Providing Clinical Services & Health Education for Students
School nurses provide health services that can improve a student’s school attendance, learning and the overall health and effectiveness of the school. School nursing is a specialty within nursing that requires expertise in child health and development. School nurses screen students for a variety of conditions that impact learning, including vision, hearing and developmental conditions. They provide episodic care, manage chronic conditions, track communicable diseases, promote healthy behaviors, connect children with insurance and health-care providers, and handle emergencies.
School nurses perform health and safety assessment including administering medications and being first responders to injured students or those who suffer from seizures. Monitoring and attending to students with chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes and seizures significantly decreases the number of days they miss from school.
The Hawaii Keiki program improves our students’ chances to be successful in school by:
- Working with individual schools to understand and address local keiki health needs.
- Serving as an expert resource in school health to teachers and principals.
- Reducing health-related absenteeism.
- Identifying and preventing the spread of communicable diseases.
- Providing referrals for additional services and emergency care.
Nurses with more than 1000 hours of school nurse experience in 3 years and who pass a rigorous exam can achieve certification from the National Board Certification for School Nurses. By bringing certified school nurses into the academic environment, school administrators and teachers can focus their primary efforts on teaching rather than on health concerns. The school and community also benefit by having students that are healthy, actively engaged in their learning resulting in academic success and opportunities for future success and growth.
Contact
Director of Clinical Operations
Hawaii Keiki: Healthy & Ready to Learn
Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Cell: (808) 861-6839
Email: koliveros@ucera.org
*National Certified School Nurse (NCSN)
Hawaii Keiki: Healthy & Ready to Learn
Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing
University of Hawaii at Manoa
2528 McCarthy Mall, Webster 402
Honolulu, HI 96822
Phone: (808) 956-8522
Email: hikeiki@hawaii.edu