School levy will support student access to nursing services | Letter

Please vote yes for Snoqualmie Valley School District schools because every child deserves a school nurse.

Many parents are surprised to learn that there is not a nurse in every district school every day. Although a goal strived for, funding to support this continues to fall short. Even after expected increases, the state will continue to fund only one nurse for our entire district of 6,684 students. Local levy money is what supports our current level of student access to professional registered nursing services.

If voters do not pass the upcoming school levy, not only will the goal of having a nurse in every school every day be further out of reach, but our current level of access will be in jeopardy. At risk will be school nurses’ ability to promote student health, provide care coordination, advocate for student-centered care and advance academic success.

What this means in actual numbers is fewer resources to manage over 20,000 health room visits per year, 3,000 known student health conditions (such as asthma, anaphylactic allergies, diabetes, seizures and mental health conditions to name just a few) and 600 individual health plans designed to remove barriers to education.

Please help me to continue to provide our students the care they deserve by voting yes on the upcoming school levy.

Anne McGavran RN, MSN

North Bend

Snoqualmie Valley School District Nurse