Overview

The mission of the school health services program is to appraise, protect and promote the health of students. Preventive services, education, emergency care, referral and management of acute and chronic health conditions, are provided to public school children in grades kindergarten through twelve. Services are provided in accordance with a local School Health Services Plan jointly developed by the Seminole County Health Department, Seminole County School board, The Seminole County School Health Advisory Committee, utilizing the Coordinated School Health Program module. The School Health Services Program is Public Health: Community Focused. The school health services program is a specialized service that advances the well being, academic success, and life-long achievement of students. The ultimate purpose of school nursing is to improve the educational opportunity for children.

School nurses enhance health within the school and community providing the following services:

• Appraisals, nursing assessments, nutrition assessments, blood pressure screenings, preventative dental screenings, and mandated health screenings and assessments.
• Promote and encourage healthy behavior and mental health through one-to-one and group education and by intervention with students exhibiting unhealthy behaviors and potential mental health problems.
• Respond to disasters and assists community in recovery by serving as a disaster volunteer in the community in times of disaster and by teaching disaster preparedness
• Assure the quality and accessibility of health care services by referring students to qualified health care providers and by follow up of care received by students referred.
• Prevent epidemics and spread of disease by assurance that students who come to school are immunized and have a completed physical examination that identifies health problems that may put the school community at risk.
• Provide group health education in classrooms
• Work with teachers on integrating health education into the regular curriculum
• Collect data relevant to client health problems (e.g., Annual School Health Report)
• Conduct needs assessments, parent and teacher surveys
• Evaluate programs
• Develop and implement needed health programs
• Provide case management services
• Develop and implement health policies and procedures
• Pursue alternate or supplemental funding for nursing & health services
• Participate in school health advisory committee