Category: Nurse Updates

BLS Nurse Blog

TOO SOON?

How many Mondays until the school year is over??? (Asking for a friend.)

HAVE A GREAT FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL EVERYONE!!!!

Tami will be out of the office 9/3-9/5.

PLEASE, PLEASE REACH OUT TO MICHELLE IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE.

These first few weeks are challenging and we want everyone to feel supported.

ATHLETICS AND ACTIVITIES

From Gabe Pagano, BLS Athletic Director

FYI

OSAA – Pre Event Safety Timeout

**Currently at high schools, evolving practice at middle Schools

Prior to the start of each contest (at all levels) the site supervisor and/or home head coach shall gather the following personnel to review these questions; Site Supervisor, Coaches, Officials, and Medical Personnel.

• Who is the onsite contact for each school?
• Is there a qualified medical professional present? If not, who will lead in case of an emergency?
• Venue EAP: Who calls 911? Who meets EMS (and where)?
• Where’s the nearest AED? Who will retrieve it?
• Environmental concerns? (Heat index, Air Quality, lightning)
• Contest Interruption Policy: Cover policy and who officials are communicating with if behavior is reported to them.

CPR/First Aid – Updates

Here is the new language that just came out about schools around CPR and First Aid.

There have since been some questions regarding the “new” requirement that one CPR/First Aid–trained staff member be present for every 60 students. To clarify, this has long been a requirement under OAR 581-022-2220.

(3) Each school shall have, at a minimum, at least one staff member with a current first aid/CPR/AED card for every 60 students enrolled, as set by ORS 339.345, and 342.664 and who are trained annually on the district and building emergency plans. Emergency planning will include the presence of at least one staff member with a current first aid/CPR/AED card for every 60 students for school-sponsored activities where students are present.

Gabe’s goal is to work with HR to set up an expectations similar to our programs. We will discuss CPR and First Aid at our next HS AD meeting.

MENTAL HEALTH

988 Oregon: Connect to Hope

The State of Oregon recently launched the 988 Oregon: Connect to Hope campaign, aimed at making sure everyone knows they can call or text 988 for free, confidential mental health or substance use support. We want people to know it’s never too early to reach out for support. Reach out when you’re stressed, worried or just feeling really down. If you’re having suicidal thoughts or worried about someone else, 988 is here for you.

VECTOR TRAINING/SAFE SCHOOLS

All nurses should have received an email on 8/21 with a link to Vector Solutions. Your login code is 0000 + your employee ID number (for example: 00001234). Please complete the online trainings by October 30, 2025.

These trainings can be completed during your regular work hours.
Substitute nurses – please complete the trainings while you are covering in schools.

LINKS

Link to Links

This is a list of links I thought you may find handy to have readily available.

DATES TO REMEMBER

Upcoming Nurse Events/Meetings

DATE	EVENT	TIME	LOCATION
Wed, September 24, 2025	All Nurse Meeting	2-330	TBD

Time Sheet/Leave Sheet Due Dates

$$$$$$ When is pay day????? $$$$$$

September 30, 2025	February 27, 2026
October 31, 2025	March 31, 2026
November 28, 2025	April 30, 2026
December 31, 2025	May 29, 2026
January 30, 2026	June 30 , 2026

BLS Nurse Blog

WELCOME BACK!!!!!!!

NURSE MEETING AUGUST 27TH

This meeting is for regular nursing staff. Substitute nurses are welcome to attend all other regular nurse meetings starting September 24th.

8am – 820 Caldera- Welcome – Why SEAS – Sean Reinhart, Jennifer Hauth

830-10 SEAS 1.0 – April Diehl, Jennifer from SEAS Auditorium

1030-1045 – Nurses arrive for nurse meeting at the Education Center in Board Room (lunch provided)

ATTENDANCE

Attendance Policy (updated)

Includes information for absences for extenuating medical circumstances. (At bottom of policy.)

10-Day Inactivation Process

Key Highlights:

• Synergy will auto-send attendance letters to families after a student has missed 6 consecutive school days (Unexcused or Unverified ONLY)

• Synergy will auto-send attendance letters to families after a student has been 10-day Inactivated

• Both of these letters request families to connect with the school to schedule a meeting focused on supporting the student return to school

• At days 3, 6, and 9, school teams are asked to designate a staff member to reach out to the family to check on the student

• If a student is 10-day inactivated, your school team can fill out a Request for Assistance to ask the District’s Tier 3 Attendance team for support with a Home Visit or family outreach

COUNSELING

FYI

BLS School Counseling Handbook 2025/2026

2025-26 School Counselors by School

IMMUNIZATION CHANGES

*REMINDER*

Important changes to Oregon’s Immunization Requirements for 2025-26 School Year

SAFETY

DCHS Substance Abuse Overdose Response Briefing

WORK CALENDAR

Classified Employee Start Dates

Classified Work Calendar 25/26

DATES TO REMEMBER

Time Sheet/Leave Sheet Due Dates

$$$$$$ When is pay day????? $$$$$$

September 30, 2025	February 27, 2026
October 31, 2025	March 31, 2026
November 28, 2025	April 30, 2026
December 31, 2025	May 29, 2026
January 30, 2026	June 30 , 2026

THE LAST BLS NURSE BLOG FOR THE 24/25 SCHOOL YEAR!!!

EMAIL

Automatic Replies

Please remember to put “out of the office” automatic replies on your email and voicemail!

Nursing Updates During the Summer

Please be sure to check your email for nursing updates when you return from your well deserved summer break. There will more than likely be some useful information to know as you start your pre-school preparations (before the August 27th meeting).

NURSE MEETING

REMINDER

August 27, 2025, 830-330,

Nurse Meeting for Regular Nursing Staff

Location TBD

Lunch and snacks will be provided!!

NURSE SURVEY

BLS Nurse 24-25 Feedback Form

CALENDAR

DATE	TIME	EVENT	INFO
6/11		Full school day.
6/12		LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!
6/13		Last day for regular nurses.	Turn on automatic email replies/voicemail for summer.
8/27	830-330	Regular Nurse Meeting	Location TBD

Link to Links

BLS Nurse Blog

QUESTION OF THE DAY

What do you call someone without a body and a nose?

No body nose.

HEALTH ROOM SIGNAGE

Check out this sign Erica made for her school’s health room.

MEDICAID NURSE MEETING MINUTES

5/28/25 Nurse Meeting Minutes – Medicaid Billing

MILEAGE

Please be sure to submit your mileage to Kristan by Thursday, June 12th, before you leave for summer break!!!!

OSNA

2025 School Nurse Survey

If you haven’t done so already, please complete the 2025 School Nurse Survey. This survey provides valuable insight into the daily work Oregon school nurses do. It helps assess Oregon school nursing efforts and experiences; to identify current services, challenges, and successes; and to inform work to better support Oregon students’ health, safety, and academic success.

SEIZURES (update)

Health care providers of students with seizures in the adaptive PE swimming program are expected to:

• Review the Adapted Aquatics information flyer.
• Sign the student’s Seizure Health Management plan. (The HMP has been updated in the NSM to reference the Adapted Aquatics information flyer.)

TIMESHEETS DUE

The last time sheets for the school year are due to Kristan by Friday, June 13th.

CALENDAR

DATE	TIME	EVENT	INFO
6/2		Last SIW Wednesday.
6/11		Full school day.
6/12		LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!
6/13		Last day for regular nurses.	Turn on automatic email replies for summer.

Link to Links

PLAN THE AFTERPARTY

School’s Out…Now What?

Plan a trip. (Even if it is to your backyard.)

Planning a trip or something fun is important to our wellbeing. I know there have been years where all I wanted to do for summer break was nothing. But data indicates that planning a trip is as beneficial as actually taking one! It’s like the process of planning allows us to take a mini-vacation just by thinking about what we will be doing.  So even if you don’t end up taking a trip, mapping out an ideal vacation, whether it’s a trip to Tahiti or a hammock in your yard can help relieve your stress in the here and now. ~ HDESD Culture of Care

BLS Nurse Blog

MORE MONDAYS LEFT!!!!!!

ACUITY NUMBERS DUE 6/1/25

From Erica

It’s time to collect the Medically Fragile data for ODE.  Which means it’s also the end of the school year!  

We have new staff this year, so here is a more detailed breakdown:

Basically, you are looking at your caseload in each school and submitting the number of students that fall in each category below.

There are 3 distinctions of students you might have in your school (apart from the general population): 

       -Medically complex students 

       -Medically fragile students 

       -Nursing dependent students 

The first attachment is the Medically Fragile Data Collection Definition Guidance (ODE).  This will provide definitions and give examples of common students’ health conditions and what category they might fall into.  

IMPORTANT NOTE: ODE has very specific definitions of these 3 categories.  This may be different verbiage from how our district classifies students. Additionally, the examples in the document are just guidelines and you should use other health conditions, comorbidities, social determinants of health, self-care abilities and more to make your decision.

The ODE Student Acuity Tool (updated 3/2025) is an important tool to help determine acuity.  To fully understand this tool, please review the training video. Failure to do so may result in inaccurate data collection. 

Collecting this data creates a more accurate picture of the intensity of nursing care required by a student, which helps establish nursing rations.  Please take some time to complete this.  I believe we have more Medically Fragile students than we’ve been counting in years past.

Pro tips:

Print out an HLT 401 for all your schools and categorize your students that way. Also try filtering by Health Plan on File (hint hint…medically complex).  

Don’t forget the students that may have mental health issues that have not been entered in Synergy.

And frequent health room flyers.

When you’ve collected your numbers, please enter them into this

Acuity Scores form

OSNA

From Corinna Brower: This survey (your responses!) will help tell the story of Oregon school nursing. Your answers will be kept confidential; only aggregated data will ever be reported.

2025 School Nurse Survey

SAFETY

DCHS Substance Abuse Overdose Response Briefing

STAFF PORTAL – STUDENT SERVICES

From Rachel Mavis ~

Student Services has been added to the top navigation bar of the Staff Portal for easier access. It remains available under Quick Links as well, since many staff are used to finding it there.

SUMMER NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR KIDS

This week, Oregon launches the return of its Summer EBT for children program, which gives families money to buy healthy food during the summer months when free and reduced-price school meals are not available.

Last summer was the first year Oregon offered this benefit, and about 362,000 school-aged children participated, with families receiving a total of $43 million to spend at grocery stores, farmers markets, and other places that accept EBT. Summer EBT is administered by Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) in partnership with Oregon Department of Education (ODE).

Things to know about Oregon’s Summer EBT for children program:

Applications are due Sept. 3. (Eligible families will receive the full summer benefit as long as they apply by Sept. 3.)

Families will get a one-time payment of $120 per eligible child on an Oregon EBT card.

Many children are considered “automatically eligible” for Summer EBT and do not need to apply. This can include those whose families participate in SNAP, TANF or the Oregon Health Plan (OHP/Medicaid) and meet income rules, as well as children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. To see a full list of eligibility requirements, click here.

Families that got Summer EBT benefits in 2024 through an approved application do not need to apply again. They will automatically receive the money on their EBT card May 22.

For anyone who qualifies automatically, Summer EBT funds will be deposited on existing EBT cards May 22. Those who do not already have an EBT card will get one by mail.

At least 336,000 children will be automatically eligible and enrolled in Summer EBT this summer.

Other potentially eligible families will need to apply.

To learn more about eligibility, and how and whether you should apply for Summer EBT food benefits for children, check out ODHS’s website for frequently asked questions, call 833-673-7328, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or email [email protected].

NOTE: the Summer EBT is different from ODE’s “Summer Meals” program, which is for all children regardless of income and requires no application process, and families can participate in both.

TRAININGS

Before you leave for summer break…

Don’t forget to email your school administrators about scheduling staff training time before the start of the school year. Get it on their schedule before leaving for the summer!!

CALENDAR

DATE	TIME	EVENT	INFO
5/28	215-3	Medicaid Billing	Virtual (MANDATORY for all regular nursing staff only)
6/1		ACUITY INFORMATION DUE TO ERICA

Link to Links

BLS Nurse Blog

3

THERE ARE ONLY 3 MONDAYS LEFT!!!!!!

CAMPS

2025 Summer Camps

DEI

From Kinsey – Office of Policy, Advocacy, and Equity

Summer groceries/food access

Need help with buying groceries for your family?  The state of Oregon offers a program that can help families with school-age children who need help with access to food while school is out for summer.  For details and to apply, see flyer: 

Summer EBT Flyer English

¿Necesita ayuda con alimentos para su familia?  El estado de Oregón ofrece un programa que ayuda a las familias con niños de edad escolar a comprar alimentos durante las vacaciones de verano.  Para más detalles y para aplicar, véase este volante:

Summer EBT Flyer Spanish

Family engagement staff

Staffing: Curious who your school’s Advocate, Liaison, or Language Specialist will be next year?  The goal is to keep these positions as stable and consistent as possible year to year, as this is key for relationships and trust with families, colleagues, and students.  Until/unless you hear otherwise, assume these roles will be filled by the same people you currently have assigned.

IMMUNIZATION RULES UPDATE

Change #1

Exclusion Day has been moved from the 3^rd Wednesday in February to the 4^th Wednesday in February.

• Why: This will give families one more week to get records updated and give a buffer for issues with mail delivery and weather that may arise.
• Resources: A list of future reporting and Exclusion Day deadlines.

Change #2

Physicians will be required to fill out a form rather than write a letter for a medical exemption.*

• Why: This will help ensure all the required information is collected for local health department review.
• Resources: Exemptions and Immunity Documentation website

Change #3

Students who have a history of varicella (chickenpox) disease will need health care provider verification or lab test instead of parent verification.*

• Why: This aligns with the requirements for immunity documentation of the other vaccines.
• Resources: If you need help finding a health care provider, 211Info is a good place to start. 211Info specializes in health and social service assistance, and can be reached at [email protected] or by dialing 2-1-1. Language interpreters are available.

Note

*These changes apply to documentation received by the school on or after August 1, 2025. Documentation on file at the school prior to August 1, 2025, continues to be acceptable and new documentation is not needed for these students.  

For more information, see the frequently asked questions or contact [email protected]

IMMUNIZATION RATES

2024-25 School Year

Non-Medical Exemptions

Finalized rates of non-medical exemptions (in the state of Oregon) from the 2024-25 school year.  In short: we went from a rate of 8.8% non-medical exemptions amongst kindergartners to a new state record of 9.7%.

Kindergarten Immunization Rates (in the state of Oregon)

86.3% of kindergarteners were fully vaccinated with all required immunizations for the 24/25 school year.

86.4% of kindergarteners were fully vaccinated with all required immunizations for the 23/24 school year.

MENTAL HEALTH

Healthier You Challenge

30-Day Challenge

SAFETY

Oregon Overdose Deaths are Down

SYNERGY

Health Conditions

When adding new information in the health conditions comment column, please put your initials and date after your comment. This will help future nurses know how current the information is.

VOMITING

Return to School Update

BLS Health and Wellness website updated to align with OHA vomiting exclusion. (Please note, BLS added language “or at the discretion of the school nurse” regarding when a student can return to school following episodes of vomiting.

VOMITING

At least 2 episodes that are unexplained.

MAY RETURN AFTER 24 hours after last episode of vomiting OR after seen and cleared by a health care professional or at the discretion of the school nurse.

CALENDAR

DATE	TIME	EVENT	INFO
5/26/25		Memorial Day	NO SCHOOL!!
5/28	215-3	Medicaid Billing	Virtual (MANDATORY for all regular nursing staff only)
6/1		ACUITY INFORMATION DUE TO ERICA

LINKS

Link to Links

BLS Nurse Blog

WHOSE CAT IS THIS?

Funny Story about Erica and her tabby.

Last night, Scott (Erica’s husband) let Aries (her cat) inside. Erica walked upstairs and Aries did not follow her which was unusual. She went to brush her teeth and her son, Cade, texted that something was wrong with Aries. Erica went to check on Aries and he had a larger underbelly (which is normal for outside cats). But her husband picked the cat up and he wasn’t sensitive like normal.

Erica went back downstairs and Aries jumped on her husband’s side of the couch. Aries did not make one “meow”, which was unusual. Erica called for Aries and he wouldn’t go to her. Erica was worried that something was really wrong.

Erica kept repeating to her husband that something was wrong. Aries was not acting like her cat. Aries jumped up on the coffee table and Erica looked at his face. Erica yelled to her husband that the cat was not Aries!!! Her husband had let some random tabby cat into the house.

Moral to the story: make sure your cat is your cat before letting them in the house.

ANXIETY

SCARED TOOL USE

Follow-up from 5/7/25 nurse meeting regarding use of SCARED tool. It is beneficial to know what current screening tools are being utilized to assess anxiety such as the resources provided from the presentation.

Nurses cannot use as a screening tool. Nurses can review screening questions and can use some questions as a guide. Nurses should not and do not diagnose. If nurses feel there could be an issue (ex., frequent visits to health office with varying complaints, teacher concern), they should reach out to MTSS Tier 3 team at their school site to discuss. Don’t know who is on the MTSS Tier 3 team, reach out to the school administrator.

From Molly

My school psych shared his front and back “student interview” sheet (attached) that he sometimes uses with kids in the health room when I ask him to check in because they come often and their symptoms seem like they could be psychosomatic. He said nurses are welcome to use it and edit it to fit their needs! This is not an official anxiety screener, just something he has developed over the years. Shout out to Taylor Reynolds for developing it.

DIABETES WALK

T1D Walk 5/18/25 – From Angelina

Here is the link if you would like to donate to the walk.  

I joined the Type One Buddy Camp group this year and we would LOVE to have more donations!!!

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Have a concern with a specific illness/infection in your school?

Please connect with Tami or Michelle first who are the points of contact to the health department. This will help alleviate information confusion/messaging.

CALENDAR

DATE	TIME	EVENT	INFO
5/14	6-9PM	TRIVIA NIGHT
5/18	1pm	T1D walk	Drake Park (more information to come)
5/26/25		Memorial Day	NO SCHOOL!!
5/28	215-3	Medicaid Billing	Virtual (MANDATORY for all regular nursing staff only)
6/1		Acuity Information Due to Erica

LINKS

Link to Links

BLS Nurse Blog

HAPPY SCHOOL NURSE DAY!!!!! (May 7, 2025)

“I mean, you’re a school nurse… Be honest, what do you make?“

AED

INPUT NEEDED

Last chance to email input to Tami regarding the small bags for bleed kits (red) and Narcan (green) to attached to the AED units to make it easy to grab and go during an emergency. Tami is going to place an order soon.

CHALLENGER GAMES

Little league teams are partnered with a Life Skills classroom challenger buddy to have some baseball fun. EA’s and teacher also join in on the fun. When it is over, a group photo is taken with all agreeing that it was a fun time. “The challenger families and players have the biggest smiles.”

Jessica Malinowski does such an amazing job with organizing this amazing event! It would be wonderful to see some of our nurse crew faces out there supporting the kids and families!

Only 3 more games this school year! Click here for game dates and location.

For more information, email Jessica at [email protected].

DEI

Weekend Snack Bags

The Giving Plate is resuming their weekend snack bag program!  As a reminder, this program provides extra snacks for students in need, to supplement food access over the weekend.  Please note:

• Families must complete a form to qualify and begin receiving this resource.  
• FAN Advocates continue to be the point of contact for family qualification/permission forms and for snack bag distribution to students.
• If your school’s parent volunteer network has stepped in to organize snack bags during the Giving Plate’s pause in service, please let them know this program is resuming and they can phase out their coordination.  Better yet, if this is an issue your Booster Club/PTA cares about, they can volunteer with the Giving Plate as individuals or a group–that effort will directly benefit food access for students in your schools.  

DIABETES

Breakthrough T1D Walk – Sunday, May 18th, 1pm Drake Park

There will be a lot of diabetes vendors! Great resource opportunity for families and nurses!

Volunteers are needed!!! (See below)

Activity	# Volunteers Needed
Checking in walk teams	2
People to cheer and direct walkers along the route	8
People to face paint or chalk art	2
Help to make signs for walkers	2
Clean up crew	2

CALL ANGELINA IF YOU CAN HELP!!!

SAFETY

Safe Schools

From HR

Please complete your Safe Schools training if you haven’t done so already this school year.

CALENDAR

DATE	TIME	EVENT	INFO
5/7	2-330	NURSE MEETING	Location: REALMS
5/14	6-9PM	TRIVIA NIGHT
5/18	1pm	T1D walk	Drake Park (more information to come)
5/26/25		Memorial Day	NO SCHOOL!!
6/1		Acuity Information Due to Erica

LINKS

Link to Links

BLS Nurse Blog

WORD OF THE DAY

The word of the day is Torche (pronounced “tro-key”)

A troche is a small, medicated lozenge designed to dissolve slowly in the mouth for absorption through the oral mucosa. They bipass the digestive system, delivering medication directly into the bloodstream for faster absorption and potentially higher efficacy. The can be beneficial for medications that may be affected by stomach acid or liver metabolism.

The ancient Egyptians made some of the first troches from honey, herbs and spices to treat sore throats. Medicines introduced into the body this way bypass the digestive system and deliver their active ingredients directly into the blood stream through blood vessels under the tongue and in the cheek.

medication examples: clotrimazole, flurbiprofen, pilocarpine, progesterone

ALLERGY AND ASTHMA

Training for Teachers

The COPA allergy team is offering a training to preschool/elementary school teachers to increase confidence in how to treat an asthma and/or anaphylactic emergency in the school setting. 

Save the date flyer.

DIABETES INFORMATION

Live Program – Delay the Onset of Stage 3 Type 1 Diabetes with TZIELD with Dr. Eden Miller

NSM UPDATE

The Asthma section of the Nurse Services Manual has been updated to include a new reference to SMART asthma treatment (p. 79) and new helpful links to further information on SMART (p. 80-81).

NURSING SUPPORT

If you are assigned to a school (“Site A”) and receive inquiries about a student injury at another location (“Site B”), please inform the nurse currently stationed at Site B so they can follow up. It’s important that the onsite nurse is kept informed about incidents occurring at their assigned location.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY UPDATE

Occupational Therapy Services Next Year

We will have some changes in Occupational Therapy (OT) services that will start in the fall of 2025.  Starting next school year, BLS will hire our own OT’s, rather than purchase the services through the HDESD.  

Why is BLS hiring their own OT’s?

After years of consideration and feedback from building staff, the decision was made to administer our own OT program in an effort to increase efficiency.  Having a local group of OTs, who only serve BLS schools, will allow for increased service, coordination, and local oversight of OT programming.

What will be different?

You will not see any remarkable changes in the programming that you have been receiving from OT’s.  That said, we will engage stakeholders and continue to seek feedback as we design.  

Do I need to do anything different when writing IEPs or considering OT services at this time?

No…please use your typical process and consideration of OT services on student IEPs moving forward.

We will provide more information ongoing as needed.  If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact any student services administrator. 

Interviews for OT positions

Interviews for open BLS OT positions were conducted on Friday, April 25.

Assignments will be determined at a later date.

OSNA

OHA Updates for OSNA from Corinna

REFERRALS FOR ESD SERVICES

ESD Updated Referral Process

Submitting ESD referrals just got easier! They’ve updated the process with a brand new link to streamline your referrals and ensure everything lands in the right hands. Whether you’re referring for OT, PT, vision, or other specialized services, make sure you’re using the most current form.
Click, submit, done! ✔️

SHRINERS CHILDREN’S REDMOND CLINIC

FYI

Pediatric Orthopedic Speciality and Neuromuscular Care

CALENDAR

DATE	TIME	EVENT	INFO
5/7	2-330	NURSE MEETING	Location: TBD
5/14	6-9PM	TRIVIA NIGHT
5/18	1pm	T1D walk	Drake Park (more information to come)
6/1		Acuity Information Due to Erica	Information will be sent out soon.

LINKS

Link to Links

BLS Nurse Blog

HOW MANY MONDAYS?

How many Mondays are left before school is out for the year?

SAFETY

DCHS Substance Abuse Overdose Response Briefing 4-18-25

SICKLE CELL TRAIT

NASN All Member Forum Discussion – Sickle Cell Trait

For those that do not have a membership to NASN, you can access the discussion here. (Accessible with your BLS email address.)

CALENDAR

DATE	TIME	EVENT	INFO
4/23	2-330	NURSE MEETING	Location: Pilot Butte Middle School Library
5/7	2-330	NURSE MEETING	Location: TBD
5/14	6-9PM	TRIVIA NIGHT

LINKS

Link to Links