Lincoln High nurse honored as 'Outstanding Urban School Leader'

Lincoln High Nurse Kathy Ryan has been named Outstanding Urban School Leader by by The Healthy Schools Campaign, School Health Corporation and Maico Diagnostics.

One of five 2014 School Nurse Leadership Award winners, she received the recognition of her work as a school nurse leader, a nurse and nurse practitioner for over 37 years.

“It’s our pleasure to recognize these outstanding school nurses who have gone above and beyond to create healthier school environments,” said Healthy Schools Campaign President and CEO Rochelle Davis. “We have long supported school nurses and the critical role they play in school health and wellness. The School Nurse Leadership Award is a way for us to highlight the meaningful and innovative approaches school nurses are taking to prioritize student health.”

In honoring Ryan, the Health Schools Campaign staff wrote of her leadership in open a clinic in one of San Diego's most challenging neighborhoods.

"Kathleen understands the critical relationship between school health and students’ academic success. Serving in a low-income school, Kathleen garnered the necessary support to bring a school-based health center (SBHC) to her school to address students’ unmet health care needs. The SBHC opened in 2008, providing free primary and preventative care, health education and behavior health services to the school’s 2,400 students. Today, the SBHC is a community hub that links students, parents and the school with community resources," they wrote.

"The five winners and four honorable mentions selected from across the country represent school nurses who are blazing new trails in their field, reimagining the role that school nurses play in school health and wellness, students’ academic success and the health of the larger community. These exemplary individuals have made significant contributions in the following nurse leadership categories: state, policy, urban schools, rural schools, and innovative programs," said Davis. In addition to Ryan, the other honored nurses were from New Mexico, Missouri, Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois and Kentucky.

Kathy precepts nursing students from several Southern California nursing programs, including school nurse credential candidates, students in community health and leadership rotations, and nurse practitioner students. She promotes the concepts of population health when she serves as a preceptor for these students. Kathy utilizes her knowledge of community health nursing within the school health environment to more effectively address the needs of her students and their families, the faculty and staff.

Kathy is a member of community and state workgroups that address school health concerns. Her primary efforts are to increase awareness of the role of health care policy in school health and school nursing. She assists CSNO (state and local chapter), the San Diego County Office of Education and the American Academy of Pediatricians School Health committees in planning and providing continuing education programs for school nurses, pediatricians and other school health providers.

Kathy joined CSNO in 2006. She is immediate past president for the San Diego/Imperial section, and started her term as California School Nurses Organization State President-elect in June, 2013. She feels her volunteerism with the organization supports her role as a school nurse, and helps her to have a broader perspective of areas of concern.

Kathy is an alumni of the Nurse in Washington Internship program, and utilizes what she learned there in her work at school, with CSNO and in the community. She feels that NIWI prepared her to be a strong advocate for school nurses as well as to work with the high school students who are members of the Lincoln High School Youth Health Council (LHSYHC).

Kathy educates others regarding the relationship between school health and the academic success of students. She encourages self-advocacy among her students and their parents at school and in the community. She represents the CSNO San Diego Imperial chapter at community events, promoting the role of the school nurse while advancing awareness of school health needs and challenges.
Kathy is the founder and advisor of the LHSYHC, where she mentors 20-40 high school students in leadership and decision making activities related to adolescent health concerns. Their goal is to improve the well-being of teens at school (healthy students+healthy families=healthy homes=healthy communities). Students on the council learn about and practice community health advocacy and leadership. Kathy provides and facilitates training and educational opportunities to prepare YHC members to develop and refine their health advocacy skills.

Some of the issues Kathy has helped the YHC to address include: racism, bullying, nutrition, and healthy teen relationships. During the summer of 2011, the LHSYHC planned and presented a four part Community Wellness series to educate their parents and community members about the link between healthy students, healthy families and healthy communities. Kathy has taken YHC members to the California School Health Center conference in Sacramento, where they met with state legislators at the capitol.

Concussion prevention program comes to Mira Mesa High

Dr. David Bazzo, with the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at UC San Diego Health System, joined the Mira Mesa High Marauders as the team physician this year to help coaches, students, and parents learn about concussion prevention, symptoms, and treatment.

Through his efforts as team physician, Bazzo gives concussion presentations to the coaches and players and conducts online, pre-season testing on each athlete. He also helps parents become advocates by teaching them the concussion signs to look for on and off the field.

“It’s important for coaches, students and parents to learn about concussion prevention, symptoms and treatment. Once an athlete suffers from one concussion, he or she is at higher risk for future concussions, which could cause more severe issues. If not properly evaluated, returning to activity too soon after an injury can lead to Second Impact Syndrome, causing bleeding in the brain or even fatality,” said Bazzo. 

Bazzo and his team, made up of UC San Diego Health System residents and students, spend countless hours working with the staff and families at Mira Mesa High. The work of Bazzo and his team is being used as a model for other concussion programs implemented at high schools in San Diego County that also involved UC San Diego Health System physicians.

“This is a serious topic that needs to be addressed in our community,” said Bazzo. “Being part of an academic hospital setting, we are able to apply what we learn from ongoing research done at UC San Diego Health System to young athletes and future generations.”

Read more about this program on the UC San Diego Health System website.

Heart screening finds eight teens at risk

The Eric Paredes Save A Life Foundation screened 815 teens on Sunday, October 20 at a free cardiac screening facilitated by the wonderful administration at Patrick Henry High School. The screening sought to detect heart abnormalities that could put teens at risk for Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), a silent killer of 7,000 kids annually.

Eight teens were found to be at risk, meaning they had a heart abnormality dangerous enough to be referred to a doctor for follow-up evaluation and treatment. SCA can strike without warning signs - the first symptom is often death. EKGs, like the ones given at PHHS, are not a part of a teen’s annual check-up or pre-participation sports physical.

Free screenings provided by the EP Save A Life Foundation in partnership with local high schools include a health history, EKG, and echocardiogram if indicated. The EP Save A Life Foundation has screened nearly 10,000 teens since 2010, detecting almost 100 heart abnormalities that were serious enough to cause SCA.

Parents can register their teen for future screenings at EPSaveALife.org.

Free Tdap shots available Aug. 19

Free Tdap shots will be available to San Diego Unified School District students needing them from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Monday, Aug. 19, at Madison High School, Room 103, 4833 Doliva Drive (92117). Room 103 is located across from the main parking lot.

Children must be accompanied by a parent/guardian to receive the free Tdap booster at the clinic.

California law requires that all students going into seventh grade be immunized with a pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine booster called Tdap. Schools must receive proof of the Tdap booster before the student can attend class in the fall unless they have a documented exemption. In addition, any student transferring into grades 8-12 will also need to show proof of Tdap booster given after the age of 7 years.

Parents, if your child received the Tdap booster over the summer, email the information to Adrienne Lenhoff at alenhoff@sandi.net.

Free Tdap shots available Feb. 13 at Madison High

The Tdap booster shot -- required for students entering grade 7 -- will be available free to students in sixth grade from 2-6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Madison High School Room 101, 4833 Dolvia Drive.

California law requires that all students going into seventh grade be immunized with a pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine booster called Tdap. This includes current students, new students and transfer students in both public and private schools. Schools must receive proof of the Tdap booster before the student can attend class in the fall unless they have a documented exemption.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Pertussis (whooping cough) is very contagious and can cause serious illness ― especially in infants too young to be fully vaccinated. Pertussis vaccines are recommended for children, teens, and adults, including pregnant women.

Whooping cough — or pertussis — is a serious and very contagious respiratory disease that can cause long, violent coughing fits and the characteristic “whooping” sound that follows when a person gasps for air.

Centers for Disease Control
has information for kids. Go there.

Whooping cough has been on the rise in preteens and teens. In 2009, a quarter of the 16,858 cases of pertussis reported in the United States were among 10- through 19-year-olds.

Most children get vaccinated against whooping cough as babies and get a booster shot before starting kindergarten or first grade. But protection from these vaccines wears off, leaving pre-teens at risk for infection that can cause prolonged illness, disruptions in school and activities, and even hospitalization. To boost immunity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the Tdap vaccine for all 11- and 12-year-olds.

“It’s important for pre-teens to get a one-time dose of Tdap to protect themselves and those around them from whooping cough,” said Anne Schuchat, MD, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “Young infants are most vulnerable to serious complications from pertussis and can be infected by older siblings, parents, or other caretakers.”

For infants, whooping cough can be deadly.

“Unfortunately, the most recent survey shows that only a little more than half of teens have received the Tdap vaccine,” said Dr. Schuchat. “By taking their pre-teen to get Tdap, parentscan protect their child and help stop this disease from spreading.”

Tdap is one of three vaccines CDC specifically recommends for pre-teens. The others are the meningococcal vaccine, which protects against meningococcal disease, including bacterial meningitis, and, for girls, the HPV vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer. Boys and young men can get HPV vaccine to prevent genital warts. Of course, the flu vaccine is recommended for everyone six months and older.

Pre-teens should also be up-to-date on so-called childhood vaccines to prevent hepatitis B, chickenpox, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella. These recommendations are supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. To learn more, visit CDC’s adolescent vaccine website at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/preteen or call 800-CDC-INFO.

Children who received a DTP, DTap or Tdap shot on or after their seventh birthday meet the Tdap booster requirement and do not need another shot. Parents and guardians can simply provide their child’s school with a copy of the updated shot record.

The Feb. 13 free clinic is sponsored by San Diego Unified's Nursing and Wellness Program and is open to all San Diego Unified students.

Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who can sign the consent form. No appointment is needed.
For information regarding immunizations needed for school, visit www.shotsforschool.org.

District's top nurse has advice on coping with this year's flu season

The Nursing and Wellness staff at San Diego Unified School District is urging parents/guardians to have their child vaccinated against this year's flu bugs.

"Children can be very susceptible to viruses such as the flu," said Michelle Bell, Nursing and Wellness Program Manager. High illness rates have been seen in other parts of the country and getting a flu shot is a very good precaution.

Here's more information on the flu.

• Federal Centers for Disease Control»
• US Epidemic Yet to Hit California (Los Angeles Times)»

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Central, Rosa Parks Parents Take Healthy Food Class

Training class participants

Healthy food and physical activity help kids grow up better, and there are now parents at Central and Rosa Parks elementary schools that will be sharing that knowledge with their fellow parents and neighbors in City Heights.

Thanks to California's Project LEAN and the California Endowment's Building Healthy Communities programs, a recent training program at Central taught parents how student success can be increased by parents setting a good example through education, volunteering and advocacy.

"I learned to encourage parents to be involved and participate in the community to make a healthy and positive impact," said one parent. The parent leaders will work with the schools' Health and Wellness Council to create a healthy school environment that promotes learning for all students.

The workshops, held Oct. 23, were lead by Diedre Kleske of California Project LEAN and Dr. Joanne Martin. It's part of the Building Healthy Communities initiative from the California Endowment.

For more information, contact Kleske at (619) 723-6457.

Suicide Prevention Program Takes Aim at Top Cause of Death

It's the second leading cause of death among kids aged 10-14, third leading cause for those 15-19 in San Diego County and San Diego Unified's SPEAK program is entering its third year of work after helping more than 32,000 students, staff, parents and community members.

The Suicide Prevention Education Awareness and Knowledge Program (SPEAK) works to reduce the stigma that is associated with mental health and depression, increase help-seeking behaviors in our youth, and improve staff responsiveness to suicidal concerns and behaviors in our students by providing suicide prevention education to students, staff, and parents throughout the district.

"We work to alert our students and communities to warning signs, risk factors and what to do in a crisis situation involving suicide," said Jean Foster, the program's coordinator. "One of the myths related to suicide is that talking about it will cause it to happen. We can’t perpetuate this myth."

SPEAK coordinates with individual schools on their suicide prevention efforts, including establishing a school site suicide prevention team that is trained on how to spot students at risk. The County of San Diego Department of Mental Health provides funding for the program so there is no cost to schools for this service.

To obtain more information about the program, or to schedule a presentation, please contact Jean Foster, MFT jfoster1@sandi.net, 619-523-0708.

Federal and local officials recommend getting flu shots early

The federal Centers for Disease Control and San Diego County Department of Health and Human Services are recommending that everyone age six months and above get a flu shot at this time of year.

On its website, the Centers for Disease Control recommend that even if supplies are tight, parents and guardians should have their children aged six months to 4 years be vaccinated. Other children (and adults) should be immunized if supplies are readily available, which it appears they are this year.
Other recommendations for vaccinations are for individuals that:

Have chronic pulmonary (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), renal, hepatic, neurologic, hematologic, or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus);

• Are immuno-suppressed (including immuno-suppression caused by medications or by human immunodeficiency virus);

• Are aged 6 months through 18 years and receiving long-term aspirin therapy and who therefore might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infection.

More Flu Information

• flu.gov website, from the US Department of Health and Human Services
• Centers for Disease Control: More advice on who should receive -- and not receive -- the vaccine is available at the center's website.
• For a list of clinics in San Diego county where eligible residents can receive shots is on the San Diego Immunization Project's website at  http://www.sdiz.org/Home/Flu-Update-Fall-2011-PHC-List.html.
• Other information for parents is available at http://www.sdiz.org/Schools-CC/Resources-for-Parents.html

Free Tdap clinic at John Muir School August 28

A free Tdap clinic for all sixth grade students who have not received the Tdap booster they need to enter seventh grade is being held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, August 28, at John Muir School, 4431 Mt. Herbert Ave. (92117).

This clinic is open to all students accompanied by parent who will sign consent. VFC qualification is not required as the district has obtained some unrestricted Tdap vaccine from the County for distribution.

Proof of immunization will be available in SDIR after all data is entered from clinic.

For more information, contact Adrienne Lenhoff, RN, at alenhoff@sandi.net.

Partnership for Children, UCSD to Provide Eye Exams to 5,000 Students

IN THE NEWS: City Heights Partnership, UCSD Shiley Eye Center team up to help at 10 schools. Read more from City Heights Life»

Reminder: Tdap Booster Required for All Incoming 7th Graders

California law requires that all students going into seventh grade be immunized with a pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine booster called Tdap. This includes current students, new students and transfer students in both public and private schools. Schools must receive proof of the Tdap booster before the student can attend class in the fall unless they have a documented exemption .
 
PLEASE NOTE:  Children who received a DTP, DTap or Tdap shot on or after their seventh birthday meet the Tdap booster requirement and do not need another shot. Parents and guardians can simply provide their child’s school with a copy of the updated shot record.

For more information about the Tdap vaccine, visit www.shotsforschool.org.

Three Free Tdap Booster Clinics Scheduled

Three more free Tdap booster clinics have been scheduled in a cooperative effort between the San Diego Unified and the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agencies. A new state law requires all students in grades 7-12 to show proof of having received the pertussis (whooping cough) booster shot, or Tdap, in order to enroll in school. October 6 is the deadline for parents to comply with the law and provide proof of immunization to their child’s school.

The clinics are open to the public and the Tdap vaccine is free. Children under 18 years must be accompanied by parent/guardian to give consent.

The three dates and locations are:

• 12:30-5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, auditorium, Bell Middle School, 620 Briarwood Road (92139).
• 2:30-6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, faculty lounge, Serra High School, 5156 Santo Road (92124).
• 2-6 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 29, library, Patrick Henry High School, 6702 Wandermere Drive (92120).

For more information on immunizations, pertussis and the Tdap booster, see the County Health and Human Services website at http://www.sdiz.com/.

National School Nurse Day is Wednesday

While National School Nurse Day is Wednesday, May 11, the considerable contributions by our school nurses to San Diego Unified students and staff make every day a School Nurse Day in our district.

Our nurses help students when they become sick at school, administer medications to those who must take it during the school day and talk with parents and students about health issues. School nurses are also on the front line with county health officers when reportable diseases are found, such as tuberculosis and pertussis.
For more information on school nurses, contact Jennifer Gorman, Director, Nursing and Wellness, at jgorman@sandi.net (858) 627- 7580.

IN THE NEWS: Tweens Tackle Prescriptive Drugs At Local Middle School

Memorial Middle School pilot project is a joint effort between pharmacy residents at the University of San Diego Medical Center and the San Diego Unified School District. Read more from KPBS-FM»

Training Healthy Living Promotores

Horton Parent Academic Liaison, Marigarita Bacigalupo, parent Maria Cruz, Horton Wellness Coordinator Rudy Dominguez and parent Francisca Perez.

Parent Academic Liaisons from Kimbrough and Horton elementary schools, and Mann Middle School, together with parents and the wellness coordinator, attended the San Diego County Office of Education Promotores Academy on February 15 and 17.

Promotoras are individuals who reflect their school community and reach out to parents to connect them to programs and resources.
Promotoras will invite parents to workshops and activities at their site that promote physical activity and healthy nutrition. School site workshops and activities include zumba classes for parents, family health fairs and other information on healthy shopping.

Healthy Works is the local Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) program; a $16 million grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to address the obesity epidemic. Administered by the County of San Diego, Healthy Works partners the County with numerous community, governmental, and educational organizations to put into place environmental and systems strategies designed to improve health and wellness.

For more information, contact Vanessa Forsythe RN, MSN, District Wellness coordinator, at (858) 496-1089.

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