*Shanon, Steph, and Angelina are presenting information about sore throats at our March 12 nurse meeting.
To help us all stay up-to-date with best practice guidelines for how we can best support students with complaints/injuries/ in our school nursing practice, why not tap into the nursing skills and expertise from our own group?
As a team of 3, (1 nurse from each grade level) you will give a mini (10-15 minutes) discussion on the health topic of choice to include:
assessment
potential nursing plan of action (intervention) guidelines
HB 2948 School nursing clinical autonomy, educators cannot direct nursing practice: being voted on in the House 3/11
HB 2423 Health Professionals Task Force: we need testimony NOW link Hearing 3/12
Your voice matters! 🗣️ HB2423 is our chance to ensure licensing rules make sense for school-based health professionals. Take 5 minutes to share your story and submit written testimony here: https://forms.gle/Wf5hoSAYfocxky7F9 ✍️ The hearing is Wednesday, March 12, at 3:00 PM, so submitting your testimony before then is essential to show how important this issue is. Let’s make sure licensing boards recognize the realities of working in schools. Together, we can make a difference! 💪🎉
HB 3812 Strengthening School Nursing: Nutrition Information, Delegation Policy, Acuity Data Collection
HB 3813 Rural School Nurses Pilot Project: Needs a hearing scheduled
Only 7 nurses have signed up for topics so far. (As of 3/4/25)
*Shanon, Steph, and Angelina are presenting information about sore throats at our March 12 nurse meeting.
To help us all stay up-to-date with best practice guidelines for how we can best support students with complaints/injuries/ in our school nursing practice, why not tap into the nursing skills and expertise from our own group?
As a team of 3, (1 nurse from each grade level) you will give a mini (10-15 minutes) discussion on the health topic of choice to include:
assessment
potential nursing plan of action (intervention) guidelines
According to 3 local pediatric care providers – determination of safety precautions should be on a case by case basis
Adaptive PE teacher, Jessica Malanowski, will be coming to our nurse meeting on March 12th to discuss various safety devices and rationales for their use
Pool safety for students with seizures guidance will be updated after nurse meeting
We are very supportive of each other (always willing to offer support)
We have fun together
Our strengths are different and equally valuable
We have a strong sense of duty to serve our students and schools
How can you continue contributing to this positivity?
Continuing to be empathetic and encouraging
Appreciating and valuing everyone’s unique gifts
Going to nurse meetings and meet ups
Continue to collaborate
Paying it forward
Being a good communicator
Continue being someone others can depend on to help
ATTENDANCE FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
From IT
Attendance is turned on in the Health Log Student screen. That is the only screen attendance will be accessible for Nurses and the Health module. Teachers and attendance will see the code “OFF” which would mean that the student could be meeting with the principal, counselor, health office, etc. It will not specifically indicate that the student was in the health office. Instruction document can be found here. *The instructions indicate to select “Add” in the Health Log Student. You actually need to select “Add Wizard“.
CAPSTONE
Looking for 1-2 nurses to host a COCC Capstone student this spring.
Monday, May 5th – Monday, June 3rd
1 nurse could be the sole preceptor for 4 weeks or 2 nurses can split the time into 2 weeks each.
Let Tami know asap. (It looks good on your resume.)
DEI
From Kinsey Martin – Policy, Advocacy, and Office of DEI:
Family Liaisons and Translation/Interpretation:
Remember that our Family Liaisons are not translators/interpreters–these are distinct positions with different functions, required skills, and pay rates. Here are details about how to effectively engage Family Liaisons to support our work. If you need someone to translate or interpret a family communication (including for time-sensitive requests) please review the various options available to you here.
Immigration information:
Staff are prohibited from asking about or documenting students’ or families’ immigration status, even when doing so might be well-intentioned.
If staff want to coordinate extra support for students or families who might be undocumented, it should be organized based on an educational purpose, not based on immigration status. Sttudents/families themselves then choose to opt into or access these, without needing to disclose their status or without staff needing to know it. Examples:
A counseling group for students with anxiety (rather than a counseling group for undocumented students),
flyers for local Know Your Rights workshops made available to all parents or via PTA group lists (rather than sent home with families we believe are undocumented), etc.
Title IX and gender support protocols:
I have received several questions about the status of our gender support protocol. Yes, our procedures for supporting gender-expansive students are still in place. Thank you for initiating this process when a student indicates a need for support.
Regarding Title IX more generally, while the national landscape is bringing some policy-based changes to our Title IX procedures (generally reverting back to our procedures from a few years ago–more on that later), please continue to contact me for any concerns or complaints related to Title IX, which includes:
discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity;
sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking;
athletics, academics, and activities;
admissions, hiring, access;
pregnant and parenting students
PURPLE UP DAY!
Oregon National Guard Child & Youth Program/Oregon Military Teen Panel
Hello! We are Lorene Moore, Lead Child & Youth Coordinator for the Oregon National Guard Child & Youth Program, and Barret Grimm, Senior Ambassador on the Oregon Military Teen Panel. The Oregon Military Teen Panel is composed of twenty-one National Guard Youth who strive to be an active part of their community. Current members reside in Salem, Sublimity, Albany, Portland, Estacada, Sherwood, Klamath Falls and Happy Valley.
In Oregon, many families are going through a service member being gone for deployment. We are here to support Oregon’s military youth as they go through military life challenges and face occurring obstacles.
We are reaching out to you today to request that you show your support for military kids in your school district by participating inPurpleUp Day!this April, which is recognized nation-wide as Month of the Military Child. Creating a spirit day on April 10th in schools across the state where students and staff wear purple would provide a visual way to recognize and celebrate military youth, especially National Guard youth here in Oregon.
On April 10th, local groups and communities are encouraged to take part inPurpleUp Day! by wearing or displaying purple. The goal is for military kids to SEE that they are supported and loved by their local communities.
According to Military OneSource, in 2023 there were 8,259 National Guard Members in Oregon. That includes 4,713 Army Guard and 2,159 Air Guard Members, most of whom have families and children.
Attached is a flier promoting PurpleUp Day! Please consider taking part in this annual display of support. Your participation matters!
Here is some more information regarding Month of the Military Child: Please let me know what other questions you may have!
SAFETY
AED Signage
Over the next week, you will be receiving laminated AED operation instructions. One should be placed on the wall next to your AED. The other should be placed with the AED itself.
For middle and high school athletic back packs, you will be receiving 1 laminated AED operation instructions (see below) to be placed with your AED.
Please make sure that on March 13, you do not have anything scheduled at 3:05, so that staff can have the option to attend one of the sessions below.
With K-12 school funding a big topic in the Oregon Legislature right now, and everything we’re hearing from Washington, D.C., on education and federal funding for schools, we understand that many employees wonder what all this means for us in Bend-La Pine Schools.
Superintendent Steven Cook will address these issues and answer your questions during two back-to-back virtual meetings with District staff on Thursday, March 13. Everyone is invited to join us for one of these 30-minute virtual meetings: The first will be 3:05 to 3:35 p.m., accommodating staff in our elementary schools. The second will be 3:50 to 4:20 p.m. to align with secondary schedules.
The intent is to provide you a quick update on state and federal actions pertinent to our work, and how we can remain focused on teaching students in our communities and serving their needs. The second half of each meeting will be set aside for staff to ask Dr. Cook questions. We will solicit written questions during the meeting and answer as many as time permits.
We will provide meeting links closet to the date. Attendance is optional, and we will provide recordings of both meetings afterward.
WIFI
Wi-Fi in School Buildings
The best way for nurses to connect to the Wi-Fi in school buildings:
If using a personal device:
Forget any connections to visitor or anything else.
Connect to BYOD using the network password “knowledge”.
One way we can foster trust amongst each other in our team
Be kind, positive, and professional
Be vulnerable and speak up about your mistakes so others know you are willing to speak the truth
Honesty
Ensure confidentiality
Open and positive communication
Be approachable
What is one thing you can do to achieve this?
Trusting my team will be there for me
Being open to acknowledge my own limitations
Practice open, honest, and confidential conversations with my coworkers
Check in with each other
Model the behavior I want to see in others
Being supportive with others struggles, questions
Having a positive attitude
Not engaging in negative gossip
Mindset of we are in this together as a group – it takes a village
IMMUNIZATION EXCLUSION DAY
Immunization Exclusion Day is Wednesday, February 19th!
If the student immunizations are complete/up to date in Synergy they can be in school!
MEETING HEALTH TOPIC DISCUSSIONS
Nurses(substitute nurses not required)
To help us all stay up-to-date with best practice guidelines for how we can best support students with complaints/injuries/ in our school nursing practice, why not tap into the nursing skills and expertise from our own group?
As a team of 3, (1 nurse from each grade level) you will give a mini (10-15 minutes) discussion on the health topic of choice to include:
assessment
potential nursing plan of action (intervention) guidelines
Please let Tami know if you would like a topic added to the list.
SEIZURES
Swimming Safety Update
According to 3 local pediatric care providers – determination of safety precautions should be on a case by case basis
Adaptive PE teacher, Jessica Malanowski, will be coming to our nurse meeting on March 12th to discuss various safety devices and rationales for their use
Pool safety for students with seizures guidance will be updated after nurse meeting
SEXUALITY EDUCATION (FYI)
From Aimee Snyder, DrPH – Adolescent and School Health Supervisor
Communicating to Families about Sex Ed
A Head’s Up: The newsletter content below about what to expect for Sexuality Education in Bend-La Pine Schools will be in the Feb 26 Family Spotlight. If you’re concerned about any questions that may come your way from this district newsletter, here are the district’s talking points about sexuality education. You can also contact Dean Richards and your Public Health Specialist for help with any questions you have.
An Option for You: It is also an option to include this family communication about the district’s Sex Ed in general in your school newsletters. Your Public Health Specialist will bring this ask to you so that you can decide when/if it goes out in your school newsletter. This is an optional addition to what is required by law for family communications about Sex Ed.
SWIM SAFETY FOR STUDENTS WITH SEIZURES
Jessica Malonowski will be coming to our March 12 nurse meeting to discuss adaptive PE swimming safety.
A few of our local pediatric providers felt that determining which safety device to use should be on a case by case basis.
Once we meet with Jessica, we, as a team, will talk about next steps to establish safety standards for our adaptive PE swimming students with seizures.
SYNERGY
Updates
Parent access to input medication administration for school
IT has disabled this feature. Parents/guardians will be referred to our Medication Use link on the BLS website.
Health room visit attendance access for nurses
Tami met with IT on 2/18. They are working on a solution. Stay tuned…
Per OSEA Collective Bargaining Agreement 2023-2027
Substitute Nurses – If working 6 or more hours per day, please remember to deduct 30 minutes for unpaid meal period.
Please reach out to Tami directly with any questions or if you need assistance with scheduling lunch breaks during the day.
MILEAGE
Please remember to track your mileage when going from school to school during the day. (Your starting school is the school you started your school day at.)
Submit your mileage reimbursement to Kristan Shobe ([email protected]) every 2-3 months.
Items needed when submitting for mileage reimbursement:
Care Solace is a care coordination service to help students, staff, and their families find mental health and substance use treatment matched to their needs. Care Solace’s multilingual and culturally sensitive Care CompanionTM team is available 24/7/365 to quickly connect individuals to community providers regardless of need.
Register & Login to your Care Solace Account. If you missed the registration email for your Care Solace account, reach out to Lisa McNulty. Administrators, School Counselors, Student Success Clinicians/Coordinators, School Psychologists and Nurses have accounts.
If you are experiencing issues with Linguist Link services (interpreters not showing up, no responses to your messages, poor quality of linguist services), please A) send a note via the “message all” feature of your project/request in the LL system, and/or B) shoot me an email to let me know.
There are some transitions going on within those contracted services, but I have been reassured this should not impact the quality of service you receive. As a reminder if you’re ever in a pinch, here are the various resources and levels of support available to you for translation/interpretation.
504 REFRESHER
Section 504 Civil Rights Training
2023 Slide show from Marinda Peters, PhD, Civil Rights Specialist – ODE
OPERATIONS
From Paul Dean:
We want to take a moment to clarify differing practices in our district with regards to animals on school grounds. We have many playgrounds with this sign:
However, we do not have any district policy that prohibits dogs outside of school hours on our property. ING-AR: Animal Visitors under Owner Responsibility reads:
Owners walking animals on school grounds must follow city or county ordinances regarding leashing and sanitation.
Principals and their designees have the authority to exclude persons and their animals from play fields when he/she determines that there are associated health and/or safety concerns.
In order to align our signage with our policy, we will be removing all fence signage pertaining to animals. In place of those signs, our maintenance department will install one of the signs below. They will communicate with the head engineer and building principal regarding where you want the new sign placed.
Bend-La Pine Schools is supporting Bend Fire & Rescue’s efforts to earn HeartSafe recognition for the City of Bend.
The first step is for all BLS nurses to upload the AED information (photograph, GPS location, and written location description) for their assigned schools to the PulsePoint AED app.
This can be done during your monthly AED check, but ideally by February 14. Reach out to Oliver with any questions.
Pulse Point Tip Sheet on how to upload your school AED.
SRO APPRECIATION WEEK
Help celebrate our SROs! SRO Appreciation Day is Saturday, February 15 but we want to celebrate them all week long. Beginning Monday, February 11, do something special for your SRO. Please pick the day of the week that works best for your school.
Help us share the love on social media. Send your imagery to Becca Burda, Assistant Director of Communications, and we’ll keep the gratitude flowing online.
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELLNESS
NATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING WEEK
National School Counseling Week (NCSW) 2025 is Feb. 3-7, 2025, to focus attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within our schools. The theme this year is: School Counseling: Helping Students Thrive. The special week honoring school counselors provides recognition for school counselors who “implement comprehensive school counseling programs, a vital part of the educational process for all students as they meet the challenges of the 21st century”.
NCSW is always celebrated the first full week in February and there are multiple resources available below to help you celebrate school counselors next week at your school site. We will celebrate our student success staff the week of March 3rd during school social worker week.Here is a “Certificate of Appreciation” that you can use for your counselors and click on link above for some resources to help your school celebrate this week with your counselor(s)😊
Did you know that immunizations entered into ALERT IIS do not have to be immunizations administered in the state of Oregon? (Ex. If an individual moves to Oregon from another state, they can present their current immunization card to their health care provider and the provider can enter those dates into ALERT IIS.)
MEDICAID
MAC Survey
The next MAC Survey will occur the week of Feb 3rd–specific date coming soon. Remember, this survey process brings in critical funding for FAN Advocate services.
NSM
Updates
Updated Seizure HMP added to the Seizure section (p. 96) – update reflects swimming safety.
New Headache / Migraine section added under Acute Conditions (p. 124-128)
Spanish translation of the “Where to go for immunizations” flyer added under Helpful Links in the Immunizations section (p. 198).
New Appendix on First Aid / CPR training with tip sheets for staff, instructors, and administrators (p. 213-232)
CALENDAR
DATE
TIME
EVENT
INFO
1/31/25
10-2
Nurse Training REQUIRED (Substitute Nurses are not required but welcome to attend!)
Deschutes County Library 601 NW Wall St, Bend, OR 97703 Community Room (Brooks)
FAN Food Resource: The Giving Plate provides our families in need with weekend food through their Snack Bag program. Recently, they let us know that their donations and volunteer resources are down, while the number of families they’re serving has been up: from 130 to 700 families weekly. They are unable to meet demand and need to prioritize their core services, so the Snack Bag program is discontinued.
While this is disappointing news, there are still many ways families can access food resources. Please see the links at the bottom of this letter, with bilingual handouts listing current food resources in Bend and South County. FAN Advocates have shared this letter with impacted families. Feel free to print copies of the handouts linked there, to have available in your main office.
Want to help out? One of the best ways you can support our families is to volunteer or donate to awesome programs like The Giving Plate or directly to FAN, so they can maintain their services and programs that benefit our families. 🙂
Immigration Guidance: Please read this information carefully, and reach out with any questions.
Presidential Inauguration: Reminder: Post-inauguration, some students will be walking into your building with big feelings. The incoming administration has openly communicated upcoming changes intended to directly impact particular populations (immigrants, trans people, etc).
Counselors should be as available as possible for drop-ins if students need extra support this week. If your team knows a particular student or colleague struggled after the election in November, make time on Tuesday to have a trusted adult or friend intentionally check in with them. Thank you for your increased presence, vigilance, empathy, and grace this week.
HUMAN RESOURCES
From Andrea Wilson – Benefits and Risk Management
A reminder that employees and students should not bring pets with them to work or school. ING-AR: Animals in the Classroom or on School Property reviews the conditions and process for by which animals can visit classrooms or be on school property. If you have any questions regarding staff who identify a need for service animals, please reach out to the Human Resources Benefits team at [email protected]
NSM
NSM Updates
Updated HMP added to the Adrenal Crisis section (p. 62)
Links to NASN’s Clinical Practice Guideline and implementation toolkit for students with asthma have been added to the Asthma section (p. 74, 77)
New guidance on the use of the Protected Information tab added to Health Equity section (p. 183)
Updated links to the new anaphylaxis training protocol and presentation slides in the Training for Anticipated Emergencies: Anaphylaxis section (p. 193). New guidance was added regarding informing nutrition services of students with food allergies (p. 68). And the first aid guidelines for bites/stings in the Health Room Management section (p. 42) as well as the protocol and procedure for epinephrine administration (p. 68-71) were updated to align with the new state protocol. If you notice any discrepancies between the new state protocol manual and the nurse services manual, please submit an update request using this form.
SAFETY
AED
AED Checks- Please ensure that your monthly AED and refrigerator temperature checks are completed.
“Kucisabishii” (Koo-chi-sa-bi-shē) is a Japanese word that means “lonely mouth”. So when you want to eat but are not hungry (mindless eating) the word for that is kucisabishii. (Say that 20 times.)
You’re welcome!
NURSES….PLEASE READ
TIME SHEET REMINDERS
Please email all time sheets to Kristan Shobe. Michelle or Tami do not need copies. Kristan reviews them and will then send them to Tami for approval.
Required by Payroll
Please ensure that your timesheets/leave records are completed correctly. Please review the example forms.
This includes:
Totaling your hours worked
EID (employee ID number)
(For regular nurses) document hours per day that you are contracted to work
School/Dept = Student Services
Remember to complete the BLS Leave Record to log any sick or personal time.
ILLNESS REPORTING
If your school seems to be having an increasing number of students/staff out due to illness (10% or greater), please let Tami or Michelle know to determine if an illness data tracking log should be started.
April is working on setting new rates for Medicaid. In order to get the most accurate rates, please send April Diehl a list of all employees who fall under the category of “Delegated Health”? (You may need to reach out to your case managers to identify staff.)
The list can include any non-nursing staff that perform: diabetic care, tube feedings, diapering, toileting, etc.
**The information collection deadline is Thursday, January 16th**
When: April 17-18 (no school elementary/middle on the 17th; no school for all schools on the 18th)
Where: Lincoln City, Oregon
8 nurses will be able to attend!!Money budgeted for 8 nurses will require lodging 2 nurses per room (2 queen beds) AND… and nurses will need to carpool together (total of 4 cars).
Please let Tami know if you are interested in attending by Friday, January 17, 2025. Rooms are booking fast at the resort.
SAFETY
UPCOMING VIRTUAL MEETING
Current Drug Trends in Central Oregon
Want to learn about current drug trends in Central Oregon?
WHAT: Lieutenant Mike Landolt with the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement (CODE) will be sharing information about the latest drug trends with pediatric community health nurses.
I want to make sure that you get what you need out of this training on 1/31. Your input is needed!!! As of 1230 pm on 1/14, there have been no questions submitted (other than my inquiries).
IEP/504
Nurses – You have requested more information about 504/IEP process and nurse meeting minutes. Josh and/or Colleen and Krista will be stopping by to give us a general overview and will answer any questions you may have.
Please submit your questions to the Google Doc 1/31/24 Nurse Training here.
Community Resources
Nurses – You have requested more information on community resources such as housing and transportation. Do any of you have any information about these resources or who we can contact to provide us with more information?
Please submit information/questions to the Google Doc 1/31/24 Nurse Training here.
More than half of your body is not human. Human cells make up only 43% of the body’s total cell count. The rest are rogue microscopic agents: bacteria, fungi, and archaea. Anywhere between 500 and 1,000 species have made a home within your folds, ducts, flaps, and chambers, and they’re each present in their billions.
The greatest concentration of these microscopic colonists is located in the dark murky depths of our oxygen-deprived bowels. (BBC, Gallagher J., 2018, More than half your body is not human.)
AND… SPEAKING OF BOWELS…
Did you know that a rhino’s poop can weigh 10 kg (22 pounds) on a single trip to the bathroom?!?!
DEI
Asian Family Night: Friday, January 31st. Food, cultural performances and crafts, and a drawing contest. More details to come—for now, save the date! (Yes, I know this is grading day 🙂 )
IMMUNIZATION EXCLUSION DAY
Immunization Exclusion Day
is
Wednesday, February 19, 2025
You should have received an email from Michelle today!
LEAVE RECORDS
WELCOME KRISTAN SHOBE!!!
Kristan is our new Student Services Accounting Specialist and is currently training with April Diehl. Please send any leave records to BOTH April Diehl and Kristan Shobe during this training period. I will let you know when Kristan is flying solo.
Many of you have reached out with questions about special education programming and expectations within Bend-La Pine Schools. First and foremost, we want to acknowledge the wide-spread concerns and confusion within our District regarding this topic. Over the last five years the Bend-La Pine Schools Student Services Department, previously known as Special Education, has made changes within their department that were well intentioned, but not communicated to the larger system of employees and this has led to uncertainty and misunderstanding. The purpose of today’s communication is to provide all staff with a shared base of information that we can use to build our future decisions upon as we move toward a shared goal of better supporting all students, including those who require specially designed instruction and services.
During the 2018-2019 school year a project known as Excellence in Education gathered feedback from staff, students, and families about their experiences in our schools. After receiving and processing that feedback, the Student Services Department set out on a journey to improve the inclusion of students experiencing disability into the general education setting. The BLS vision for special education is, “Bend-La Pine Schools strive to create an inclusive culture and environment for all learners, particularly for those that experience disability. We believe, to the greatest extent possible, that all students should maximize time spent in the general education classroom regardless of their special education services or related services. To this end, it is imperative that the educational planning process begins with services in the general education setting and ends with the need for specialized services in more segregated settings.” For more detailed information about this process click here.
We are reaching out today to share answers to frequently asked questions about our model for delivering special education services in Bend-La Pine Schools and to provide clarity on how we provide Special Education services in our schools. The Special Education Inclusion Questions and Answers (click link) will be updated as more questions arise.
Are we there yet? Inclusive practices and the improvement of those practices are a process. This work will not be achieved overnight, it will take time and training, it will take collaboration and conversation. All of which are precious in the public education system. As we continue this journey the Student Services Department is committed to listening to all employees, answering questions as they arise, and working with BEA to increase learning opportunities and continued clarity on this topic. The work we do with students is complex and working together to ensure all students have access to the support they need will lead to thriving community members in the future.
In partnership,
Sarah Barclay, President, Bend Education Association
TRAINING/NURSE MEETING 1/31
Nurses – Your input/help is needed….
IEP/504
Nurses – You have requested more information about 504/IEP process and nurse meeting minutes. Josh and/or Colleen and Krista will be stopping by to give us a general overview and will answer any questions you may have.
Please submit your questions to the Google Doc 1/31/24 Nurse Training here.
Community Resources
Nurses – You have requested more information on community resources such as housing and transportation. Do any of you have any information about these resources or who we can contact to provide us with more information?
Please submit information/questions to the Google Doc 1/31/24 Nurse Training here.
CALENDAR
DATE
TIME
EVENT
INFO
1/8/25
2-330
All Nurse Meeting
In person – Miller Elementary Substitute nurses are welcome!
