Category: Nurse Updates

BLS Nursing Blog

Hopefully…school routines are being established and the beginning of the school year is starting to “settle down(ish)”.

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HUMAN RESOURCES

Flu shot clinics for BLS Staff – Look for information coming soon from HR

PAYROLL

Logging in extra hours

Information on how to log in extra hours in UKG if the pay period has ended can be found here.

*Please remember that you must get prior approval for any extra hours worked. 

SAFETY

District’s response to questions re: AQI

Thank you for reaching out to us with your concerns regarding AQI. I’m not sure if you’ve already seen our AQI information on our website here, but if not, this explains how we receive the AQI information that schools use to make their decisions about outdoor activities for the day.

Within the website there is a link to the Oregon Health Authorities for School Outdoor Activities During Wildland Fire Events which are the official guidelines we use to make the best decision for outdoor activities.

We provide our school administrators with these tools and guidelines to help them decide throughout the day to continue with, move inside, or cancel recess and other outdoor activities for their individual schools.

As a parent, please feel free to contact your student’s teacher or administrator to discuss options if your student needs to be kept inside during AQI readings that differ from the OHA and district guidelines due to health concerns.

CPR/FIRST AID

From Michelle Spetic

Class Registration and School Reports

The First Aid/CPR course should now be up and running in UKG and staff can sign up there. This video tells them how to sign up for courses in the Learning Module section of UKG: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EL9wdEOgB15HtsznQjK6OtdHAUlY9wK9/view

Stephanie Bent sends out quarterly reports to all the schools that tells them who and how many staff are certified. They should be getting a report soon.

Michelle does not have any community classes to recommend. There are multiple companies offering it including the American Red Cross.

MATERIALS MANAGEMENT

Recycling 101 in Deschutes County

With school in session, this is a perfect time to review what can and cannot go in the blue co-mingle recycling carts in Deschutes County.  Please note that plastic produce clamshells, coffee cups, and copy paper reams are NOT recyclable. 

Recyclables in Bend La Pine Schools and Homes in Deschutes County.docxRecyclables in Bend La Pine Schools and Homes in Deschutes County PAPER RECYCLING In Deschutes County, we can recycle magazines, catalogs, newspapers, paper bags and paperboard (cereal, cracker soda cartons) NON – RECYCLABLE PAPER PRODUCTS PLASTIC RECYCLING You might be surprised to lear…docs.google.com

Please note that plastic produce clamshells, coffee cups and copy paper reams are NOT Recyclable.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

From Scott McDonald

The following applies to personal devices only and not school issued student iPads.

Students have always been able to access Bend La Pine Schools digital applications from a personal device (such as a cell phone or desktop computer )while at home. This year, access from a personal device is still encouraged, but in the interest of security and data privacy, just a bit more challenging.

Students will need to complete multifactor authentication prior to accessing BLS applications on their personal device.  Multifactor authentication adds a critical second layer of security before any student information is visible on a device that is not known by our organization.    The steps to complete multi-factor authentication can be found on the following link:

https://bls.fyi/mfa-student

Printed as well as Spanish versions of these instructions are available from the Tier One Technology representative at each school. 

It is important to note that the most efficient way to complete the steps for multi-factor authentication is by using a student iPad.  We in IT would strongly encourage sending iPads home to complete the MFA process (especially for elementary age students). 

The following BLS applications are commonly accessed by students from personal devices.  Lexia, Dreambox, Clever, Canvas, Really Great Reading, Google Drive

NURSE BREAKS

Please remember that you are responsible for taking your own breaks (including lunch breaks). For those that work 6 or more hours per day you are entitled to:

• A 15-minute paid morning break as close to the middle of the morning workday as possible (between the start of the workday and the 30-minute meal period)
• a 30-minute duty free (no students) meal period as close to the middle of the workday as possible, and 
• a 15-minute paid afternoon break as close to the middle of the afternoon workday as possible.

TRAININGS

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. 

Suicide Prevention Training

• As a part of our suicide intervention efforts for our Adi’s Act plan, suicide prevention trainings are highly encouraged for our nursing staff. All of our trained suicide risk screeners, which are typically school counselors, school psychs, some nurses, and some SSC’s attend the ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) PD every 5 years. This year, ASIST will be offered on Nov. 2 and 3. There will be two additional ASIST trainings offered in the winter and spring for those who need to recertify. 

*For the November 2 and 3 training, we only received 2 slots for nurses. Trevor and Oliver will be attending the November 2-day training. Lauren will be first on the list for the winter training. Depending on available nursing slots for future trainings, we will prioritize training for those nurses who have the most outdated training dates. 

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. 
  • Tuesday, October 10, 2023
  • Thursday, November 2, 2023 (ASIST training)
  • Friday, November 3, 2023 (ASIST training)
  • 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)

LINKS

All About You Form – Please complete the form so Tami can know more about you.

BLS Nurse Check-in Survey Form – Having a stressful week? Need some extra support? Suggestions for nurse meeting ideas.

FAN Advocate Assignments

How to log extra hours in UKG after the pay period has ended can be found here. *Must have prior approval from Tami. 

Return to School Project, Concussion/Brain Injury Reporting Form

Student Incident Reports

Who is Where Quick Guide

CULTURE OF CARE RESOURCES

Finger Tapping and Breathing Focused Attention Practice

Finger Tapping and Breathing Focused Attention Practice (FOAP)Try one of Dr. Lori’s Focused Attention Practices with Mrs. Gustin! Dr. Lori Desautels, Revelations in Education (2020): With both hands at the same time, be…www.youtube.com

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BLS Nursing Blog

Congratulations on completing your first full week of the 23/24 school year!!!

CPR/FIRST AID

Class Registration and School Reports

The First Aid / CPR course should now be up and running in UKG and staff can sign up there. This video tells them how to sign up for courses in the Learning Module section of UKG:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EL9wdEOgB15HtsznQjK6OtdHAUlY9wK9/view

Stephanie Bent sends out quarterly reports to all the schools that tells them who and how many staff are certified. They should be getting a report soon, I know she was getting ready to run it.

Michelle does not have any community classes to recommend. There are multiple companies offering it including the American Red Cross.

HEALTH MANAGEMENT PLANS

Uploading Health Management Plans into Synergy

Please remember to label HMPs in the following format:

Smith, J. Seizure HMP 9-15-23

Health Plan on File

Please remember to note that the student has a health management plan on file. 

Synergy –> Health –> Health Conditions –> select “add” –> select “health plan on file”

SAFETY

Epi Pens

Stock Epi Pens should remain at school and not sent home with students. 

HEALTHY SCHOOLS

UpShift Program Update

We are continuing to implement the UpShift program at ALL high schools this year as an alternative to suspension program to vaping. At this time, you should have identified which of your building administrators will serve as the UpShift Coordinator.

Starting next week, any new UpShift team members will be trained on either the UpShift Coordinator or UpShift Specialist role at their schools.  

For those of you who have already completed an UpShift training in the past, we’ve prepared some helpful refresher videos that you can refer to as needed. Here’s what’s available:  

1.    Overview of UpShift Training Video :This video provides a comprehensive background on UpShift, explaining the ‘why’ behind it, the different UpShift roles, and how we track and monitor our efforts.

2.    UpShift Specialists Refresher Video : Designed for those who deliver the Teen Intervene Curriculum to adolescents.

3.    UpShift Coordinator Refresher Video : If you’re involved in coordinating adolescent disciplinary responses, contacting parents/guardians, or screening students for substance use disorder risk levels, this video is for you.  

4.    UpShift Google Drive Tutorial : Learn how to navigate the Bend – La Pine Schools UpShift folder and access your School – Site folder efficiently.

If you have questions or need further guidance, please reach out to me or the Public Health Specialist at your school. Your success in the program is important to us, and we’re here to support you!

Thank you for working through any implementation barriers and being committed to UpShift. Contact Heather Tang, if you have questions or need support for implementation.

DIABETES INFORMATION

Training School Staff About Hypoglycemia

Should a student experience a low blood sugar, it is safest to have the student remain where they are and treat immediately with fast acting sugar. We’ve heard about teachers having students with low blood sugar walk to the office with a buddy for treatment. If at all possible, treat them right where they are. 

Review Provider Orders

Please remember to always review current medical provider orders prior to administering insulin. The quick reference face sheet may not necessarily reflect the most updated orders. 

From Erica Anderson

Here are some fun things that parents can get for their new T1D diagnosis. After diagnosis, these kiddos can use all the fun things they can get. I always let my new T1D parents know about these things, figured you guys may also want these resources.

1: D-Box: This Free box is full of some essential items + fun things for kids diagnosed within 1 year of applying. Fun fact, that pic they used on their website is the one I took of Cade’s box. I am pretty much famous 😉:

https://www.touchedbytype1.org/d-box#requestdbox

2: Bag of Hope: This free bag comes from JDRF. It includes Rupert stuffed animal which is the JDRF mascot: JDRF Bag of Hope

3: Snail mail Club: This is a program that matches T1D kids with other T1D kids to be pen pals. Often it’s a kid same age/sex but different state.

Snail Mail Club

4: Courage-Wisdom-Hope kit: This is a more educational free box that includes information from other T1D and health care providers:

http://main.diabetes.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Courage_Wisdom_Hope_Kit

5: Free Diabetes ID necklace:

https://www.diabeteswellness.net/free-diabetes-id-necklace

EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUP INFORMATION

From Kinsey Martin:

We are working to improve the workplace experiences and sense of belonging of our employees.  One of the many ways we are doing this is through co-designed systems of support and networking called Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).  Details here.
Last year, a few different ERGs (groups for employees of color, female leaders, and LGBTQ+ staff,  with allies in each) met throughout the year, with awesome facilitators and lots of fun activities!  Thanks to those of you who joined those groups.  We are re-launching groups for 23-24, and would like to invite you:
If you are interested in learning more about our ERGs, signing up to participate in an existing group, or suggesting a new group, please fill out the interest form available on page 2 of the link above.  We’ll reach out in early October to those who indicate interest by Wednesday, Sept 27th.  

Information on our Employee Resource Groups can always be found on the staff Portal’s new Equity page, under ‘Employee Resources and Programs. 

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

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).

TRAININGS

• 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. 

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. 
  • Thursday, November 2, 2023 (ASIST training)
  • Friday, November 3, 2023 (ASIST training)
  • 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)

LINKS

All About You Form – Please complete the form so Tami can know more about you.

BLS Check-in Survey Form – Having a stressful week? Need some extra support? Suggestions for nurse meeting ideas.

FAN Advocate Assignments

Return to School Project, Concussion/Brain Injury Reporting Form

Student Incident Reports

Who is Where Quick Guide

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!