Today is National School Nurse Day. School nurses provide a link for all school children to available health resources and, in many cases, offer much-needed basic health care and screenings.

Yet despite their valuable contributions, there continues to be a long-standing nursing shortage in most school districts in California. Statewide, there were 2,155 students for every school nurse during the 2008-09 school year. Many school districts must share a single nurse with several other districts.

The decision not to fund school nurses has a significant impact on all children, but particularly on children with special health care needs. Many students now come to school requiring daily care, such as insulin injections, asthma medication, or care for medical equipment. Frequently, no school staff member has the skills to provide this care. Yet, the state’s current economic climate could mean even fewer nurses at school.

One encouraging sign is proposed federal legislation, sponsored by  Senator Charles Schumer and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, that aims to make grants to states for the purpose of reducing the student-to-nurse ratio in high schools, elementary schools, and kindergartens.

On a more local level, our Foundation, along with Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, made a 5-year grant in 2007 to the San Jose Unified School District with the goal of increasing the number of school nurses available to the children in schools with a high percentage of students from low-income families. Early evaluation results from this grant, which added four nurses in the district, already have shown improved outcomes for children with hearing, vision, asthma, or dental problems, due to the availability of a school nurse. Since the implementation of this grant, more than 70% of teachers surveyed have said that school nurses helps them teach more effectively.

We will continue to report on the results of this effort to restore nursing to our schools. What is happening in your district?

Posted by Jordan Handcox

Tags: Child Health Initiatives

“Kids can’t wait” was the theme of the day at the Child Health Forum on March 25, a gathering of doctors, nurses, nonprofit staff, teachers and others to discuss the future of health care for kids in California. The event, sponsored by Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Health Fund, fortuitously coincided with the passage of massive health care reform legislation that Congress has been debating for more than a year.

However, the speakers emphasized that health care for kids goes far beyond simply having an insurance card. Other major factors, such as access to care, affordability, and parental health, will determine whether the health care reform efforts have a real impact on our state’s children and youth.

Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, lauded the passage of health reform efforts, but cautioned that other issues are not resolved under the new health care reform laws. He noted that a key issue for California is undocumented kids, who are not covered under reform, and asserted that it is in the financial interest of the state to cover these children through health insurance. Along with others, he cited the current shortage of pediatric specialists, another growing concern that is not fully addressed by health care reform.

From a parental point of view, Lisa Wise, mother of a young son with Crouzon Syndrome, discussed how having a chronically ill child leads some parents to shape their career decisions based on which employer has the best health insurance benefits. For parents like Lisa, health reform holds the promise of eventuallying providing more insurance options that are affordable and family friendly.

Dr. Paul Wise, the Richard E. Behrman Professor of Child Health and Society at Stanford University School of Medicine, stressed the importance of taking care of parents as we focus on improving the health of kids. Children are poor because their parents are poor, he said, and insuring and nurturing mothers can lead to better health outcomes for kids. This reminds us all that as we seek to address the needs of children in California, we cannot neglect the needs of the parents who tend to these children every day.

Posted by Jordan Handcox

Tags: Child Health Initiatives

This photo from the New York Times notes the new series Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, which addresses nutrition in school lunches.

If you watched ABC a few Sundays ago, you may have seen the  premiere of a new show titled Jamie
Oliver’s Food Revolution. The show follows Jamie Oliver, a British chef known the world over for his  healthful cooking, and more notably, for transforming the school lunch program in England into a  healthful and budget-conscious success.

His new American reality show took him to Huntington, West Virginia, which, according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, earned it the moniker by the Associated Press as “Unhealthiest City in America” for 2008. Having no shortage of ambition, Oliver decided to observe and attempt to improve the city’s school lunch program, which served pizza for breakfast each day.

Seeing the state of a school lunch program in the unhealthiest city in America – where more than half of the adult population is considered obese – makes every parent think about what their children eat – and maybe, too, how there own community is faring regarding kids’ weight.

While California cities can’t claim to be the unhealthiest in America, there are  disparities with the healthy weight of California children. For example, a smaller percentage of Latino and Pacific Islander children are at a healthy weight compared to their peers in other racial/ethnic groups. Get our most recent data on California students with healthy weight to see how kids in your community compare.

Posted by kidsdata.org

Tags: Child Health Initiatives

Dr. Marisol Muñoz-Kiehne, host of the Nuestros Niños radio show for parents, has published a helpful new book, ¿Tal Como Su Padre? The volume advises Spanish-speaking parents on how to observe, understand, and respond to problematic behaviors in their children. Dra. Marisol, a psychologist, discusses childhood issues in Spanish every Sunday morning at 8 a.m. on La Kalle, 100.7 and 105.7 FM, La Nuestra KBBF 89.1 FM, Tricolor KLOK 99.5 FM, Jose KSES 107.1 FM, and KMBX 700 AM. The show is rebroadcast on Fridays at 11 a.m. on KVMR-FM 90.5 and 89.7 FM. For more information, en español, visit www.nuestrosninos.com.

Posted by Eileen Walsh

Tags: Child Health Initiatives

Our office is located in Palo Alto, CA, just down the street from city hall, so it’s gratifying to see that the Palo Alto City Council voted a few weeks ago to make a focus on youth well being one of the cities top 5 priorities for 2010. Adolescents in Palo Alto have gone through a tough period, with a recent spate of teenage suicides. But kids in communities across California face steep challenges, so it’s important that local governments make them a priority. Do you know of any others that have?

For those interested in more about Palo Alto’s kids, here’s a data summary.

Posted by Andy Krackov

Tags: Child Health Initiatives