Health & Nursing

Health & Nursing

According to the National Association of School Nurses, school nursing is recognized as a specialized practice that advances the well-being, academic success, and life-long achievement of students. The Gengras Center’s school nurse actively collaborates with families and school team members and outside medical providers to build understanding for adaptation, management, and self advocacy for all medical components of a student’s life.

We have a full time registered nurse, eight licensed practical nurses, and certified nurse’s aides. In coordination with our medical advisor, Dr. Neil Stein, the school nurse develops and implements health policies, procedures and individualized health care plans as needed. We also continue our founding mission to be a lab school by serving as a clinical site for students from University of Saint Joseph School of Nursing.

In addition, the nurse oversees health lessons and classes as a part of every student’s school day. For students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, instruction and care in health and wellness are always front and center.

Some areas covered at all grade levels include:

• Hygiene
• Nutrition
• First aid
• Human development
• Relationships and Sex education

With COVID causing us to cohort last school year, we made the decision to visit classrooms for daily scheduled visits such as medication administration and tube feed administration.  Since COVID is still here, and just because we enjoyed the change so much, we plan to keep it up.  It has allowed us to interact with more students on a daily basis, students we wouldn’t typically see, and we both love the increased interactions.  COVID has certainly thrown everyone for a loop but I assure you, we do our best every day to ensure the health and safety of all of our students.

“You can’t educate a child who isn’t healthy, and you can’t keep a child healthy who isn’t educated.” – Joycelyn Elders