Partnerships and creative thinking mean more school nurses in Catawba County

An innovative partnership between the Catawba County Public Health Department, the Catawba Valley Medical Center, the county’s three public school systems, and the Catawba County Board of Commissioners is resulting in better health care for school children in the county.

In 2004, the State Board of Education recommended a minimum ratio of one school nurse for every 750 students, in accordance with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But only 10 North Carolina school systems met that ratio. Catawba County fell far short of that ideal, even with two new school nurse positions provided by the State School Nurse Funding Initiative in 2004.

Recognizing that local efforts were needed to help close the gap, Catawba County community leaders banded together. The health department, with the support of the Board of Commissioners, was already supporting 10 school nurse positions and 5 school health assistant positions and operating a school-based/school-linked health center. Last August, Catawba Valley Medical Center allocated funding to support five additional school nurse positions, bringing the total to 15.

However, even with that growth, there were still not enough school nurses to adequately address the health needs of 23,822 students in Catawba County. The ratio of nurse to students was still 1:1,600, with nurses serving more than twice the recommended number of children.

So, the medical center, health department, schools and commissioners worked together to apply for a $667,000 grant from the Duke Endowment to help build the county’s school nurse program into a Coordinated School Health Program. In late December, the medical center received notice that the three-year grant was approved.

When added to the planned subsidy by the medical center, the investment of the county’s three school systems, and the existing funding from the health department, the Duke grant means that Catawba County can increase the total number of school nurses to 23. That means the county will have 1 nurse for every 1,000 students, much closer to the recommended ratio of 1:750.

“After we add the new positions and fully implement the program, we anticipate the results to be reduced school absenteeism, fewer behavior problems in the classroom, improved student academic performance, and new levels of cooperation and collaboration among parents, teachers, school and health officials,” said Catawba County Health Director Douglas W. Urland.

“This is a prime example of how state funds can jumpstart local efforts to improve students’ health,” said Dorothy Caldwell, coordinator of School Health Initiatives for the Division of Public Health.

“Moreover, this level of community collaboration is a model for communities across the state who want to improve student health and enhance learning readiness,” Caldwell said. “No one agency could have increased school nurse positions from 10 to 23, but, working together, the health department, school districts and county commissioners made it happen.”

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Last Modified: January 30, 2006