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Oregon ranks 48th out of 50 states in its school nurse to student ratio

By: NWHF Staff | Posted on: September 15th, 2008 | Share:
Categories: Disparities • Education • Policies & Laws • Public Health

Oregon’s Task Force on School Nurses has said in a report presented to state legislators on September 16 that “If Oregon is invested in the academic success of the state’s children, the health needs and associated requirements at school must not be overlooked.”

Unfortunately, the report concludes that Oregon is currently overlooking these health needs, as it is ranked 48th out of 50 states with a ratio of one nurse to 3,142 students. Top-ranked Vermont has one school nurse per 275 students.

“Recognizing the importance of school nursing as a contributor to the improvement of student’s well being, their educational performance and the future of Oregon,” the report says, the 2007 Legislature established a task force to study the current status of and provide recommendations for constructing the future of school nursing in Oregon.

Read the Task Force’s report and you’ll see that this group has provided clear evidence of the benefits of school-based nurses, the need for more nurses in Oregon schools, and specific recommendations as to how best to do this.

Here are some highlights of their findings:

Health and academic success are linked.
The report cites three examples of research verifying the connection between academic achievement and students’ health and well-being. As the report says, not only do students deserve the chance to learn free from as many physical and mental burdens as possible, but also teachers deserve the opportunity to teach as many healthy students as possible.

The number of students with chronic health conditions is increasing and student health needs are becoming more complex.
The number of children with chronic illnesses and/or special health care needs has increased dramatically over the past decade.

The lack of school nurses results in risk for students and school districts.
As the report says, keeping students healthy and teaching them how to be healthy is critical to academic achievement and schools being able to reach their goals.”

The availability of school nurses in Oregon is severely limited, placing students at-risk.
For example, 89 percent of school districts reported to the task force that they have people other than school nurses performing services such as: development of health protocols, checking student medical conditions, lice control, management of chronic health conditions, and communicable disease coordination

Clear options are available for increasing school nurses.
The report provides a clear and concise list of recommendations for how to improve the situation.

As the report says, “it is clear that the school nurse situation in Oregon is in crisis, given the lack of school nurses and the poor nurse-to-student ratios in many school districts, increasing numbers of unhealthy and medically needy students in our schools, federal and state requirements, and the overwhelming evidence of the connection between healthy students and being ready and able to learn.”

So, Oregon Legislature, now that you’ve assembled the task force, and heard its report, are you going to invest in our children’s health, and with it, their academic success?