By Marley Seaman
His mother, who asked that she and her son not be named in this article, called a doctor. It was only then that she learned her son had had a seizure. He has since been diagnosed with type I neurofibermatosis, meaning he is at risk for more seizures.
There is a registered nurse on duty at Steele, but only in the morning. In the afternoon, the nurse goes to Milburn Elementary. A nurse's aide occupies the office for the rest of the day.
But some parents and community members say every school in the district needs its own full-time nurse, and one resident has begun a petition calling for more registered nurses.
"It's been an ongoing policy in Baldwin that the smaller schools didn't necessarily need full-time nurses," said Baldwin resident Sara Rafalowitz. For several weeks, Rafalowitz has been passing around the petitions in favor of full-time nurses in all nine Baldwin schools.
School district spokeswoman Cristina Schmohl said that the district's nursing policies are all up to New York State standards.
"The assignment of nurses is based on the size of the schools and the number of special needs students in the buildings," she said. "The district meets all state requirements for health services and nursing assignments."
Rafalowitz presented her petition at the February Board of Education meeting and is looking to increase support for the idea. Many parents, she said, do not realize that some of the schools do not already have full-time nurses. She said that she was pleased with the Board's response.
At the February meeting, Superintendent Dr. Robert Britto and members of the Board of Education said that they would look into the issue. Board member Mary Clark, who is a registered nurse, said that while she would like to see registered nurses in every school, ultimately, it was an issue the community would have to get behind and be included in the school budget.
The district handbook states: "The school district provides professional nursing services to all public and non-public school children attending schools in Baldwin. In addition to the registered nurses at each school, either full or part-time CPR and first-aid trained health aides are employed to assist in covering the health office to provide appropriate health care to children in kindergarten through grade 12."
Registered nurses may dispense medication, but nurse's aides may not. In the absence of a registered nurse, only a parent or guardian can give a student medicine.
"What am I supposed to do when no one is there to give him his medication?" the Steele mother asked at the February board meeting. "Since there was no full-time nursing up there available to recognize signs of seizures and stuff, I had to print out what signs and things for them to look for, all non-medical personnel."
With the nurse off-duty, she said, the school is now calling her when her son has a problem. On Feb. 28, she was called to the school after her son turned pale and was having trouble walking. The school was concerned that it was another seizure, but a neurologist later concluded that was not the case.
"The doctor just thinks that the school is paranoid," she said. But the scary situation shows that it can be difficult to recognize the symptoms of a seizure.
"I think it's a safety issue," said Laura Posillico, president of the Steele PTA. Though the PTA does not have an official position on the nurse issue, Posillico said she signed the petition. "It's been a concern over the years, because sometimes accidents happen on the playground at lunch time and sometimes no one is there," she said.
School Board President James Scannell said the board was starting to look into the issue.
"The first thing the board has to do is to get what is believed to be the facts of the situation... to see if there is anything we should adjust," said Scannell. Scannell also said that the board would to look into which buildings have full-time nurses.
Rafalowitz said she would continue to press the issue. "The health and safety of the students needs to be what is first and foremost on our mind," she said.
Comments about this story? Mseaman@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
