MOSCOW, Pa. — Right now, many are in the midst of getting their COVID-19 vaccines, doing contact tracing, and working day in and day out with students.
The school nurses from around northeastern Pennsylvania say they are pleased with how things are going so far, but, as they expected, this school year has been difficult and complicated.
“The requirements and the recommendations are constantly changing. It’s just a challenge to keep up with everything, so any guidance that we receive from the Department of Health and the CDC is helpful, but it’s just a challenge to sit down and go over the guidance and keep up with everything," said Lynn Heard, a nurse at North Pocono High School.
They keep in touch with one another, regularly sharing information with the statewide school nurse association and hearing what others are experiencing.
“I am very fortunate, but I do have colleagues around the state who are extremely overwhelmed. Like the stories, I’m hearing from other places are unbelievable. One of the nurses from the Pittsburgh area said, 'You know it’s bad when the principal calls you at 4:38 a.m., and you’ve already been up since midnight doing contact tracing.' So they’re very overwhelmed," said Melody Haley, the school nurse at Mountain View High School.
The nurses say they are grateful for the support of those in their school districts and communities for making the best of a tough situation.
“I’m hoping that perhaps the way that school nurses are viewed will definitely be different and the value that we have and the impact that we can make on our students and our communities, I hope that will definitely have a lasting impact," said Kathy Verbel, a school nurse in the Stroudsburg Area School District.
