that we have several new team-members, we wanted to refresh everyone on the role and function of FAN advocates. Here is a one-page summary about these amazing supports for our families.

FAN Advocate Assignments

DEI

Who is your school’s Latino Family Liaison?

Family Liaison team hiring has been ongoing since last spring–getting closer!  Liaisons’ school assignments should be ready as soon as hiring is complete, by end of next week at the latest.  Thank you for your patience—I know you need this information yesterday.

In the meantime, please use Linguist Link to request interpreters for back-to-school events like Open House.  You can also request an interpreter to come to your office for a couple hours to make phone calls, etc.  (Make sure you submit translation requests ASAP for all welcome-back newsletters and invitations to your events.)

If you need more immediate support, there are various tools available for language access.  If you need a Family Liaison for a specific family support situation beyond interpretation, please contact the Welcome Center (x6820 or [email protected]).  If you have other questions, reach out to Kinsey. 

SLP, PT, OT

Are you wondering who your SLP, PT, OT is at your school? Take a look at the Who is Where Quick Guide. 

Who is Where Quick Guide

Menstrual Dignity Act

When your staff teaches behavior expectations in different areas of the building this fall, be sure to explicitly teach the purpose and expectations for use of the menstrual products and dispensers in the bathrooms.  Basic talking points and additional resources here.  Also be sure that school tours include mentioning where and how all students can access gender-neutral bathrooms and expectations for behavior in those spaces. 

Classroom Practices

Share with teachers: Our district equity coaches can help teams walk through Menstrual Dignity Act, Bias Incident Lesson (more on this soon), or other sensitive topics.  Reach out to the team!  Additional tips and strategies available on the LEAD website.

NURSE MEETINGS

Trainings/Professional Development

• Sexual Abuse training offered by PACE: Child sexual abuse is a pervasive societal problem that requires ongoing conversations. Learn about child abuse statistics, the grooming process and how to identify a predator in educational settings. Head into the new school year with a baseline understanding of how to prevent sexual abuse and bring your questions! There is a current training planned for Aug. 31 at 12:00 pm. If you are interested, you can sign up HERE. McKenzie Nix is a great resource and she can come to talk to staff or do trainings during the year. Email [email protected]. 
• QPR Training – Mandatory (if you haven’t taken the class within the last year)
  • Wednesday, October 25, 2023
  • 230-4pm
  • Location: TBD
• Mandatory nurse staff /meetings trainings on the following non-school days:
  • Friday, February 2, 2024 
  • Thursday, April 11, 2024
  • Friday, April 12, 2024. 
• Acuity Tool Update
  • Updated Acuity Tool presentation during OSNA (virtual) Fall Conference on November 3, 2023.
  • Informational session dates TBD.

DAY OFF REQUESTS

• Day off requests – Get your requests in ASAP for any time you wish to take off. (This includes school conference days.)
  • Classified Staff – Per HR, no more than 5 unpaid days can be used for personal time (vacation, recreation, etc.) during the school year.
  • Certified Staff – Per HR, there is no option for unpaid days for personal use. Certified Staff can only use personal leave. 
  • Please remember when requesting an extended period of time off for personal time (greater than 5 days), your team is affected by needing to support your assignment.  
• Dates not available to request time off*Please do not request time off during these times. 
  • There will be mandatory nurse staff /meetings trainings on the following non-school days:
    • Friday, February 2, 2024 
    • Thursday, April 11, 2024
    • Friday, April 12, 2024. 

BLS NURSE CHECK-IN SURVEY

Having a stressful week? Need some extra support? Suggestions for nurse meeting ideas. Please complete the BLS Nurse Check-In Survey

ALL ABOUT YOU

Please complete the About YOU form.

WELCOME BACK!!!

I hope each and every one of you had an amazing, restful summer break!! It’s now time to turn your school nurse brains back on.

AUTOMATIC EMAILS

Automatic Email Replies

Please remember to TURN OFF your automatic email replies when you return from summer break.

NURSING SCHEDULE 23-24

Please take a look at the nursing schedule for the 23-24 school year. There were quite a bit of changes over the summer.

PREP DAYS

School Prep Days – Please complete this form to document your days you plan on using for school prep flex days and/or time sheet days. The maximum number of prep days allowed is 5 days.

DAY OFF REQUESTS

• Day off requests – Get your requests in ASAP for any time you wish to take off. (This includes school conference days.)
  • Classified Staff – Per HR, no more than 5 unpaid days can be used for personal time (vacation, recreation, etc.) during the school year.
  • Please remember when requesting an extended period of time off for personal time (greater than 5 days), your team is affected by needing to support your assignment.  

• Dates not available to request time off*Please do not request time off during these times. 
  • There will be mandatory nurse staff /meetings trainings on the following non-school days:
    • Friday, February 2, 2024 
    • Thursday, April 11, 2024
    • Friday, April 12, 2024. 

NURSE MEETINGS

First All Nurse meeting is: 

• Tuesday, August 29, 2023 
• 1030-4pm (lunch will be provided)
• The Board Room (520 NW Wall St.)

SAFETY

AEDs

Please check your AEDs and update the AED master spreadsheet. 

AED Supplies

Please use the following link to request AED supplies. Please do not email Michelle for supplies. This new process will make supply replenishment easier and more efficient for everyone.

CPR/First Aid  

HANDS ON SKILLS CLASSES (20 min class) will be offered at the end of August.

THERE WILL BE NO HANDS-ON SKILLS CLASSES DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER. They will resume again in October.

Wildfire Smoke/AQI and Health Illness Trainings

• Please take some time to review these trainings. Nurses do not need to show these trainings during their staff trainings. 

• Wildfire Smoke & AQI BLS Training
• Heat Illness BLS Training

School-level Communicable Disease Management Plan

Building administrators were sent a template to complete and file in a Google Docs folder. Each school’s plan can be viewed here. 

For questions, please contact Tami directly. Please do not make any changes to the plans already uploaded.

Trainings/Professional Development

• QPR Training – Mandatory (if you haven’t taken the class within the last year)
  • Wednesday, October 25, 2023
  • 230-4pm
  • Location: TBD
• Mandatory nurse staff /meetings trainings on the following non-school days:
  • Friday, February 2, 2024 
  • Thursday, April 11, 2024
  • Friday, April 12, 2024. 
• Assessment Basics for School Nurses: Orthopedic Injury

ILLNESS SYMPTOMS

The following information went out to level leaders for their blogs last week. Please check your COVID-19 test kit supply at your schools and let Michelle or Tami know if you need more for your sites.

Illness Symptoms and When to Stay Home

Bend-La Pine Schools follows the Oregon Health Authority/Oregon Department of Education’s Communicable Disease Guidance for Schools. This guidance includes when an individual should be excluded from attending school (in-person) or any school-related activities such as clubs and sports. 

For information on symptom-based exclusion guidelines, see page 8 of the Communicable Disease Guidance for Schools. 

• Fever – An individual must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications.
• Diarrhea/vomiting – Must be at least 48 hours since last episode.

COVID-19 is no longer an excludable disease (unless symptoms of fever, vomiting, and/or diarrhea are present). Parents/guardians/staff are no longer required to report positive cases of COVID-19 to the schools. COVID-19 test kits and medical grade face masks are available to students and staff upon request. Check with your school nurse about how to obtain a supply for your school.

Please refer families to the Health and Wellness section on our Bend-La Pine Schools website for more information about when to stay home.

THIS AND THAT

ANNUAL OFFICE MANAGER TRAINING

PRESENTATION SLIDES

This information was presented to office managers during their annual office manager training for the 23/24 school year. Some of this information nurses don’t need but some of the information would be good for you to know. 

FREQUENTLY CALLED NUMBERS

You can access the Frequently Called Numbers list for the district in the Staff Portal under Quick Links. 

HUMAN RESOURCES

OEBB Open Enrollment is open! Check out the Benefits website for all kinds of great information, learning opportunities, and resources to help them complete their enrollment. Enrollment closes on September 15.

Paid Leave Oregon. Paid Leave Oregon is “a-go!” American Fidelity is the equivalent plan provider for BLS. We are working to set up information with American Fidelity for employees to submit their applications online and will send out communication once the system is ready.

Please check out the Paid Leave Oregon portion of the Benefits website for more information. If administrators have questions around employee, eligibility, etc. please reach out to the Benefits team at [email protected]

EAP & Wellness Resources. A reminder that the Human Resources Portal page has some great information and resources for employees to help support their well-being.

• Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) available to ALL employees and their families.
• Wellness Resources available to all employees and benefit eligible employees are listed here

BLS NURSE CHECK-IN SURVEY

Having a stressful week? Need some extra support? Suggestions for nurse meeting ideas. Please complete the BLS Nurse Check-In Survey

 ALL ABOUT YOU

Please complete the About YOU form.

FAN SUMMER INFORMATION

Contact list

SAFETY

CPR/First Aid Updates from Stephanie Bent: 

With summer break quickly approaching I just wanted to give an update on First Aid / CPR certification. 

If you would like to renew your First Aid / CPR (or take it for the first time) before school starts again in the fall, PLEASE SIGN UP THRU PERFORMANCE MATTERS BEFORE JUNE 13, 2023 

HANDS ON SKILL CLASSES (20 min class) will be offered at the end of August.

THERE WILL BE NO HANDS ON SKILLS CLASSES DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER. They will resume again in October. 

NURSE INFORMATION

• Automatic Email Replies
  • Please remember to put an out of office automatic reply on your emails so folks understand that you will not be responding to emails until you return in late August.

• School Prep Days – Please email Tami and Michelle your days you plan on using for school prep flex days and/or time sheet days. The maximum number of prep days allowed is 5 days. 

• Day off requests – Get your requests in ASAP for any time you wish to take off. (This includes school conference days.)
  • Classified Staff – Per HR, no more than 5 unpaid days can be used for personal time (vacation, recreation, etc.) during the school year.
  • Please remember when requesting an extended period of time off for personal time (greater than 5 days), your team is affected by needing to support your assignment.  

• First All Nurse meeting is
  • Tuesday, August 29, 2023 
  • 1030-4pm (lunch will be provided)
  • The Board Room (520 NW Wall St.)

• QPR Training – Mandatory (if you haven’t taken the class within the last year)
  • Wednesday, October 25, 2023
  • 230-4pm
  • Location: TBD

CENTRAL OREGON COMMUNITY HEALTH SURVEY

Feel free to pass the survey information along to anyone residing in Central Oregon and are over the age of 18.

BLS NURSE CHECK-IN SURVEY

Check it out here.

HAVE AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING SUMMER BREAK TO ONE HECK OF AN AWESOME TEAM!!!! 

YOU ALL DESERVE THIS DOWN TIME!!!!! 

SEE Y’ALL IN AUGUST!!!!!!

FAN SUMMER INFORMATION

Contact list

SAFETY

CPR/First Aid Updates from Stephanie Bent: 

With summer break quickly approaching I just wanted to give an update on First Aid / CPR certification. 

If you would like to renew your First Aid / CPR (or take it for the first time) before school starts again in the fall, PLEASE SIGN UP THRU PERFORMANCE MATTERS BEFORE JUNE 13, 2023 

HANDS ON SKILL CLASSES (20 min class) will be offered at the end of August.

THERE WILL BE NO HANDS ON SKILLS CLASSES DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER. They will resume again in October. 

Air Quality – from Julianne:

It is that time of year again… controlled burns are taking place throughout the region and skies are smoky. To that end, we want to be sure that you review these air quality tools so that you can make decisions about student and staff safety at your school sites.

MEDICATION DISPOSAL

Please let Michelle know if you need any kittey litter.. 🐈

END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR WRAP UP

Check list

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT WEDNESDAY/EARLY RELEASE

Wednesday, June 14, 2023, is a full school day. 

CENTRAL OREGON COMMUNITY HEALTH SURVEY

Feel free to pass the survey information along to anyone residing in Central Oregon and are over the age of 18.

BLS NURSE CHECK-IN SURVEY

 Check it out here.

FUNNY FOR THIS WEEK FROM ERICA…

Student: Do you have a nursing license?

Erica: Yes, I am a nurse.

Student: I wasn’t sure if you were a real nurse since you are a school nurse.

Erica: Yes. I used to be a hospital nurse.

Student: Really? Did you get fired?

Erica: What? No.

Student: You mean you CHOSE to be a school nurse?

NURSE MEETING

Last Nurse Meeting of the 22/23 School Year

MANDATORY

Wednesday, June 7

230-4

Location – Board Room

First Nurse Meeting of the 23/24 School Year

MANDATORY 

Tuesday, August 29th

1030-4

DATES NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO REQUEST TIME OFF

DATES NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO REQUEST TIME OFF

JUNE 5- JUNE 16, 2023

SAFETY

CPR/First Aid Updates from Stephanie Bent: With summer break quickly approaching I just wanted to give an update on First Aid / CPR certification. 

If you would like to renew your First Aid / CPR (or take it for the first time) before school starts again in the fall, PLEASE SIGN UP THRU PERFORMANCE MATTERS BEFORE JUNE 13, 2023 

HANDS ON SKILL CLASSES (20 min class) will be offered at the end of August.

THERE WILL BE NO HANDS ON SKILLS CLASSES DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER. They will resume again in October. 

Air Quality – from Julianne – It is that time of year again… controlled burns are taking place throughout the region and skies are smoky. To that end, we want to be sure that you review these air quality tools so that you can make decisions about student and staff safety at your school sites.

MEDICATION DISPOSAL

I will have kitty litter available to pick up after our nurse meeting on June 7th. 🐈

END OF SCHOOL YEAR WRAP UP

Check list

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT WEDNESDAY/EARLY RELEASE

Last early release day for the 22/23 school year is Wednesday, June 7, 2023. 

Wednesday, June 14, 2023, is a full school day. 

CENTRAL OREGON COMMUNITY HEALTH SURVEY

Feel free to pass the survey information along to anyone residing in Central Oregon and are over the age of 18.

SAFETY

Safety Care Meeting 5/22/23

Nursing Head Injury Forms – No more!!!! (Yes, you read that correctly!)

Nursing Head Injury Forms no longer need to be completed! Please ensure that:

1. An incident report was completed
2. Parent/guardian notified
3. Head Injury Follow Up and Fact Sheet is given to student/parent/guardian
4. Note in Synergy (including any assessment, interventions, etc.)

CPR/First Aid Training Update

Encourage staff to sign up in Performance Matters before the end of the school year so they can work on their on-line portion of the class over the summer. There will be 2 “hands on” skills portion of the cpr/first aid classes in the later part of August. THERE WILL BE NO “HANDS ON” SKILL PORTION OF THE CPR/FIRST AID CLASS IN SEPTEMBER. Encourage staff not to wait until the last minute to become certified or they may need to wait until October.

New SRO (school resource officer) and SRO Coverage Information

Front Office Orange First Aid Kits

Please remind your office managers/secretaries to check the orange first aid bag for supply expiration. They may need to reorder supplies. 

Fentanyl PSA 

From Aimee Snyder

The below message is also being sent to middle and high school administrators along with middle and high school counselors.

Students in Bend High’s Design Justice class developed an Overdose Prevention PSA video that can be shared with students at your schools. 

We plan to share the video through Health classes in the remaining weeks this year.  An email will go out to your middle and high school health teachers Monday morning asking them to share the video with their Health classes before the end of the year and to complete a questionnaire after they show the video.  These are the instructions that will go out to Health teachers. 

As a district, we will consider sharing this PSA to students and similar information to families more broadly next year following fielding testing of the PSA in the Health classes in our remaining weeks this year. 

For your information: The instructions include the PSA script, additional resources to direct students to, and content for a future family newsletter.  Please use the PSA script to answer any questions that may come up related to overdose risk. 

If you have questions or concerns, contact your school’s Public Health Specialist, Tami Pike, or Aimee Snyder:

• Tami Pike: Bend-La Pine Schools Assistant Director of Health Services
• Lindsay Seibel: Public Health Specialist for Bend High, Pilot Butte Middle, Bend Tech Academy
• Amanda Armstrong: Public Health Specialist for La Pine High and Middle
• Lani McQuilkin: Public Health Specialist for Mountain View High, Realms, Sky View Middle
• Emily Wommack: Public Health Specialist for Summit High, Cascade Middle, and Pacific Crest Middle
• Aimee Snyder: Healthy Schools Supervisor filling in for Public Health Specialist for Caldera High, High Desert Middle

The video was made in partnership with Deschutes County Prevention and Health Promotion.  The content in the video aligns with best practices for preventing adolescent substance use. 

SAFE FEEDING PLANS

Please ensure that student safe feeding plans are uploaded into Synergy under the “Documents” tab. If you do not see the safe feeding plan under the “Documents” tab, please send the plan to 

[email protected]. If you do not have a copy of the student’s safe feeding plan, please contact the student’s case manager for a copy. 

*If your student is transitioning to a different school next year, please be sure to connect with the school nurse at the new school.

END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR WRAP UP

Check list

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT WEDNESDAY/EARLY RELEASE

Last early release day for the 22/23 school year is Wednesday, June 7, 2023. 

Wednesday, June 14, 2023, is a full school day.

CENTRAL OREGON COMMUNITY HEALTH SURVEY

Feel free to pass the survey information along to anyone residing in Central Oregon and are over the age of 18.

DATES NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO REQUEST TIME OFF

JUNE 5- JUNE 16, 2023

BLS NURSE CHECK-IN SURVEY

Check it out 
here.

UP COMING NURSE MEETINGS

Last Nurse Meeting of the 22/23 School Year

MANDATORY

Wednesday, June 7

230-4

Location – Board Room

First Nurse Meeting of the 23/24 School Year

MANDATORY 

Tuesday, August 29th

1030-4

We are not a team because we work together. 

We are a team because we respect, trust, and care for each other. 

— Vala Afshar

Have a wonderful, long weekend!

TIME OFF

DATES NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO REQUEST TIME OFF

JUNE 5- JUNE 16, 2023

BLS NURSE CHECK-IN SURVEY

Check it out here.

JDRF ONE WALK -THIS WEEKEND

May 21, 2023

Drake Park

1-4pm

For more details, visit this site and/or contact Angelina Mingus

**Volunteers are needed!!

HEALTH IN EDUCATION – ODE

ODE Office Hours slides for 5/15/23

OREGON’S RESPIRATORY VIRUS DATA

Respiratory Pathogen Dashboard – OHA’s website and data relating to COVID-19, influenza, and RSV

SUPPLEMENTAL HEALTH LEARNING

RESOURCES

Curricula Review – open

IT GOOGLE UPDATES

From Scott in IT: 

Greetings Google Users. If you are someone who frequently uses Google Workspace products (forms, docs, sheets, slides) then you should be aware of pending security change.  Beginning next Wednesday, anonymous public users will no longer be able to access your Google documents without first signing in with a Google account.  Example:  If you share a google sign-up form to your families, they would be prompted to sign into Google before signing up for the activity. Both district and non-district accounts would work just the same.  A user who is already signed into a google product would see no change what-so-ever.   Why?  By simply signing into a document, a user has some accountability and responsibility for what they view or edit.   If you feel that this change will negatively impact your work, please feel free to reach out.   Our IT team will do our best to work with you to provide alternative solutions while also ensuring we keep our documents and data safe.

END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR WRAP UP

Check list

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT WEDNESDAY/EARLY RELEASE

Last early release day for the 22/23 school year is Wednesday, June 7, 2023. 

Wednesday, June 14, 2023, is a full school day. 

CENTRAL OREGON COMMUNITY HEALTH SURVEY

Feel free to pass the survey information along to anyone residing in Central Oregon and are over the age of 18.

UP COMING NURSE MEETINGS

High School Nurse Meeting 

Wednesday, May 24th

830-930

Microsoft Teams

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Last Nurse Meeting of the 22/23 School Year

MANDATORY

Wednesday, June 7

230-4

Location – Board Room

First Nurse Meeting of the 23/24 School Year

MANDATORY 

Tuesday, August 29th

1030-4

TIME OFF

DATES NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO REQUEST TIME OFF

JUNE 5- JUNE 16, 2023

BLS NURSE CHECK-IN SURVEY

Check it out here.

NURSE TEAM PRIORITIES FOR 23/24 SCHOOL YEAR

Please sign up to be on one or more Priority Teams. Your input is needed!! 

Priority #1 Standardized Onboarding Process – 5 nurses have signed up!!!

Priority #2 More Flexible Scheduling – 4 nurses have signed up!!!

Priority #3 Continuation Expansion of NOSA Role – 2 Nurses have signed up – (We need more!!)

NURSE MEETING

NEXT NURSE MEETING

Middle School Nurse Meeting 

Wednesday, May 17th

230-330

(Tami is going to attempt to set it up with Microsoft Teams.)

UP COMING NURSE MEETINGS

High School Nurse Meeting 

Wednesday, May 24th

830-930

Microsoft Teams

Last Nurse Meeting

Wednesday, June 7

230-4

Location TBD

COVID COVID COVID

• 5-DAY ISOLATION IS NO LONGER REQUIRED.
  • Students may return to school/school sponsored activities when they have been fever free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medications) and symptoms have improved. (Tami will update the websites and Nurse Manual.)

• NO MORE CASE REPORTING!!!

The communications below are being sent out to families and staff today, 5/12/23.

To BLS families:

The COVID-19 federal public health emergency declaration ended on May 11, 2023, and as such the Oregon Health Authority has updated its COVID-19 Response measures for the general population, including K-12 schools. These updates include changes to positive case reporting and isolation time period.

Starting Friday, May 12, 2023:

Students attending Bend-La Pine Schools who test positive for COVID-19 will no longer be required to isolate for 5 days. Students may return to school/school sponsored activities when they have been fever free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medications) and symptoms have improved. “Individuals who test positive are asked to avoid contact with individuals at increased risk for severe disease, including older adults and those with underlying medical conditions; and consider masking for 10 days.” – OHA 

Reporting positive cases to the schools is no longer required. 

COVID-19 Home Tests:

Bend-La Pine Schools will continue to have iHealth COVID-19 test kits available for use while supplies last through OHA. Parents/guardians should contact their student’s school to obtain tests.

Vaccination Information:

COVID-19 vaccination continues to provide significant protection against serious illness and hospitalization. For more information on the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination locations, visit: the Deschutes County Health Services COVID-19 Vaccine home page.

For more information on the updated OHA COVID-19 response measures, visit the OHA news release: State lifts COVID-19 response measures as federal emergency ends.  

To BLS staff:

The COVID-19 federal public health emergency declaration ended on May 11, 2023. The Oregon Health Authority has updated the COVID-19 response measures for the general population, including K-12 schools. These updates include changes to positive case reporting and isolation time period, and employee vaccine reporting requirements that school districts were mandated to follow under emergency Administrative Regulation OAR 333-019-1030.

Starting Friday, May 12, 2023:

Bend-La Pine Schools staff who test positive for COVID-19 will no longer be required to isolate for 5 days. Staff may return to work when they have been fever free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medications) and symptoms have improved. “Individuals who test positive are asked to avoid contact with individuals at increased risk for severe disease, including older adults and those with underlying medical conditions; and consider masking for 10 days.” – OHA 

Reporting positive cases to office managers/supervisors is no longer required. 

Starting Saturday, June 17, 2023:

Oregon school districts will no longer be prohibited from employing staff who have not submitted either proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a medical/religious exception. Beginning on that date, the district will no longer collect that information as a prerequisite for hire. In the meantime, the district is assessing the state’s requirements for vaccine/exception record retention.

Employees who were granted a medical or religious exception to the vaccination requirement no longer are required to do weekly COVID-19 testing.

COVID-19 Home Tests:

Bend-La Pine Schools will continue to have iHealth COVID-19 test kits available for use while supplies last through OHA. Staff can contact any school site to obtain tests. 

Vaccination Information:

COVID-19 vaccination continues to provide significant protection against serious illness and hospitalization. For more information on the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination locations, visit: the Deschutes County Health Services COVID-19 Vaccine home page.For more information on the updated OHA COVID-19 response measures, visit the OHA news release: State lifts COVID-19 response measures as federal emergency ends.  

CONCUSSION EDUCATORS CONFERENCE TIDBIT 

Dr. Brian Evans

Anxiety = Fear and loss of control. This then promotes catastrophic thinking, increased somatic body tension (headaches, fatigue, dizziness). Then avoidance becomes the problem.

• “Invisible illness”, kids don’t feel believed. We should validate their experience, be empathetic. Then educate the above pathway of emotions leading to physical manifestations.
• Techniques: Validate, Educate, Normalize, Support, Reassure, Language (watch what you say and how you say it, i.e. temporary disruption of brain processes vs brain injury)

Cognitive Behavioral therapy:

1. Target unhelpful thinking. Open/accept thoughts, but not believe them. “If I leave the house, the sunlight will cause a severe headache and further brain damage.”

2. Target problems of avoidance

3. Target problems based on a learned pattern of somatic manifestations

4. Learn better ways of coping

Increasing anxiety –  Find ways to promote more parasympathetic states.

One strategy is the 5-4-3-2-1 technique to get out of your head and into your life: 

• See 5 things
• Hear 4 things
• Touch 3 things
• Smell 2 things
• Taste 1 thing

SAFETY DEPARTMENT

Safety page on the Portal has a fresh look and new content.
Check out the updated Safety page on the Portal for a one-stop-shop for the tools you use most often. In addition to quick links, policies and newsworthy items, you will also find a link to request camera, Raptor, technology and facilities support.  

Effective June 17 the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for public and private school teachers, staff and school volunteers (OAR 333-019-1030) will be lifted.
This means that after June 16, teachers, school staff and volunteers in schools will no longer have to provide proof of vaccination or have a valid medical or religious exception on file to be in direct or indirect contact with students. Being up to date on COVID-19 vaccines continues to offer significant protection against serious illness and hospitalization.

Warm weather reminders:

• Main entrance doors will remain unlocked during school/staff hours.
• All other exterior doors should remain locked during the school day/teacher contract day.
• Exterior doors may not be propped open and left unsupervised.
•  Doors may be opened when supervised by a staff person who is within ‘arms reach’ of the door Staff should report concerns of unsupervised, open doors to their administrator and or safety committee for resolution.
•  Schools that are not designed to facilitate the locking of all exterior doors, other than the main entrance, will develop a safety plan with the director of elementary, middle or high school programs and the district school safety director. This plan will be reviewed annually.
• Schools with secure vestibules must not override security systems by propping doors or by any other means.
•  Violations may be subject to discipline.

IT – WEBEX

From Scott McDonald

This past year, overall usage of WebEx has gone down significantly across the organization.  Although many of us still rely on a virtual platform for meetings and professional development, we are using it far less to interact with students.   Currently, we support two video conferencing platforms Microsoft Teams, and Cisco WebEx.  Our intention is to make a slow transition to exclusively use Microsoft Teams for the 2023-24 school year.  There are several compelling reasons for Bend-La Pine Schools to switch to MS Teams, including additional services, integration with email and calendar, and reduced cost.  Although many staff have been using Microsoft Teams for years, it is new for students.  Currently, we are beginning a trial with our Bend-La Pine Online students.  If you or someone at your site often work with students virtually, we would encourage you to be a part of our trial.   

Please note that any staff user can still participate virtually in any platform (WebEx, Zoom, Google Meet, etc) the same way they can today.  However, those who host meetings with staff or students will be encouraged to use Microsoft Teams.  For some, I am certain this is an impactful change.  Please feel free to reach out to me directly by email with any specific questions or concerns.

NURSE CONCUSSION/BRAIN INJURY REPORTING FORM

Please remember that you are required to complete the Nurse Concussion/Brain Injury Reporting Form for any concussions/brain injuries reported at your school.