Announcements

Hello Nurses,

The Equity Task Force has met monthly for a year exploring possibilities and gathering resources. We are ready to plan a course forward for OSNA, and we are welcoming nurses who want to join us in this energizing work! We are meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, May 23rd at 3:45. We will share a history of our work to date and connect about a meeting time which works for most nurses. Please join us!

I have attached an article which will lay some of the ground work for our planning, but it is NOT homework!! Please join us even if you can't take a look at it before tomorrow!!

Hoping to see many of you!

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87846024191

Hi Nurses,

Reminder that Power Hour is the 3rd Thursday of each month giving us time to connect and re-energize! Power Hour is an open-ended, casual discussion time when school nurses can connect and share thoughts, successes, and concerns related to school nursing. Hope to see you this afternoon.

Register Here

Hi Nurses,

The OEA Health Professionals Committee listened to health professionals across the state and proposed a bill which would "Establish a Task Force on Health Care Services in Oregon Schools to examine scope of duties of employment and practice for licensed health care providers employed by schools, school districts
or education service districts to provide health care services." The law would require the task force "to examine health record systems that may be adopted by school, school district, education service district or Department of Education that would enable health care providers to maintain records of health-related information for students." Recommendations from this task force will be essential to guide future work.

We are grateful to Rep. Ruiz for sponsoring HB 2959, which is in the Way and Means Committee. We need your help to ensure that the bill is advanced out of W & M and into the Senate. Time is of the essence. Below are the email addresses of the Committee Chairs and email text supporters of the bill should use to request that HB 2959 get a hearing in Ways & Means. Please send an email to these legislators ASAP!! Thanks for your advocacy!!

Here is the email for Senator Elizabeth Steiner: Sen.ElizabethSteiner@oregonlegislature.gov

Here is the email for Representative Tawna Sanchez: Rep.TawnaSanchez@oregonlegislature.gov

Dear Co-Chairs Steiner and Sanchez---

My name is ____________ and I am a health professional in Oregon’s public schools and very supportive of HB 2959, which creates a task force to align school policy with health professional licensing in Oregon for the safety and support of our students. This is an important bill for Speech Language Pathologists, School Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists and more, all of whom work tirelessly in our public school system under large caseloads or in underserved areas to support our students most in need.

Please schedule this bill for a public hearing and work session for the critical investment and attention this needs.

Hi Nurses!

We are getting close to the conference date and need to give the venue specific numbers soon!! Therefore, registration will close at midnight on April 10th.

Can't join us in-person? We do not offer synchronous virtual participation, but as we did last year, we are having the conference session professionally filmed. Recordings and materials will be available for 3 months after the event (until July 20th) on the Whova app. Because Oregon focused school nursing specific continuing education is essential, we encourage nurses who cannot attend in person to participate virtually after the fact, earning 13.25 CEU's.

We hope to see you there, but urge you to gain the important knowledge virtually, if need be! Either way, register soon!!! :)W

Hi Nurses,

We have the opportunity to share feedback on this year's ODE COVID-19 guidance around working with the schools' School-Level COVID-19 Management Plans. They are preparing fall guidance and would like our input.. Please join us tomorrow at 3:30 on ZOOM. Register Here.

Hi Nurses,

You may have seen that there will be an ODE Office Hours on April 3 (open to Superintendents and Principals, Charter School Leaders, School Nurses, Communicable Disease Preparedness Liaisons) to discuss planning for 2023-2024. OSNA Nurses will have their own opportunity to talk to ODE at Special Topics Cafe on April 5, 2023 @ 3:30. We encourage nurses to participate at one of these sessions. This is an important opportunity to share our school nurse voices! 

Special Topics Cafe:   Register Here

Hi All, It is the 3rd Thursday of March, so it is time for Power Hour! Join us to connect and re-energize! Power Hour is an open-ended, casual discussion time when school nurses can connect and share thoughts, successes, and concerns related to school nursing.

Register Here

On Wednesday, April 19, the evening before spring conference, OSNA is excited to host a viewing of Paper Tigers, a documentary about the incredible success at Lincoln Alternative High School in Walla Walla, Washington. Over three years during which Lincoln's staff tried a new approach to discipline, one based on understanding and trauma informed treatment rather than judgment and suspension, the number of fights at Lincoln Alternative High School fell by 75% and the graduation rate had increased five-fold. Paper Tigers is the story of how one school made dramatic progress. The architect of this success, nationally renowned consultant, Jim Sporleder, will be available virtually at the session to answer questions after the film.

This story of trauma response will offer a firm foundation for our Behavioral Health Summit; it is a complement to the curriculum (which we hope you could all attend) but not necessary to understand other sessions over the 2 days of the conference. It will be an in-person event only (it will not be recorded), so it will not be available in Whova after the event.

Nurses who want to participate as part of spring conference can select an add-on ticket while registering for the conference.

Nurses who do not plan to participate in conference (in person or by accessing materials over the 3 months following the event) can participate by signing up HERE. 

We hope to see many of you at this event! :)W

Hi All,

At Special Topics Cafe on Wednesday, we will talk about the role we play as school nurses in the transition of students from pre-K through 21 years of age. We will hear from the Oregon Center for Children and Youth with Special Health Needs (OCCYSHN) at OHSU about the services they provide. Nurses will have the opportunity to share what helps and hinders the work of transition and brainstorm about solutions as a first step in breaking down the silos of care coordination. Nurses who have stories of successes and challenges during transition (especially as students move into kindergarten and beyond high school) will be welcome to share about these experiences. Hope to see you there! :)W

Register Here

Hi All,

If you are thinking you may attend conference in April, it is imperative that you make your hotel reservations as soon as possible. See information below. :)W

Holiday Inn Wilsonville, Oregon

Reservations can be made over the phone or online!

The reserved room block for this event is limited, and the rooms will be released back to the general public if not reserved by 3/25/2023, so reserve rooms as soon as possible. After that date, the conference rate will be available subject to availability of the rooms. Rooms can be held with a credit card without an advanced deposit. Guests have up to 72 hours prior to arrival to cancel their individual reservation and avoid cancellation fees.  

Guest room rates for the conference are: $116 (King or 2 Queen), single or double occupancy. Taxes not included.

Group rates are also available over the weekend following the conference until April 23rd, 2023.

 Individual reservation calls:

Individuals can make their own reservations by calling the hotel directly at 1-503-682-2211. Be sure to indicate the name of the group (Oregon School Nurses' Association) when booking. 

Online Reservation: Individuals are also welcome to book their rooms online:

• Visit our direct OSNA booking link
• Enter the date of the stay and number of nights.

Hi Nurses,

Because Mentoring Monday and Special Topics Cafe fall on the same week, we are postponing the March STC until next week, March 8 @ 3:30. We are going to talk about the school nurse role in student transitions. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Register HERE

Hello Nurses,

Today Dr. Jan Olson will be presenting the Adrenal Insufficiency Tool kit. Hope to see you there. :)W

Register Here

Hello All,

Just a reminder that we have our open ended discussion to at Power Hour. You can register here. Hope to see you there!! :)W

Hello Nurses,

It is time to get loud, excited, and make our voices heard to those making decisions about public education. We are excited to announce that supportive legislators have agreed to hear testimony on our bill HB 2959 which will take on the challenges to our licensure and scope of practice that we all face as health professionals working in public education. (You can follow the process for this bill on this page). Time is of the essence. The hearing is scheduled on Monday's Agenda (2/13/2023) for the House Education Committee! Yes, that's right this Monday. 

What we need:

Your voice in testimony, either in written form or spoken (in person or virtual). Your story is powerful if you share it with those in power!

When: 

• Monday, February 13th
• at 3pm in Salem at the Capitol in-person. Attend to listen if you can, even if you will be submitting written testimony. Numbers in attendance MATTER.
• At 3pm:  join us virtually (view a live stream)
• SIGN UP TO TESTIFY HERE (click "Register to Testify" on the right side of HB 2959, and specify if you wish to testify in person or remotely via Teams link)-- please email michele.ruffin@oregoned.org for confirmation.
• Tuesday, February 14th
• At 3pm: Written testimony is due 24 hours after the hearing. You can 
• send it to Michele Ruffin, OEA (michele.ruffin@oregoned.org), or 
• you can submit it yourself at this link.

How:

• Join the meeting, in-person or virtually (see details above).
• Write a letter of testimony! This is your time to make your voice heard and advocate for health care professionals working in the education setting! Please see the HB 2959 Talking Points and use this HB 2959 Testimony TEMPLATE for writing testimony.

What is this all about?

The OEA Health Professionals Committee has been listening to concerns of health professionals throughout our state. One clear concern expressed by members from all licensed professionals working in an education setting is the disconnect between requirements of licensure and the realities of practice in schools. Because of that, the OEA health professionals committee has worked with OEA Government Affairs staffer Michelle Ruffin, to put forth a bill which creates a taskforce to study the intersection between health professional licensure and school processes. 

OEA has submitted a bill to help support health professionals working in education. 

Bill summary: "Establishes Task Force on Health Care Services in Oregon Schools to examine scope of duties of employment and practice for licensed health care providers employed by schools, school districts or education service districts to provide health care services"

The task force report will "Establish criteria to define when policies and procedures adopted by schools, school districts and education service districts and the scope of duties of employment are inconsistent with the scope of practice for which a health care provider is licensed to practice; Provide recommendations for ensuring policies and procedures adopted by schools, school districts and education service districts and the scope of duties of employment for licensed health care providers who are employed by the school, school district or education service district to provide health care services are consistent with the scope of practice for which health care providers are licensed to practice; and Examine possible health record systems or characteristics of a health record system that may be adopted by a school, school district, education service district or the department that would enable health care providers employed by the school, school district or education service district to provide health care services to maintain records of health-related information for students. The task force may recommend legislation or changes to administrative rules within the statutory authority of the Oregon Department of Education."

Please see the HB 2959 Talking Points and use this HB 2959 Testimony TEMPLATE for writing testimony. Be sure to make your points by telling your personal story!

Thanks you,

Member of the OEA Health Professionals Committee

We are so excited to announce that registration for spring conference, OSNA 2023: Behavioral Health Summit: the synergy of mental and physical care in school nurse practice, is OPEN! See the conference website for more information!

Before you REGISTER, please read below about what's happening this year!

The main conference days are Thursday, 4/20 and Friday, 4/21. This year we are pleased to offer both pre-conference and post-conference events. Note: Registration for Youth Mental Health First Aid (Saturday post-conference) is LIMITED to 30 participants.

This conference is an in-person event and does not have a virtual-only registration option. However,if registrants cannot attend in person on April 20 & 21, they will have access to professionally filmed sessions with all accompanying materials on the WHOVA platform for 3 months after the event. 

New for 2023: Many school nurses work collaboratively with their mental health colleagues; school nurses are welcome to invite these mental health colleagues to this conference. When registering with a school nurse who is an OSNA member, a mental health colleague is eligible for the member tuition rate.

Registration ends on 4/14/2023 at midnight!

At least 10 CEU's will be available for RN's and LPN's pending approval by OCEAN.

HELPFUL HINTS:

The hotel room block is also limited and will be released to the general public on 3/25/2023, so reserve your rooms as soon as possible. The rate will be available after that date, but it will be subject to room availability.

Conference access is connected to your email, so use the correct email when you register!  Be sure to star your ticket email (it is sent to you at the appropriate email address when you register).

The cost for non-members is equal to the cost for members plus the OSNA/NASN membership rate. It costs the district/ESD the same amount to send a nurse as a non-member as it does to make the nurse a member and send at the membership rate (and membership comes with many benefits!!).

Special thanks to Corinna Brower and Ely Sanders for their presentation at Special Topics Cafe on 2/1/2021.

You can find a recording of the presentation here, Information Privacy and School Health Programs.

Hi Nurses,

Here is the recording of the Special Topics Cafe on nalozone policy/procedure planning and implementation.

Greetings Nurses,

We had an excellent discussion at STC yesterday; here is the recording of "RN and LPN Practice: Legal differences and Similarities."

On the 26th of September, diabetic educators rom OHSU presented about changes to the standard diabetes order set. 
Here is the video recording of that session on managing diabetes in the school setting.

Last March, Golda Ginsburg, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut, presented about a pilot program in which school nurses complete training to learn anxiety reduction strategies (CALM) which they then imlement with students with support from a clinical psychologist. Several nurses from Oregon have completed the training (for whch nurses are paid) and are participating in this pilot. Here is the recording from that event.
Special Topics Cafe: CALM Pilot 3/2/2022

Just a reminder about Special Topics Cafe tomorrow at 3:30pm. Nurses will hear a presentation from the Oregon State Board of Nursing on RN and LPN Practice: Legal Differences and Similarities. They will have an opportunity to reflect on this topic as it applies to school nursing. Hope to see you all there!

Register HERE:

Hi All,

As always, we will join together for Power Hour this Thursday afternoon (12/15/2022 @ 3:30). You can register HERE.

Usually we empower one another by sharing our thoughts, questions, and concerns. This week we have been empowered to take the reigns a bit and offer our feedback on proposed changes to the ODE health services rule. Generally speaking, the Oregon legislature passes laws which say what must happen, and other agencies in the government then write rules to explain how the law is to be carried out. In this specific instance, many laws direct/impact the provision of health services in schools; ODE is charged with updating the rules which clarify how those laws are to be carried out in schools. 

Part of the process of updating rules includes gathering input from partners and the public... and this is our opportunity! If you are available to join this IMPORTANT discussion on Thursday​ and want to look at the proposed changes, please register for the meeting and reach out to me directly for access to the document.

I know this is the very end of a trying fall and many of us are just hanging in until break. Having said that, I hope some of you will get a second wind and engage in this discusison. Look forward to seeing you! :)W

Hello All,

ODE has scheduled an Office Hours "for a review of current and forecasted respiratory disease data, and new tools to support schools as our communities' experience increasing rates of influenza and RSV," so I am postponing Mentoring Monday to 4:30. During a brief 30 minute session, I will do a tour of the OSNA website and share resources for navigating the NASN website. The session will be recorded. To attend, register HERE.

Hi All,

We will be having Power Hour on Thursday! Register HERE. Sometimes we get together and there are "crickets" (long silences) when we first start. I think there may be a few reasons for that. One might be that it is intimidating to bring a topic up with a group you do not know well. To facilitate discussion, I invite you to reach out to me with ideas/questions for discussion. Let me know what you want to talk about! Nurses will still be welcome to join and bring up questions/concerns right in the meeting.

Look forward to seeing everyone!! :)W

Greetings! Please join us for the following events!

Power Hour: 11/17/2022 @ 3:30

Come connect with other school nurses and re-energize in an open-ended, casual discussion. Share thoughts, successes, and concerns related to school nursing.         
Register HERE

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Mentoring Monday: 11/28/2022 @ 3:30
Some nurses have said that the OSNA website can be overwhelming. At this meeting, we will tour the opportunities in both the OSNA and NASN websites.
Register HERE

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Special Topics Cafe's:
Register HERE: 

12/7/2022: Naloxone/Narcan work session: At conference, we had the opportunity to hear about the opioid crisis and solutions in Oreogn. 35% of attendees told us that they work in schools/districts which do NOT have naloxone/Narcan policies in place, so we agreed to have a work session in which nurses can explore resources and connect/brainstorm with colleagues about next steps in planning.

1/4/2023: RN and LPN Practice: Legal Differences and Similarities: Nurses will hear a presentation from the Oregon State Board of Nursing and have an opportunity to reflect on this topic as it applies to school nursing. If you have particular scenarios you would like to see addressed, please send them my way. 

Look forward to seeing everyone!! :)W

To amplify the voices of health professionals working in Oregon schools, OEA has created a Health Professionals Committee! All school nurses (union or not) are selcome to attend a listening session on November 14 @ 4:00. You can attend from this LINK.

Just a reminder that the second Mentoring Monday (10/24 @3:30) will be a discussion about Long COVID presented by Dr. Loiuse Vaz from OHSU.

Register HERE:

Hope to see you there. Having said that, we will be recording this presentation.

Thanks, Wendy

Power Hour: The 3rd Thursday of each month

School nurses need time to connect and re-energize! Power Hour is an open-ended, casual discussion time when school nurses can connect and share thoughts, successes, and concerns related to school nursing. The next Power Hour will be held on Thursday, 9/15/2022 @3:30; see you then!

Register HERE

IMPORTANT: In the registration confirmation email for each type of meeting, there is an "Add to calendar" link (it is near the bottom next to a red calendar icon). If you click this link, the invites will import to your calendar, so you will see them each month (and not need to look for them and re-register).

Here is the recording for the Special Topics Cafe discussion on Delegation. 

Special Topics Cafe: 1st Wednesday of each month
Issues of special interest to Oregon school nurses will be addressed with an opportunity to ask questions and brainstorm about possible solutions. 

Register HERE 

Hello All,

OSNA is excited to open the registration for our virtual Fall Conference, "Optimizing the Health of Our School Populatons." All the information you need to know is on the conference WEBSITE.  Register HERE. Materials will be available for 6 months if you have to step away from the live event!

Last March, Golda Ginsburg, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut, presented about a pilot program in which school nurses complete training to learn anxiety reduction strategies (CALM) which they then imlement with students with support from a clinical psychologist. Several nurses from Oregon have completed the training (for whch nurses are paid) and are participating in this pilot. Here is the recording from that event. 
Special Topics Cafe: CALM Pilot 3/2/2022

Hello Nurses, 

UPDATE:
Here is the video recording of last week's session on managing diabetes in the school setting.

We are excited to offer the first "Mentoring Monday," an opportunity to share resource for school nurse practice: on DIABETES. On the 26th, we will start with a presentation from diabetic educators rom OHSU about changes to the standard diabetes order set. After their presentation, OSNA will present the NEW diabetes toolkit, created through funding from the OHSU COVID-19 Response and Recovery grant. Together, our presentations will last for 90 minutes, and nurses who are interested in staying for additional Q/A and/or scenario discussion may choose to stay longer. We hope you will be able to join us. Register for Mentoring Monday HERE.

Note: If you have already registered and saved the invitations to your calendar, you can just look there for the meeting link. If you are registering for the first time, look for the calendar icon on the bottom of the registration confirmation email and download the invites to your calendar (to save time next month).

Hi All,

In addition to the virtual Fall Conference (11/4/2022) and the Spring Conference (4/20-21, 2023 in Wilsonville), OSNA will be offering 3 types of monthly meeting opportunties. Descriptions and registration links are below.

IMPORTANT: In the registration confirmation email for each type of meeting, there is an "Add to calendar" link (it is near the bottom next to a red calendar icon). If you click this link, the invites will import to your calendar, so you will see them each month (and not need to look for them and re-register).

Power Hour: The 3rd Thursday of each month

School nurses need time to connect and re-energize! Power Hour is an open-ended, casual discussion time when school nurses can connect and share thoughts, successes, and concerns related to school nursing. The next Power Hour will be held on Thursday, 9/15/2022 @3:30; see you then!

Register HERE
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Special Topics Cafe: 1st Wednesday of each month
Issues of special interest to Oregon school nurses will be addressed with an opportunity to ask questions and brainstorm about possible solutions. The first STC of the 2022-2023 year will be hedl on 9/7/2022. Please join us for a welcome back to school!  Hear about events and collaborative discussion opportunities for 2022-2023 and help direct the course of our collaborative work this year by identifying priority topics of relevance for school nursing!

Register HERE 
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NEW!! Mentoring Mondays; 4th  Monday of each month
OSNA will present resources around the health planning for and the support of students with specific medical conditions. The introduction of resources will be augmented with a focused presentation on the relevant medical condition followed by open discussion about the implementation of care in the school setting.

On September 26th we plan to release the T1D toolkit. We are awating confirmation of a speaker, so that information will be forthcoming.
On October 24th, Dr. Louise Vas from OHSU will present on Long COVID. We will combine this with a discussion about long COVID resoources.

Register HERE:

Twice a week the grant team at OSNA has office hours to support school nurse contractors who are creating toolkits. This week, we are opening the meeting up to all school nurses who want to learn more aabout the OSNA COVID-19 Toolkit. We are grateful to the COVID-19 Taskforce for all of their work this summer, and look forward to sharing their amazing toolkit with you!

Hi All,

Welcome back to school. We will have our first Power Hour of the year on 8/18/2022 at 3:30! Register Here!

OSNA will be convening an Equity Taskforce this summer. After the enthusiastic response to our conference workshop on "Racism as a Public Health Crisis," we recognize among our members an interest in and commitment to exploring issues around equity. This group will examine how we, as an organization, can apply an equity filter to the work we do and articulate opportunities for individual nurses to continue on their journies toward inclusivity. If you are interested in this work, please send me an email (using an address you monitor in the summer).

Have a great summer, :)W