Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Louise Wilson, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction school nursing and health services consultant, was recently interviewed as part of a panel on the national Nurse Practitioner Show for Sirius XM Radio. The segment focused on school nursing and returning to school.
Wilson answered questions about wearing masks in schools, the importance of school nurses, and inequities in Wisconsin schools that do not have nurses.
On masks: Wilson is happy to talk through measures schools can take with Wisconsin districts. The current Wisconsin emergency order requiring mask wearing may change things for some districts’ plans, and she urges local districts to look to contact her as the state school nursing and health services consultant. School nurses and health service professionals may also access updated information on the DPI COVID-19 Information for School Health Services web page.
On school nurses: Wilson agrees that there should be a nurse in every school, especially now. However, COVID-19 has emphasized inequities that exist in schools that do not have nurses. Wisconsin school nurses have been meeting virtually regularly since April to discuss needs for infection control, special health care needs for students, and staff needs.
Specific individual and employer needs during face-to-face interaction in schools are addressed in the recently updated Interim COVID-19 Infection Control and Mitigation Measures for Schools on the Wisconsin DPI COVID-19 Information for School Health Services web page.