YUHSD nurses seeing more adult conditions among students

The days of “Band-Aids and bruises” are long gone in the school nursing world, said school nurses in the Yuma Union High School District at a governing board meeting Wednesday.

“The adolescents that we see are dealing with the problems of adults when it comes to health,” said Nancy Woodhouse, registered nurse at Cibola.

And with a broader range of health issues school nurses are seeing, she said, they are also looking for more help to meet those needs.

During the month of October, nurses recorded having 7,541 visits to their offices, including both students and staff.

After doing a quick audit report on student emergency cards that give nurses information on current health conditions and medications, Woodhouse noted that the number of health problems that district nurses compiled are actually much higher than their report states because many parents don't turn in emergency information cards for their students.

“Often the things we find are surprises,” she said.

Woodhouse noted that in addition to the list of health problems nurses record, obesity is one issue that they don't have any hard numbers on, but it is a driving force behind a lot of health problems like diabetes and high blood pressure.

A few years ago, Woodhouse said, nurses screened 600 to 700 incoming students at Cibola and of that group, at least 60 had to be called back for blood pressure greater than 140/90 and some students were placed on blood pressure medication.

“You don't think of high blood pressure being a problem that would strike kids in the high school years but it does, it's bad,” she said.

As far as mental illnesses go, she said they're seeing students with conditions such as bipolar, depression, anxiety and schizophrenia on a lot of strong medications.

Neurological issues include tumors in the brain or spinal cord.

Woodhouse reiterated that students in high school are dealing with issues that most people do not face until adulthood.

Bertha Figueroa, a Vista High School licensed practical nurse (LPN), said she works very hard to provide mutual trust and confidentiality with students, parents and teachers.

In one case, Figueroa had a student apprehensively come into her office and eventually admitted that her sister's boyfriend had put a gun to her head and threatened to kill her. After about an hour of counseling, the teen was ready to talk with the authorities.

She noted this is just one instance in which she has had to ensure that the life of a student on campus and their health is not at risk.

Gila Ridge High School LPN Deb Vanderhoff said she deals with students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, ranging from the top to the very bottom where even some students are homeless.

She said that because of the diverse community, it is important for her to make sure that each student's needs are met. Sometimes, Vanderhoff said, she has to make sure that students have food, or a sweater when it's cold outside.

Woodhouse added that she is hoping to bring in more health professionals from the community to donate their time to support the YUHSD campuses like the retired school nurses who recently contacted her willing to offer their time and services to schools.

She concluded that she is grateful to the staff at Yuma Regional Medical Center who provide professional development for the school nurses to make sure they are still current on various nursing techniques and are able to handle various equipment.

Sarah Womer can be reached at swomer@yumasun.com or 539-6858. Find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/YSSarahWomer or on Twitter at @YSSarahWomer.