By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
School nursing staffs accustomed to handling playground injuries, taking temperatures, and dealing with upset stomachs, are being asked to juggle a lot more with COVID.
Now district nurses have to do contact tracing, determine who should quarantine, and answer parent questions about COVID.
That’s a lot to handle with small nursing staffs. This week, the higher student COVID numbers were 52 at Northwood, 21 at Perrysburg, and 15 at Bowling Green – meaning a lot of paperwork and a lot of phone calls.
So the Wood County Health Department is sending contract employees into the schools to help.
“We know this is a flood. It’s a lot for schools to handle,” said Beth Peery, public information officer for the Wood County Health Department.
So far, seven school districts in the county have been assigned contract employees, who help most weekdays, in person or remotely.
“We’re just trying to help schools keep the kids in the schools,” Peery said.
The health department trains the employees and provides the services at no charge to the school districts. The contract employees help the school district nurses identify close contacts to people testing positive for COVID, and answer questions for parents and others.
“We know it’s a lot for schools to handle. We have the expertise. We’re trying to be a good partner with them,” Peery said.
“We’re still in the process of staffing up for this,” with more contract employees expected to be hired to help all the school districts that want the service, she said.
Bowling Green City Schools has two contract employees working with the district’s nursing staff. Each district asks the employees to handle different responsibilities that need to be filled. At Bowling Green, the health department workers complete detailed spreadsheets on positive COVID cases, determine contacts of school-related exposures, and help determine who needs to quarantine or not.
“It’s really needed during this pandemic,” said Brittany Howard, head of the district’s five-member nursing staff.
“It’s a great gesture on the health department’s end to try to help school nurses,” Bowling Green Superintendent Francis Scruci said, noting that the paperwork alone is extensive. “It’s a welcomed resource.”
