What:Meeting with Jamie Gunter to review suicide prevention screening
Date: Wednesday, February 1
Time: 2:30
Meeting location: TBD (elementary school)
REMINDER
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2 AND FRIDAY FEBRUARY 3 ARE WORKDAYS FOR ALL STAFF.
There will be a mandatory bias training on February 2nd from 8-10 am in the Summit High School Auditorium. We will then have a nurse meeting following the training (1030-1230) at Summit High (room location TBD). AND….lunch will be provided!!!
February 3rd – work on updating Nursing Services Manual
It is the expectation that all staff report to their sites (or scheduled meeting sites) on all workdays unless otherwise arranged using personal or flex days.
COVID TESTS
COVID-19 TESTS UPDATE
The new tests have arrived!!! Let Tami know if you need tests sent to your school.
No word from the FDA about extensions to the extended expiration date tests. So do not discard the expired tests at this time.
BLS NURSE CHECK-IN SURVEY
We have a new “check-in” survey that you can choose to complete that lets Tami know how you are doing. Check it out here.
Topic of Discussion: Child commercial sex exploitation and child sex trafficking
Monica Desmond, Deschutes County CSEC Response Team Coordinator will be meeting with us to talk about what the CSEC Response Team does, signs/symptoms, and what school nurses can do.
(CSEC – Commercially Sexually Exploited Children)
No nurse meeting on Wednesday, January 11
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
FROM ANDREA WILSON IN HR:
Here is an updated link to our employee benefits webpage. We want to draw your attention to the wellness resources that everyone has access to as well. Our goal is to update this quarterly. Thank you!
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION
Keeping nurses in the loop about how child sexual abuse education is being addressed at the primary and secondary levels.
From Aimee Snyder –
I just wanted to share what we’re doing with the secondary Health teachers for child sexual abuse prevention education. Julie and Marci are aware of this too, though they’re a farther behind in getting to implementation and would only be field testing this a 1-2 elem schools.
The secondary health teachers who requested Safety Matters (a child sexual abuse prevention curricula that complies with Erin’s Law) have gotten access to the curricula and have started the 3-hour online training. We (me and KIDS Center) oriented them to the portal and got them started on the training. They are completing up until a certain part, then we’ll meet back on Feb 15 to finish it in person so we can talk through questions and uncomfortable parts.
I’m working on drafting a parent letter (with KIDS Center and Dean) that would go out to parents/guardians before it’s taught in a class. The letter would be an opt-out letter but will also include parent education and handouts to help parents engage their children in discussions on the topic at home. We’ll also refer them to community-based trainings where parents can learn more about the subject.
I have been working with Dean on this, but I thought you may want to be informed in case someone asks about what we’re doing for Erin’s Law or online safety for students.
Below are upcoming community events you couldrefer parents/families to attend to learn more about child sexual abuse prevention.
You could also attend these yourself if you’d like more information. Attached are handouts for the Jan 24 and 26 events and a handout for some of KIDS Center’s upcoming SafetyNet trainings. This is KIDS Center’s full list of upcoming child sexual abuse prevention trainings for parents/families and community members.
We are still waiting for the new tests (that I ordered in December) to arrive. Once I receive the new tests, I will send them out to schools.
No word from the FDA about extensions to the extended expiration date tests.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY
In the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dayis observed annually on the third Monday in January. The day commemorates the life and work of Dr. King, who was a Baptist minister and prominent leader in the American civil rights movement. People are encouraged to use the day to “reflect on the principles of racial equality and nonviolent social change espoused by Dr. King.” The holiday is typically observed with events such as marches and rallies and speeches by politicians and civil rights leaders.
King was born on January 15, 1929. He rose to the fore of the civil rights movement in 1955 with the Montgomery bus boycottthat followed the arrest of Rosa Parks, an African American woman who had violated the city’s racial segregation ordinances when she refused to give her seat on a bus to a white passenger. An advocate of Mahatma Gandhi’sphilosophy of using nonviolent resistance to effect social change, King promoted the use of nonviolent means to bring an end to racial segregation in the United States. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for his efforts. He was assassinated in 1968.
Efforts to create a national holiday honoring King began soon after his assassination, although legislation for a federal holiday was not passed until 1983. The first nationwide observance of the holiday occurred in 1986. – Britannica
Congratulations on completing the first school week of the new year!
TIME OFF
DATES NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO REQUEST TIME OFF:
NONE AT THIS TIME
NURSE MEETING
JANUARY NURSE MEETING DATE CHANGE
The in-person nurse meeting date has changed
New Date: Wednesday, January 18
Time: 2:30-4:00pm
Location: TBD
Topic of Discussion: Child commercial sex exploitation and child sex trafficking
Monica Desmond, Deschutes County CSEC Response Team Coordinator will be meeting with us to talk about what the CSEC Response Team does, signs/symptoms, and what school nurses can do.
(CSEC – Commercially Sexually Exploited Children)
No nurse meeting on Wednesday, January 11.
REMINDER
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2nd AND FRIDAY FEBRUARY 3rd ARE WORK DAYS FOR ALL STAFF.
There will be a mandatory bias training on February 2nd from 8-10 am in the Summit High School Auditorium. We will then have a nurse meeting following the training (1030-1230) at Summit High (room location TBD). AND….lunch will be provided!!!
It is the expectation that all staff report to their sites (or scheduled meeting sites) on all workdays unless otherwise arranged using personal or flex days.
Adi’s Act is named after Adi Staub who died by suicide in 2017 after struggling in high school with coming out as transgender. She struggled to fit in as a transgender teen despite the support of her family and friends. As Adi progressed through high school, she began to feel marginalized by her peers and school staff. Two years after her transition, Adi completed suicide.
Senate Bill 52 (Adi’s Act) requires all Oregon school districts to develop a comprehensive model suicide plan that addresses policy and protocols related to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention, and address populations at higher risk for youth suicide.
Currently, the Bend-La Pine School District has a Suicide Prevention Protocol in place that addresses suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention. A work group composed of BLS district administrators, counselors, and public health staff are actively updating our current procedures to include more comprehensive evidence-based practices.
A few of our nurses will soon be attending a training on the BLS updated Suicide Risk Screen Assessment. During our nurse’s meeting on January 18, theses nurses will provide our team with the information they have obtained that will allow nurses, who are ASIST trained, to help with suicide risk screenings. With training, nurses can recognize a student in crisis and conduct risk screenings to determine the level of support a student may need. Nurses can also contribute with the development of a safety plan that meets the specific needs of that student.
UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS
From Kinsey:
Our Office of D.E.I. has several district-wide family engagement and/or community partnership events coming up! Please check out specifics on each one, below, and mark your calendars and/or share as applicable. Principal presence at these events is critical to our families—thank you for your participation!
Latino Family Night – Flyer with details here. This has been emailed to families, posted on our Spanish FB page, and a limited number of paper copies are being distributed. Feel free to share in your newsletter or otherwise help promote. Please also consider attending—great opportunity to deepen relationships and trust with our families!
Asian Family Night – Flyer with details here. Same requests for support and participation as for Latino Family Night, above.
Flip the Script – Thisis a learning and celebration opportunity, to develop community amongst and with our Black students and families, and to launch Black History Month.
If you (administrators) are interested in participating in the event, please register (using the QR code on the flyer, or direct link here)at your earliest convenience—first come first served! Please do notyet share this flyer with certified or classified staff. At the request of our Black Student and Family Union, we want to prioritize administrator and family registration first, and then will expand to other roles.
Alliance –This(draft still!) is a youth and adult collective for LGBT student success. This is mostly an FYI for you—you are welcome if interested, but please do not share this info broadly. If you have a particular student, staff member, or family who has been seeking support related to this topic, feel free to share with them specifically. We will work with GSAs, LEAD/equity coaches, and other key roles to reach the priority populations.
CYBERSECURITY TRAINING
On Thursday, February 2nd, IT will be pushing out a 30-minute Cyber Security training called KnowBe4 Cybersecurity Awareness Training. All staff can expect a link in their email. This training can be completed on February 2nd or 3rd during your workday.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Through our NASNmembership there are so many FREE or reduced continuing education classes. I did a really great one on Diabetestechnology in schools.
Time: 230-330 (shortened due to holiday party featuring Molly and the Jabs at Worthy Brewing immediately following the nurse meeting).
Meeting location: Bear Creek Elementary (in person)
Agenda: Rachel Visser from Child’s Center will be discussing high level signs/symptoms of abuse and reporting.
JANUARY NURSE MEETING DATE CHANGE
*The in-person nurse meeting date has changed*
New Date: Wednesday, January 18
Time: 230-4pm
Location: TBD
Topic of Discussion: Child commercial sex exploitation and child sex trafficking
Monica Desmond, Deschutes County CSEC Response Team Coordinator will be meeting with us to talk about what the CSEC Response Team does, signs/symptoms,what school nurses can do.
(CSEC – Commercially Sexually Exploited Children)
*No nurse meeting on Wednesday, January 11*
UKG SYSTEM DELAY
Please stick to using AESOP and the paper timesheet copies
OHA has applied for extensions and is awaiting FDA response.
iHealth should be extended an additional 3 months soon.
BinaxNOW has applied for an additional 9 months.
As long as the rapid test quality controls (in the BinaxNOW tests) remain functional, OHA encourages us to continue using the tests.
Since we have so many tests available, I will wait on ordering more tests for now. I will reassess prior to winter break.
COVID-19 HOTLINE IS RETIRING
On December 9, 2022, the OHA COVID-19 Hotline (866-917-8881) will be retiring. However, individuals can still call 211 for questions/information.
UKG
UKG UPDATE
The UKG implementation date has been delayed. More information to come soon.
STAFF & FAMILY NEWSLETTER
STAFF AND FAMILY NEWSLETTERS
The information below was inlcuded in the BLS Staff and Family Newsletter yesterday.
Respiratory illness having big impact on our schools
Our schools are currently experiencing an increase in student and staff illness. Increasing respiratory illnesses are causing increased pediatric hospitalizations across the state and in Central Oregon. Oregon hospitals with pediatric ICUs have all shifted to crisis standards of care. According to the Oregon Health Authority, this means is that resources are severely limited, more patients are in need of critical care than what hospitals can supply, and moving patients to another critical care center is not an option.
Here’s what you can do to help keep yourself and others healthy:
Practice measures that were practiced during the pandemic.
They will automatically upload this information into Synergy under the Documents Tab and to the Historical Documents in SE Student.
RELEASE OF INFORMATION FORMS
Please do not download any RELEASE OF INFORMATION forms directly into Synergy
Starting now, please email signed Release of Information forms to the Records Clerks at “Bend-La Pine Records”. [email protected]
They will automatically upload this information into Synergy under the Documents Tab and to the Historical Documents in SE Student.
SAFE FEEDING PLANS
Starting now, please email completed Safe Feeding Plans to the Records Clerks at “Bend-La Pine Records”. [email protected]. They will automatically upload this information into Synergy under the Documents Tab and to the Historical Documents in SE Student (if applicable).
An easy, no-cost way to share critical health information before an emergency (for Oregon children and young adults through age 26).
This information will allow first responders and hospital emergency departments to quickly and easily access critical health information when an emergency occurs.
Share this resource with your families!!!!
RELIGION AND HOLIDAYS
RELIGION AND HOLIDAYS
From Kinsey Martin
Religious tolerance and inclusive practices were an area that the majority of our staff rated as very low (i.e. poor experiences with this, as employees in our organization) on our DEI staff survey last year.
Please review this information regarding how we can ensure inclusion and belonging for students, families, and staff of all religious and non-religious backgrounds.
TRANSLATION SERVICES
TRANSLATION SERVICES
From Kinsey Martin
Please DO NOT:
Use a bilingual staff member who has not been trained/qualified/compensated.
Use Google Translate or other auto-translate tools (S’mores newsletter translation, etc) at any time.
These practices have significant legal, ethical, quality, and liability issues.
All staff (including administrators) have access to Linguist Link and should make their own requests for any translation/interpretation needs. Please let Michelle or Tami know if you need assistance with account set up and use.
A few exceptions:
If you have an emergency (gas leak, lock-down, etc), the district Communications and Multilingual teams will support the communication and translation.
If you need an immediate interpreter (urgent, couldn’t have been predicted in advance):
If it’s not needed for a few hours, put it into LL and mark it urgent.
If that doesn’t work, check whether a CAFE Program member is available,
Ask a Family Liaison (there are times they will say No),
Use the On-Demand form (this form is also available on the Linguist Link home page). Follow all directions on the form very carefully.
CPR/FIRST AID TRAINING
CPR/FIRST AID TRAININGS
From the Safety Department:
The district is currently offering a blended model for the First Aid/CPR class.
The class will be done online with a hands-on skills assessment to follow.
The online portion of the class should take about three (3) hours with the skills assessment to follow with a first aid/CPR trainer that will take about 20 minutes.
The online course can be done to fit your schedule.
Your First Aid/CPR card will not be issued until all portions of class are completed.
The process will be as follows:
Sign up for the class in Performance Matters
Michelle Spetic will send you a link from HSI/Medic to get started ([email protected]).
Please check your Junk Mail if it does not appear in your regular inbox.
After each section of the online session, there will be a one or two question quiz.
When scheduled, the hands-on skills assessment schedule will be emailed to you to register if you have completed the online portion. You can only do the in-person skills assessment after you have completed the online portion of the class.
The in-person skills assessment will be done in 30-minute increments.
First Aid cards will not be sent out until both portions of the class are completed.
From Kinsey Martin: I am excited to share a new opportunity we are offering our staff and colleagues! This fall we are launching Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), available to all Bend-La Pine Schools’ employees.
You might remember our employee survey last fall, on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Our leadership team’s analysis of the survey responses illuminated many culture and climate improvement opportunities for our staff, colleagues, and ourselves.
The purpose of these ERGs is to provide spaces for employees to network and build community (Joy!) with one another around common interests, identities, and experiences.
With the increasing number of students/staff out due to illnesses, we felt that communication regarding currently illnesses in the community along with prevention strategies was warranted. This letter was sent to all level leaders to include with their weekly blogs this week. Message should be sent home to families. Currently being Spanish translated.
If you are interested in helping with any of these trainings, please let Tami know. Bend Fire would sure appreciate it!
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TELE-HEALTH APPOINTMENTS AT SCHOOL
Bend-La Pine Schools Procedure for allowing Behavioral Health (BH) tele-health appointments at school.
iHEALTH TESTS
The iHealth tests are set to expire in mid-December. At this time, OHA has not received word if an extension will be made on the current extended expiration dates. That being said, Tami will check back in with OHA right before Thanksgiving break and if there is not an extension date, Tami will order more tests for the district.
If your school needs more tests, please order more now. Distribution would greatly appreciate getting some cases out of the warehouse.
Have you had an Assist training within the last 3 years? If so, would you like a recommended ASIST training tune up?? It is a 4-hour virtual training. If you are interested, please let Tami know asap.
UPSHIFT REQUEST FOR REIMBURSEMENT
For reimbursement for UpShift support, you must submit the following:
If you are going to time sheet the extra time, you must:
From Kinsey–Office of DEI Leadership re: CAFE Program: In-House Bilingual Support
We are thrilled to have our first group of CAFE Program staff members in Bend-La Pine Schools! As a reminder, these bilingual staff are receiving a stipend as trained, qualified linguists who can support occasional translation/interpretation needs in our schools.
Some very important notes about this program:
These folks do not replace Linguist Link. LL is our primary source for all translation/interpretation requests, and all requests (even most urgent ones) should continue to go through that system.
CAFE Program services should be used for walk-ins, phone calls, or situations that could not be planned or predicted in advance, and/or for very small/short messages (i.e. needing to add a short addition to your school newsletter that you’d already sent through translation, or sending a quick text/email to a family).
These staff members are not for translations of emergency situations—those should continue to go through our Communications and Multilingual Depts for support and translation.
Each CAFE member has a log of hours, to track their time and effort. They will monitor and update supervisors regularly, and have the right to say No to a request if they are unable, uncomfortable, or have maxxed their hours.
If you don’t have a staff member from your school/dept listed here, you are welcome to contact any of the folks on that list when a need arises. We’ll update the list as additional folks are tested and trained in the future.
Have you ever had a student come to you stating that they squirted hot sauce in their eye? What about a student who has ingested ice melt on the sidewalk? Well, both of these scenarios have happened and much much more!!
Poison Exposure
Toxicologists use the term “poison exposure” instead of “poisoning” to refer to an incident involving a person who swallows or comes in contact with a substance that might be poisonous. Contact could be swallowing, splashed in the eyes or on the skin, breathed in, or injected. Often the substance isn’t as toxic as one initially thinks it might be, or the amount taken is so low that no bad effect is expected. Since symptoms may not develop, technically these exposures can’t be called “poisonings”.
Two ways to get help for a poison exposure/poisoning:
1:Use the webpoisoncontrol online tool – when there are no serious symptoms, most single substances, unintentional (no self-harm or suicide attempts), age 6 months to 79 years, not pregnant, otherwise healthy.
Please make sure all of your administrators are aware of the tools available to assess whether or not students can be outside/participate in outdoor activities. Additionally, the air quality can rapidly change and what may have been an acceptable AQI number at 8 could change to an unacceptable number at 9. This should be taken into consideration with field trips.
Determine the limit of your visual range by looking for distant targets or familiar landmarks such as mountains, mesas, hills, or buildings at known distances (miles). The visual range is that point at which these targets are no longer visible. As a general rule of thumb: if you can clearly see the outlines of individual trees on the horizon it is generally less than five miles away.
Ideally, the viewing of any distance targets should be made with the sun behind you. Looking into the sun or at an angle increases the ability of sunlight to reflect off of the smoke, and thus making the visibility estimate less reliable.
Once distance has been determined, follow this simple guide:
If visibility is well over five miles, the air quality is generally good.
Even if visibility is five miles away but generally hazy, air quality is moderate and beginning to deteriorate, and is generally healthy, except possibly for smoke sensitive persons. The general public should avoid prolonged exposure if conditions are smoky to the point where visibility is closer to the 5-mile range.
If under five miles, the air quality is unhealthy for young children, adults over age 65, pregnant women, and people with heart and/or lung disease, asthma or other respiratory illness. These people should minimize outdoor activity.
If under three miles, the air quality is unhealthy for everyone. Young children, adults over age 65, pregnant women, and people with heart and/or lung disease, asthma or other respiratory illness. These people should minimize outdoor activity.
If under one mile, the air quality is unhealthy for everyone. Everyone should avoid all outdoor activities.
Using the 5-3-1 Visibility Index
Distance you can see*
You are:
OR
You have
An adult A teenager An older child
Age 65 and over Pregnant A young child
Asthma Respiratory illness Lung or heart disease
5 miles
check visibility
minimize outdoor activity
minimize outdoor activity
3 miles
minimize outdoor activity
stay inside
stay inside
1 mile
stay inside
stay inside
stay inside
No matter how far you can see, if you feel like you are having health effects from smoke exposure, take extra care to stay inside or get to an area with better air quality. You should also see your doctor or other health professional as needed.
* less reliable under high humidity conditions *
NURSE MANUAL UPDATES
Please let Tami know if you see something that needs to be updated in the Nurse Service Manual.
*Concussion – Documents have all been updated including Return to School Project information.
STUDENTS WITH MEDICAL NEEDS IN EMERGENT SITUATIONS
Because lock downs could potentially take hours to clear, please remind teachers/staff to have a plan in place should an unforseen event occur.
Ex: lock down – diabetic student
Ensure that snacks/fast acting sugars, emergency medications are accessable
In the past, nurses have distributed smarties in zip lock bags to teachers to have on hand.
Let Tami know if this is something you would like to do and we will order supplies.
