Nurses to call for improved student health care access
More than 1,000 nurses will be at the General Assembly on Wednesday to fight for changes aimed at improving access to health care.
Among the issues their message will highlight is the need for more nurses in schools to care for sick students.
Even the largest school district in North Carolina, Wake County Public School System, does not have a nurse in every school building.
A nurse could start the day at one school, then travel to another school, and another, to meet students’ needs.
According to the North Carolina Nurses Association, the state falls behind the national average of one nurse to every 750 students. In some counties, the ratio is as low as one nurse to every 2,000 students.
Nurses are pushing state lawmakers close the gap because they say, in many cases, teachers are having to provide aid to sick children.
Chris Cowperthwaite, an advocate with the NC Nurses Association, said more school nurses can lead to fewer classroom disruptions.
“The teacher is not teaching,” he said. “The student is not learning, and you may have parents who have to come pick up their child from school.”
Last year, lawmakers told WRAL News that $79 million would be needed annually to meet the recommended nurse-to-student ratio.
