Responsibilities of School Health Services

An overview of School Health Services tasks

Responsibilities

• Provide consultation on school health issues, both clinical and management, to parents, students, school administrators, school nurses, school physicians, local boards of health, health educators, teachers, counselors, municipal agents, health care providers, etc.
• Establish standards for school health services, in collaboration with a wide range of MDPH programs and other state agencies. This includes the 1995 publication of the Comprehensive School Health Manual, which was revised in 2007. In addition, weekly email updates are prepared by the Director of School Health Services.
• Provide ongoing continuing education for school health personnel through the Boston University (School Health Institute) which the MDPH partially funds. Annual programs include clinical, prevention/mental health, management issues and a three-day summer institute for school nurses. The School Health Institute and MDPH staff also offer several school nurse orientation sessions each year.
• Support the Massachusetts Department of Education School Nurse Certification Requirements, including a BSN/MSN on entry, successful completion of the literacy exam and attendance at the SHI MDPH school nurse orientation program, entitled Introduction to School Nursing in Massachusetts.
• Manage the School Health Services Medication Administration Program, consistent with the Regulations Governing the Administration of Medications in Public and Non-public Schools (105 CMR 210.000).
• Oversee the mandated screening programs consistent with Massachusetts General Law. Under M.G.L.c.71 s.57, these include Body Mass Index (BMI),vision, hearing and postural screenings.
• Collaborate with the Massachusetts Immunization and Epidemiology Programs to assure infection control in the schools. This includes ensuring that students are immunized according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health requirements, as well as managing communicable disease outbreaks in the schools.
• Explore reimbursement systems for school health services. Collaborating with MassHealth and the University of Massachusetts Center for Health Care Finance, the School Health Unit assists in implementing the Administrative Activities Claiming Program through Municipal Medicaid in schools throughout the Commonwealth. This program provides federal reimbursement directly to cities and towns for indirect health care services provided in the school to children insured through MassHealth.
• Provide ongoing policy development for school health service programs, in collaboration with categorical MDPH programs, the MDOE, DMA and other state agencies. Policies include clinical, management and program implementation.
• Assist in developing and/or disseminating health promotion materials to public and nonpublic schools in the Commonwealth.