A Quarterly Newsletter - Issue 11 - February 2019
Healthy and Safe Spring Habits
  • Wear layers of clothing including water resistant gear.
  • Shoes and Boots: your students' feet need protection too. Running inside for P.E. classes requires tennis shoes that fit. Outside, the weather may require snow boots. Sandals don't protect your toes and may cause injuries in snow and ice.
  • Gloves and Mittens: always keep on hand as temperatures can change quickly.
  • Germs and Illness like the Winter! Help us maintain a healthy school environment with frequent hand washing and keeping your students home with signs and symptoms of illness.
  • Bus stops, parking lots and stairs get wet and icy. Encourage your students to slow down and use appropriate handrails.
  • Apply sunscreen - cover areas of your child's skin that aren't covered by clothing when enjoying the sunshine.
  • Helmet check - should be worn for all impact sports. Please remember that as your students grow, making sure their helmets fit is critical.
  • Stay hydrated - it's often easy to forget to drink water. Provide your child with a water bottle that can be refilled.
Health Tip:
"Spring is in the Air - Bee Healthy!"
Nursing Services Group Picture 2018
Your 18-19 School Nurse Consultants
Healthy Resolutions that Will Work All Year!
How are you doing on your new year's resolutions? Making resolutions can be fun but also overwhelming. To stay motivated, it is important to choose goals that are important to you and where you can find small successes. Reflecting on where we have been and where we want to be is important to changing our outlook and improving our lives. Here are some tips to achieving your goals in 2019!

  • Set smaller goals to stay inspired and find success
  • Share your goals with a friend or family member, maybe you have the same goal
  • Change one thing at a time
  • Create an environment that supports your goals
  • Journal your journey
  • Celebrate your successes
  • Create a visual

History of School Nursing as the National Association of School Nurses Celebrate 50 years!
“The practice of school nursing began in the United States on October 1, 1902, when a school nurse was hired to reduce absenteeism by intervening with students and families regarding health care needs related to communicable diseases. After one month of successful nursing interventions in the New York City Schools, Lina Rogers, the first school nurse, was able to provide leadership to implement evidence based nursing care across the city. The school nurse’s role has expanded greatly from its original focus, the essence and goals of the practice remains the same.” NASN Position Statement Role of the School Nurse (2011).
A quote from Lina Rogers: “A sensible school nurse, with good judgment, discretion and enthusiasm, may be a powerful factor in the general improvement of a community."
Today, DCSD Nursing Services provides for the needs of students, with emphasis on those with health challenges, so that all students have an equal opportunity to learn. The current enrollment for The Douglas County School District is just over 67,000 students. More than half of our students claim at least one health condition on their student record. The goal of the School Nurse Consultant is to work closely with parents, health care providers, school staff and others to coordinate the health care of the student. Our work is based on the Whole School, Community, Child ( WSCC ) model, which defines a framework for how best to meet the needs of the whole child through coordination of school professionals, families, and the community.
"To optimize student health, safety and learning, it is the position of the National Association of School Nurses that a professional registered school nurse be present in every school all day, every day." -National Association of School Nurses

Congratulations NASN for 50 years!
Flu Facts to Help You - "Fight the Flu!"
Wintertime is the time that we start to hear about the flu. Influenza, or more commonly “the flu” is a highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory tract. Symptoms of the flu can include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, headache, muscle aches, and loss of appetite. Flu viruses spread through the air in droplets when someone with the infection sneezes or coughs. The virus can be inhaled directly or can be picked up when someone touches an object with the virus and then touches their nose or mouth.  

More serious complications from flu infection can include pneumonia, sinus infections, ear infections, and worsening of chronic medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure and asthma. Certain groups of people can be at higher risk to develop complications. They include young children, adults over the age of 65, those with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women. These groups are also at higher risk of hospitalization and serious complications from the flu. Flu season tends to peak in the United States from December to March. 

The best way to prevent the seasonal flu is to get the flu vaccine every year. The flu vaccine has been shown to reduce flu illness and also reduce the risk of developing complications if infected with the flu. Preventative measures such as staying away from people who are ill, frequent handwashing, and covering the mouth when sneezing or coughing can also prevent the spread of the flu. 

Why do I need to get the flu shot every year? There are many different types of flu viruses and every year researchers try to find the three or four strains that they think will cause the most infection, which can vary from year to year. Every year the flu shot is made to include the top three or four strains to provide the best protection for that flu season.

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Vision and Eye Health
Eye health is vital for people of all ages but especially for children as they learn about their world.

Common vision problems include:
  • Nearsightedness (Myopia) is the ability to see near objects more clearly than distant objects.
  • Farsightedness (Hyperopia) is the ability to see distant objects clearly but objects nearby may be blurry.
  • Strabismus, often called “cross-eyed”, where the eyes aren’t aligned properly. 
  • Ptosis, or a drooping eyelid, blocks part of what the eye can see.
  • Amblyopia or “lazy eye” is a vision development disorder in which the eye fails to achieve normal vision acuity, even with glasses or contacts.
Because not all vision problems can be seen, regular eye screenings can help detect possible problems. Children who show signs of possible vision issues should be evaluated by an eye care specialist for an accurate diagnosis and possible treatment. Each year Douglas County School District conducts vision screenings for all students in the state-mandated grade levels K, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9. DCSD also screens Preschool students, new students to the District and special education students in other grades. It is important to understand that school screenings are designed to detect problems with distant vision and identify students who may need a full eye exam. Certain visual or eye problems will not be detected in a screening program, therefore, it should not be considered a substitute for a professional eye exam, particularly in students who are experiencing difficulty in visual tasks or who have frequent visual complaints.
Eye protection is extremely important for all individuals. Wearing sunglasses that block 100% of the sun’s UVA and UVB rays is necessary year-round, even on cloudy days. Children and adolescents may need reminders for this and for eye safety wear when participating in sporting activities.
Early detection and treatment of vision problems often results in better outcomes for children. Learning difficulties, neurological problems, emotional issues and blindness due to treatable vision problems may be decreased.
Ice vs. Heat for Injuries: Which is the Correct Choice?
Written by Chris Mathewson
Head Athletic Trainer, Ponderosa High School & Director of Athletic Training, DCSD

Years ago, I had a student say to me “Chris, I can do your job. All you ever say is Ice It." Cryotherapy is my f irst choice for many different situations.
Last year, the athletic trainers of Douglas County School District provided 33,274 treatments – 7,612 (22.87%) of those treatments were cryotherapy. For our purposes cryotherapy can be an ice bag, an ice massage, or ice immersion/whirlpool.   
When you are deciding on which modality to use, start at the end – what do you hope to achieve by applying ice or heat? Do you want to treat pain? Do you want to manage swelling? Do you hope to reduce muscle spasm? Then you should ice it.

Would you like to loosen an area/joint before activity? Then you should heat it.
So, while that young man did make an over simplified statement of my job – he did have a point.  For many of sports injuries we see, ice is the treatment of choice.
Poison Control Information - March 18 - 24 National Poison Prevention Week
Poison control centers have been providing vital poison exposure and information services in the United States for more than 60 years. Answering close to three million calls a year, centers save countless lives and millions of tax dollars.

Currently, there are 55 poison control centers in the U.S. that collectively serve all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Federated States of Micronesia, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.  Poison Help: 1-800-222-1222

These centers provide the following services to their designated geographic area:
Poison control centers provide free, confidential, and expert medical advice via the Poison Help hotline: 1-800-222-1222 .
  • Each center answers calls to Poison Help from a designated geographic area, including calls from the public, hospitals, EMTs, schools and other health care providers. All calls are answered by physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and other medical professionals with specific training in toxicology. This free and confidential service operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Public Education and Outreach
  • Poison control centers educate the public on poison safety and promote the use of the Poison Help hotline. Centers identify the specific poison topics and populations of greatest need in their geographic area. To request materials or learn about educational programming in your area, contact your local poison control center.

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Recipe: Chinese Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • 1 cup shredded red cabbage
  • 1/3 cup grated carrots
  • 1/4 cup shelled edamame
  • 1 green onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup chow mein noodles, for serving
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds, for serving
For the sesame vinaigrette
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic, pressed
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together rice wine vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, sugar, ginger and soy sauce in a small bowl; set aside.
  3. In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine chicken, soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper; marinate for at least 30 minutes, turning the bag occasionally.
  4. Add chicken and marinade to a baking dish. Place into oven and bake until cooked through and juices run clear, about 13-15 minutes. Let cool before dicing into bite-size pieces.
  5. To assemble the salad, place romaine lettuce in a large bowl; top with red cabbage, carrots, edamame, green onion and chicken. Pour sesame vinaigrette on top of the salad and gently toss to combine.
  6. Serve immediately, topped with chow mein noodles and almonds, if desired.

Your School Nurse Consultants say "bon appétit"!
Reminders for 2018-2019 School Year
  • Be familiar with your school's attendance policy.
  • Update emergency contact information.
  • Complete medication paperwork.
  • Update immunizations or yearly exemptions.
  • Update parent portal health information.
Additional Resources