Monday: July 8

This session will present the Rural Expansion Program for At-risk Communities to Promote Health Outcomes through the Integration of Mental health and Enabling services in an Existing Primary Care School-Based Setting (REACH ME) program, which was established to increase access to mental health services at two existing school-based health centers (SBHC) in rural Hancock County, TN. This program was developed to increase access to these services for not only the children and adolescents of Hancock County, but also adults who use the clinic for primary care services. These two school-based health centers are among the most unique in the nation, holding designations as federally funded qualified health centers (FQHC) - providing primary care services in a geographically isolated, rural, and medically under-served area. This session will discuss the successes and challenges related to the integration of mental health and enabling services in a school-based clinic setting. Additionally, the session will present the framework of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the delivery of services. This session will allow attendees to examine this unique way to address the mental health needs of children and families through the school-based setting. Within the structure of NASN’s School Nursing Practice Framework™, the Community/Public Health track closely aligns with the focus of this program by increasing access to care, providing screening/referral/follow-up, and providing population-based care.

Natural and man-made disasters are increasing at an exponential rate. One of our most vulnerable populations is the children relying on the school nurse’s training in disaster response. Currently, there is no standardized disaster preparedness training for school nurses required. School nurse disaster preparedness is a research priority of the National Association of School Nurses and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). A mixed methods exploratory descriptive study was implemented to assess knowledge and level of preparedness in responding to natural and man-made disasters (examples: active shooters, weather events, fires, gas leaks).
School nurses across the nation were invited to participate in a disaster preparedness survey. Over 800 surveys of full and part-time school nurses nationwide were returned. Questions consisted of demographics, certifications, school setting, free and reduced lunch status, along with previous disaster training and experience. Respondents were asked to indicate if their training status was mandatory and indicate in what type of training they participated. Preliminary results indicate that school nurses are confident in their response to disasters, but meaningful training was completed with a prior employer (hospital, EMS). School administrators and emergency planning committees do not always recognize school nurse disaster expertise. Although the respondents felt confident, universally it was reported that specific disaster training and exercises were needed.
Although this is a convenience survey of school nurses, demographics and other data will be analyzed to ascertain diversity, equity, and inclusion implications. Race and gender were queried in the survey along with school socio-economic status. Those results will be discussed in the context of disaster preparedness and school safety equity.

TBD