School Nurse at Forsyth Satellite Academy

By Jahlea Fernandez

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Forsyth Satellite Academy, located in the Lower East Side of New York, is a great school community. This school has a diverse group of students, different colors, races, different religions, but most importantly, students who have different medical and mental health issues that may not often be spoken about. The problem is the medical and mental health issues can not legally be resolved by any teacher or staff in the school. So why not have a school nurse?

Health and gym, teacher Sam Ramos, here at Forsyth commented, “There are plenty of injuries that are out of my scope.” According to Sam, he has a job to do which is teach and that is teach health. While teaching most likely because he is a health teacher he is depended on, but Sam cannot attend to students who are injured when he is teaching. So, having a school nurse would be great at times like that.

The school nurse would be capable be of taking care of the injured student, where the school nurse has more experience in their profession. Sam commented, “I definitely believe that teachers should be trained, the more of us that are trained the better the chance at solving the problem is.” He then goes into detail stating that if a teacher is present at the time of an incident of a student, it would be easier if the teacher is trained to help instead of waiting for help to arrive and take care of the problem instantly.

Science teacher Jessica Holzer had given her insight on her thought’s of an absence of a nurse in the school community.She explained that there are simple issues that teachers could help students but can’t “There are kind of low-stakes that we as teachers can’t even address without a nurse like Tylenol.” I’ve observed how her and Sam comments are similar. They both feel like some things teachers really aren’t legally allowed to do resembling to what a nurse can do. Further on in the interview she mentions how it would be great if a school can step more in a addition from a school nurse but to a school “Health Center”. Holzer mentioned how a clinic has so many resources referring to a dentist, doctor and a physician assistant. She then says “ You can get your physicals there, you can get all your reproductive health there, you can go see a counselor a social worker…”.

Getting all this great feedback in these interviews are giving me more great questions to ask. Having so many resources would be great for students in keeping with their education. Having a school nurse or if possible a health center attending Forsyth would be important to come to a conclusion that students would often get their resources elsewhere and miss a day of school. Instead of being absent from school because you’re feeling sick or in need of a physical, dental care, in reach of medical care or even mental care like meeting up with your therapist when you can attend to one in school. Not having those resources at school can have a impact because students miss a day of their education. But having the resource can increase/improve students attendance.

Public health nurse Anna Pirsch, who works for a program called Nurse-Family Partnership, says, “It’s important for students to have health be a focus, you guys (students) focus on your education here (at Forsyth) but apart of your education is being healthy enough to come to class so if your not well you can have resources in a place to become well.” With that being said it’s important to realize that students’ education is important as much as their health, and attending to a students health so they won’t miss their education is meaningful.

As wandering around the community of Forsyth you may wonder where is the person to look for the most for more confiding answers. Principal Patrick Reimer of Forsyth Satellite thinks its important to have a school nurse in every school in New York City and across the country. But why isn’t there a school nurse currently at Forsyth? Principal Reimer claims he is currently working on getting a school nurse for Forsyth’s community. Patrick then says, “ I think it’s really important that schools are more than just a place of education but a place of support and that included support which… would be accomplished to having a nurse”.

Patrick also added “when I was growing up there was always a school nurse, some of the schools I went to were not that big, now people are seeing that we’ve stopped funding these positions and it’s detriment to our young people.”

Patrick referenced a teacher strike that just recently happened in January in Los Angeles where teachers went on strike to demand a school nurse in all schools, which they got after picketing for six school days, according the New York Times.