As the new school year begins, Floyd nurses in schools throughout Floyd County and Rome City Schools are busy preparing to take care of the health care needs of students and staff. 

The role of a school nurse has expanded from providing basic first-aid treatment and giving Band-aids for skinned knees to administering needed daily medications, coordinating medical care for students with chronic illnesses, auditing immunizations, and performing hearing and vision screenings. 

Floyd school nurses also handle medical emergencies such as breathing difficulties and allergic reactions. To help its nurses provide this quality emergency care to students and staff, Floyd has provided the following equipment and medications for each school where it has nurses:

• Epi-pens
• Nebulizers and albuterol 
• Rescue inhalers
• Stop-the-Bleed kits

There are seven Floyd nurses in the Floyd County School system: 

• Claudia Burkhalter, Pepperell Elementary School
• Drew Nicholson, Garden Lakes Elementary School
• Tracey Raymond, Special Education Nurse
• Kasey Roberson, Johnson Elementary and Model Elementary schools
  
• Deborah Smith, Glenwood Elementary and Armuchee Elementary schools
• Teresa Wood, Cave Spring Elementary and Alto Park Elementary schools
• Laurie Wright, Pepperell Primary School

In the Rome City Schools system, 10 Floyd nurses provide care:

• Rhonda Barner, East Central Elementary School
• Stephanie Clay, East Central Elementary School
• Tiffani Colson, Main Elementary School
• Shana Dempsey, Anna K. Davie Elementary School
• Susan Herring, Elm Street Elementary School
• Salena Hodges, Main Elementary School
  
• Angela Hudson, Rome Middle School
• Tiffany Jensen, Rome High School
• Sherry Payne, West End Elementary School
• Sandra Warren, West Central Elementary School

Dr. Bethany Jackson, a pediatrician with Floyd Primary Care, is Medical Director for the Floyd School Nurse program in the Floyd County Schools and Rome City Schools systems. Paula White, RN, serves as the school nurse supervisor.

“I am proud of the Floyd school nursing program and the positive impact it has on the health and well-being of our students in this community,” Dr. Jackson said. “Our Floyd school nurses play a very important role in students’ lives and help keep them healthier and safer in their school environments.”

Because of their care and knowledge, school nurses fill a vital role in keeping school kids healthy and attending school.

“We have had more than one instance where a nurse administered school-based Epi-pens to students who were experiencing anaphylaxis who did not have Epi-pens of their own,” White said. “We have had nurses make referrals to the Emergency Room that have potentially saved children’s lives. We had a child who was in speech therapy, and a school nurse discovered that the child’s speech issues were the result of being deaf, not because of a language barrier.”