Nursing shortage heavily impacting local school nurses

ROBINSON, Pa. — In the U.S., only 30% of schools have a full-time school nurse, which means that inside school buildings you’ll find students and teachers, but you may not find a school nurse; a worrisome challenge plaguing school districts everywhere.

“It is one (nurse) per 1,500,” said Wendy Robinson.

The PA School Code sets a minimum ratio of one school nurse to 1,500 students.

“If you could spend a day with a school nurse, you would be astounded,” said Robinson.

Wendy Robinson, a school nurse in Western Beaver County, is the only nurse for the entire district.

“I fixed a hearing aid this morning, gave an inhaler, and called a parent about their child,” said Robinson.

School nurses’ responsibilities include juggling students’ chronic illnesses, screening for COVID-19, and of course being ready and prepared for any emergency that may arise during the school day.

“I think we need to reallocate funds and maybe bring in some more school nurses in,” said Robinson.

With only 30% of schools in the U.S. with a full-time nurse, there’s growing concern that number will shrink in the wake of the pandemic.

“A lot of them are leaving (for) early retirements, or they are just burned out and leaving,” said Robinson.

While younger nurses entering the field are not eager to work in schools.

“The money is not there. I mean let’s be honest: they have school loans to pay,” added Wendy.

Wendy shared that despite all the challenges, school nurses should be valued because their preventative care can save families money and is an asset to the districts and community.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, school nurses also save our communities money. For every $1 invested in school nurses, $2.20 is saved by preventing costly emergency room visits and saving parents from missing work to care for children who are sick.

Both state leaders and private businesses recognize the challenge and have been working to set up scholarship and student loan payback programs for school nurses, at a time when the entire nursing industry is seeing a shortage.

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