Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/939681
and immunization laws. And we can tell office staff when it's time to call 911." e Corona-Norco Teachers Association member remembers a time when nurses ran all over the district from emergency to emergency and couldn't get there fast enough. "It could take us 30 minutes to get across town. is is much easier, and it's the next best thing to being there," Arrington says. I m p rov i n g v i s i o n , w i p i n g o u t f lu Lynda Boyer-Chu had a vision: to make sure students without good eyesight could see. She organized a vision-screening program for all freshmen at George Washington High School in San Francisco. When she began working at this school of 2,000 students, she noticed some of the students were squinting to see. San Francisco Unified School District only screens first- and fourth-graders on a routine basis, but many high school students were arriving too late for that, or their vision had worsened and their parents were unaware of the problem due to lack of screening. "Seven years ago, I realized I had the capacity to screen all ninth-graders due to my accepting nursing students from City College or University of San Francisco as interns," Boyer-Chu says. "Because I'm not fluent in other languages but a substantial number of our parents speak Chinese or Spanish, I always ask for and usually get bilingual nursing students." Approximately 25 percent of students do not pass the vision screening, and when that happens she calls their parents. If they are unable to afford glasses, she offers referrals and resources from partnerships with LensCrafters and the nonprofit Children's Vision First to provide free eyeglasses. Boyer-Chu also wanted to reduce absenteeism due to flu, so she implemented a vaccination program tar- geting ninth-graders. Washington High is the only San Francisco school that offers the flu vaccine on campus, thanks to the help of nursing students. In addition, Boyer- Chu created a partnership with UC San Francisco dental students to provide dental screenings for English learners and students with special needs, who often lack access to dental care. 28 cta.org Feature school nurses are at the front lines of public health. we play a role in creating a healthier society." — LINDA BOYER-CHU, UNITED EDUCATORS OF SAN FRANCISCO " At Limerick Elementary in Winnetka, nurse Nancy Semerjian shows students how to use equipment.