School Nurses Week celebrated by Coweta County Schools
From Coweta County Schools Press Release
School Nurses Week is being celebrated by the Coweta County School System the week of May 6-12. School Nurse Day is officially celebrated on May 12.
“National School Nurse Day recognizes the integral role that school nurses play bridging health and education to improve each child’s cognitive, physical, social and emotional development, regardless of whether they are physically present in school or not,” said Coweta Schools Health Program Coordinator Shannon Caplinger.
Caplinger – herself an RN, with 23 years of experience – heads Coweta County’s School Health program. She and System Staff Nurse Katie Sims, work with 34 school nurses system-wide in Coweta’s 31 schools, and 16 nurses dedicated wholly to contact tracing during COVID 19. There are more than 95,000 school nurses in schools in the United States.
School nurses serve as a critical role in student health, ensuring that students are ready for learning by managing complex chronic conditions; identifying and addressing mental health issues; leveling the field on health disparities and promoting healthy behaviors; connecting families to healthcare providers; handling medical emergencies and, over the past year, navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic by tracking and assessing both students and school personnel.
“School nurses and our system health program are integral parts of our school operations, and they optimize student health and learning every day of the year for us,” said Coweta Superintendent Evan Horton. “They are important during the best of times. But during this last year, as we worked to hold school and ensure in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were indispensable to our success.”
“During National Nurse Week and on National School Nurse Day, we take special time to celebrate and recognize the contributions that these professionals have made to our schools, and thank them for their service to students.,” said Horton.
