DPH Weekly Updates 10/14/15
Dear Colleagues,
Mid-fall and regional meetings for all school nurse leaders have begun! It was a pleasure to attend the one in Brockton for the Southeast Regional Nurse Leaders yesterday! This week, the Metro-West Region will be meeting and next week, the Western Region and Northeast Region are both scheduled to meet. The Central Region meeting will be held on October 30th. Please be sure that the nurse leader/ or a school nurse from your school district is there to represent you at this meeting!!! Much information is shared with the networking, consultation and professional development provided by our Regional Consultants (listing of Regional Consultant contact information is at the end of this email).
There have been many news reports recently focusing on school nurse access to naloxone in their schools; see the section on “School Nurses in the News!”. Local families and individuals who are in need of naloxone, can now be referred to a pharmacy with a standing order. The list of participating pharmacies is posted here: Just to clarify: we cannot distribute naloxone at any trainings for school nurses. While school nurses can provide training, we cannot distribute the medication in any setting. Please ask your Regional Consultant for sample standing orders, competency checklists, PowerPoints for training, and sample school committee policies all related to naloxone. Thank you to all who participated in our brief survey compiled to understand the current status of naloxone access and use in schools.
Also in the news this week is another school nurse initiative, SBIRT in Schools. SBIRT stands for Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment. It is a health screening (not drug testing!) conducted by school nurses as a prevention tool and for early identification of risk behaviors among adolescents in the school setting. Below is the list of school districts where school nurses have been pioneers in these ongoing efforts. They have all agreed to share their expertise with you and you are welcome to contact them (along with School Health Unit staff) for more information. I thank them for their innovative practice and early efforts in this area!!
School District / Contact for SBIRT Information:Gloucester / Cindy Juncker, RN, NCSN
Nurse Leader
Hadley / Renee Denenfeld, RN, BSN, PHN
Nurse Leader School Health Services
Hudson / Lee Waingortin, BSN, RN, NCSN, CCM
Director of Nursing
Natick / Karen Rufo MS, RN, PPCNP-BC Nurse Leader/Chair Natick Together for Youth
Northampton / Karen Jarvis-Vance
Director of Health & Safety, Equity Coordinator
Program Director, Northampton Prevention Coalition
North Andover / Cheryl Barczak, MSN, RN
Director of Health Services
Wilmington / Doreen Crowe, MEd, BSN, RN
Director of Nursing Services
Hope you have a great rest of the week. There will be no MDPH School Health Updates the week of October 19th….see you at Northeastern University School Health Trainings along with the Regional Meetings scheduled for next week! Thank you for all you do,
Mary Ann, Carol and Janet
School Nurses in the News!
From the Haverhill School Nurses:
Excellent interview with Katie Vozeolas, Director of Nurses in the Haverhill Public Schools:
From School Nurse leaders in Belchertown, Hadley, Northampton and South Hadley: discuss the implementation of naloxone administration programs in their school districts:
From the Natick Public School Nurses:
The Natick Public School Nurses sponsored a team, “Natick Runs on Insulin”, at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk. Photos below show them and their T1D students at the walk. Special shirts were ordered for the walk and the students (and nurses) were so excited!They were the TOP FUND RAISING TEAM!!!!! Congratulations to the Natick School Nurses!
From the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE):
As mentioned at the October 6 Wellness Initiative for Student Success kick-off, please see the registration for the Comprehensive School Physical Activity/Physical Activity Leader training that is taking place on October 26, 2015 at the Best Western Royal Plaza in Marlborough. Please visit the training registration link below to secure your space.
NOTE: this training is open to any Wellness Committee member or school staff personnel interested in the promotion of physical education and physical activity in schools. Schools participating in the Wellness Initiative are asked to attend, but others may attend as well. Please share.
From the
New HEADS UP Fact Sheets for Sports Officials: Setting the Tone for Safety
Aggressive and/or unsportsmanlike behavior among athletes can increase their chances of getting a concussion by as much as 25%. Sports officials play a key role in setting the tone for safe play and can help lower an athlete’s chances of getting a concussion or other serious injury.
CDC’s new fact sheets forhigh school andyouth sports officials provide info to help officials:
•protect athletes from concussion or other serious brain injury,
•learn how to spot a possible concussion, and
•know what to do if a concussion occurs.
Download the new fact sheets at: .
Read the New CDC Report on Other Opportunities to Change the Culture of Concussion:
From the MDPH Occupational Surveillance Program:
The Occupational Surveillance Program in collaboration with the Health Survey Program has just released a report presenting findings from the 2012-2013 MA Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System on access to care, health outcomes, and behaviors by occupation and industry. As you can see in the introduction, we encourage readers to go beyond thinking about the workplace solely as a venue to address “personal health choices” and to consider the potential impact of work exposures and work organization on health and health related behaviors. In addition to the full report, we also produced a data brief that gives a short overview of the report. Both documents are available on our website (links below); please share with others. Special thanks to our Advisory Board members for their input.
Full Report:
Data Brief:
From the MA Department of Mental Health: As part of the Department’s ongoing training & support for the Restraint/Seclusion Prevention Initiative, we are pleased to share another workshop for supervisors/managers on “Supervision Techniques: Team Building & Coaching” with Donna Jenson. This workshop will be offered on Tuesday, November 10, 2015 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the DMH Westborough Office/Hadley Building (Westborough, MA).
Please note the following:
•Registration deadline is November 2, 2015 (or once max capacity is reached).
•Email confirmations with directions will be sent once registration has closed.
•Due to limited seating, we kindly ask that programs send no more than 2 staff/program.
·If you need accommodations, including ASL interpreters, please make your request to Annabelle Lim by Monday, October 26, 2015 at or 617.626.8087.
·CEU applications have been submitted for: Licensed Mental Health Counselors, Psychologists, Nurses, Social Workers, & Occupational Therapists.
To register please click on the link below, or copy and paste it into your browser:
(An email confirmation with directions will be sent once registration closes.)
From the Partnership for Drug Free Kids:
This may not news to many school nurses but it is worth looking at the data to support what is identified in many school nurse offices. Many teens who use abuse prescription drugs are not trying to get high, but are using them to help them deal with an underlying problem such as anxiety, a newly published survey suggests.“We think of teens as using drugs to party and to experiment,” says study co-author Barbara Delaney. “But because prescription drugs are designed to help with physical or emotional conditions, many teenagers are using them to help them with a specific problem, such as lessening anxiety, staying awake to study, or losing weight.” The findings suggest the need for parents to understand physical or emotional problems their teen may be facing, which need to be addressed.
From the Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Program:
NOW Accepting Applications for 2016! The Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Program is a highly competitive, free, professional development program for school nurses and their community/school partners. Designed by Rutgers University in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, this nationally recognized 18-month fellowship program empowers school nurses and community/school partners to become leaders within their schools and community health services teams. The Fellowship program includes online and in person learning opportunities, including participation in a July 6-day residential institute. School nurse teams from communities across the country are invited to apply NOW to begin the fellowship in the spring of 2016. Accepted applicants will have all educational expenses, excluding travel to New Brunswick NJ, paid for and receive CEU’s for their participation. All education offered through the program is in partnership with the National Association for School Nurses (NASN) and CEUs are awarded. For more information and to apply please visit our website at: applications are dueNovember 20, 2015. School Health Teams from Massachusetts have been extremely successful in being accepted to this program. All School Health Teams in MA are asked to consider this opportunity for advancement of school nursing practice and leadership!
From the Northeastern University School Health Institute:
For School Nurses, Health Educators and Preventionists: Effectively Preventing Prescription Drug Misuse and Other Drug Use
Life Skills Training Middle School Certification Training: on October 28 or 29 2015, 8:30 (Registration) 9AM-4:30PM (only one day is required).CERTIFICATION AS WELL AS PDPs AND CEUs ARE GRANTED AFTER ATTENDING ONE OF THESE DAYS. Registration is separate and space is limited to 30 each day. Although not required, teams from schools/districts are encouraged to attend. Free curricula will be available. Student materials will be provided.
Location for FREE trainings:
Courtyard Marriott Marlborough 75 Felton St, Marlborough, MA 01752 (508) 480-0015
For Directions:
Parking is free. Lunch is provided.
Go to to login and register for the Full Day Wednesday Oct. 28th Training.
Go to to login and register for the Full Day Thursday Oct 29th Training.
Questions: Kathleen Herr-Zaya 617-624-5143
6.0 hours per day of training will be awarded: CEUs for nurses; PDPs for other educators; Certified Prevention Specialists (CPS) Credits for Preventionists
From the UMHS Adolescent Health Initiative’s Teen Advisory Council
We are excited to premiere the final video in our series from the UMHS Adolescent Health Initiative’s Teen Advisory Council!Teen Self-Advocacy: How to Be Your Own Healthcare Advocate
Made for teens, by teens, the video highlights #teenhealthrights and ways in which adolescents and young adults can get the most out of their healthcare. This video was made possible through the generous support of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. A special thank you to our Teen Advisory Council members and our partners at 7 Cylinders Studio and The Corner Health Center!
Did you miss AHI’s other videos on adolescent health? Check them out here!
Drawing a Picture: Adolescent Centered Medical Homes
Patient-Centered Care for Transgender Adolescents in Healthcare
Health Experts, Meet Teen Experts
Please feel free to share this videos with your patients, youth advisory councils and colleagues. To learn more about the UMHS Adolescent Health Initiative please visit
From the National Association of School Nurses (NASN):
NASN: "The National Uniform Data Set: The Hummingbird Effect":
From the Franklin County School Nurse Collaborative:
The Franklin County School Nurse Collaborative is hoping we can get one last email out about our conference scheduled for 10/23/15 at Greenfield Community College. We were able to extend the deadline for registration and payment until Friday, October 16 and wanted everyone interested to know that we have been approved for 5 CEUs. There is still space available and would love to have more school nurses from Franklin County and beyond join us for a day of continuing education, networking and fun!
Contact Information for Regional Consultants:
Region / Name / Office Phone / EmailCentral / Kathleen Charette / 978-567-6190, ext 1122 /
Metrowest / Patty McCaffrey / 781-314-5582 /
Northeast / Lisa Cross / 508-782-6892 /
Southeast / Ann Klaver / 508-894-4329 /
West / Diane Colucci / 413-750-2511 /
Therese Blain / 413-750-2007 /
Mary Ann Gapinski, MSN, RN, NCSN
Director of School Health Services
MA Department of Public Health
250 Washington Street – 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
617-624-5427
Website: