August 22, 2016
RALEIGH -- State lawmakers are expected to take a closer look at the school nursing system across the state.
Advocates say standardization is needed when it comes to staffing and funding of nurses in schools.
They say the county-by-county variation is too great and hope recommendations will be made to the General Assembly in order to make improvements.
"There is no standardized system currently and some recommendations will likely be coming out of this committee to the next General Assembly to make some changes to ensure that we've got school nurses where we need them," said Alex Miller, a lobbyist for the NC Nurses Association.
In Wake County alone, there are more than 2,000 intense case management needs for school nurses such as asthma, diabetes, and seizures.
"Working with these students with health conditions allows them to be able to focus more on school of course if children are healthy, they can focus more in the classroom, so we help meet not only their medical needs, but also that place into their educational needs as well," said Donna Daughtry, School Health Program Manager in Wake County.
Lawmakers are expected to discuss the request for the nursing investigation during next month's Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee meeting.
