California one of few states without top school nurse during pandemic

School nurse Dorreen Taylor gives a flu shot to a student at River Islands Technology Academy in Lathrop on Sept. 16, 2020. Photo courtesy of San Joaquin County Office of Education In summary School nurses across California have tried to get the state to again hire a statewide nurse consultant, especially as they grapple with COVID-19. When the first U.S. case of swine flu was detected in a child in San Diego County in 2009, Linda Davis-Alldritt — California’s “school nurse consultant” — flew south. She served as an influenza expert, guiding school officials there. She then helped other school districts and their nurses statewide, coaching them on symptoms, when to send students home and how to prepare for potential school closures. Davis-Alldritt retired from her position in the state’s Department of Education in 2012, and the department hasn’t had a school nurse consultant since. Now, in the midst of a pandemic far deadlier than the swine flu, California is one of 10 states, plus the District of Columbia, without a school nurse leader at the state level, according to the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants. For years, school nurses across the Golden State have advocated without […]

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