Relentless School Nurse

JANUARY 25, 2025

I’m honored to share a recently published article in JAMA Health Forum, “ Role of School Nurses in the Health and Education of Children, “ co-authored with my esteemed colleagues Rosa M. Gonzalez-Guarda, PhD, MPH, RN, and Elizabeth Dickson, PhD, RN. Published on January 23, 2025, our open-access article explores the critical role of school nurses in promoting student health and academic success.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

JANUARY 4, 2025

Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity. – U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, MD A Surgeon General’s Advisory is a powerful and authoritative public health communication tool designed to address urgent health issues facing the American people. These statements serve multiple crucial purposes: they raise immediate awareness about critical public health challenges, provide actionable recommendations for i

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

DECEMBER 5, 2024

The Power of Numbers: Why 143 Matters The number 143 represents a simple yet profound message of love, first popularized by Fred Rogers, the beloved host of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. For Fred Rogers, 143 symbolized “I love you”—one letter in “I,” four in “love,” and three in “you.” Mr. Rogers even maintained a consistent weight of 143 pounds for decades, viewing it as a symbol of love, stability, and care, values that resonate deeply with our work in schools.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

Finally, some positive news in emergency preparedness for schools: Maryland’s new active shooter drill guidelines , set to take effect in the 2025 school year, mark a significant shift towards prioritizing student mental health while maintaining effective emergency readiness. As a school nurse who has long advocated for such changes, I’m heartened to see this growing recognition of the emotional toll that traditional emergency drills can impose on our students.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

JULY 23, 2025

Efficient care coordination for children with chronic and complex health needs demands not just strong individual efforts, but robust, interdisciplinary collaboration among school nurses, pediatricians, families, and other professionals. Too often, however, communication between schools and health care providers is blocked by confusing or incomplete consent processes.

Coordination

Relentless School Nurse

JUNE 18, 2025

Retrieved from Tattooed Buddha Closing a Difficult Year As another school year comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on everything we carried personally and collectively. The weight, the worry, the moments of heartbreak, but also the connection, the quiet victories, and the fierce determination to keep showing up for our students, no matter what.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

MAY 19, 2025

Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a powerful panel discussion hosted by Nurses for America , titled Trusted Voices, Clear Warnings. I joined this conversation in my role as The Relentless School Nurse, bringing with me over 40 years of nursing experience, including 24 years as a school nurse in an under-resourced urban district in New Jersey.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

MARCH 8, 2025

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rescinded key guidance on March 4, 2025, affecting Medicaid and Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage for services addressing health-related social needs (HRSNs). This action reverses Biden-era policies and aligns with the Trump administration’s broader efforts to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives while cutting Medicaid spending.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

JANUARY 20, 2025

I was struggling this morning friends, feeling so depleted and concerned about what is about to happen today, January 20, 2025, as the new administration takes hold with unparalleled power. The painful irony of this Inauguration Day coinciding with MLK Day 2025 serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing struggle for racial and social justice. The landscape of education and community support is changing rapidly, and my school district, along with many others, finds itself at a critical intersectio

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

DECEMBER 21, 2024

“The Senate finally corrects a 50-year mistake,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer It happened, the Social Security Fairness Act was finally passed in a nail-biting, 11th-hour vote in the Senate late last night! It is a huge win for millions of public service workersand its especially meaningful for school nurses who have been fighting for this change for fifty years.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

NOVEMBER 17, 2024

As school nurses, our days are a whirlwind of responsibilities: addressing student health needs, adapting to ever-changing protocols, and striving to keep everyone safe. Lately, that whirlwind has felt more like a storm—especially after a deeply disappointing presidential election. The combination of professional demands and personal disillusionment left me in a constant state of high alert, overwhelmed by stress and searching for a way to cope.

Nervous system

Relentless School Nurse

JULY 11, 2025

Preschool nurses who care for young children have a vital chance to promote prevention, equity, and access from the start. We monitor developmental milestones, identify early warning signs of health and learning challenges, support children with chronic conditions, and build trusting relationships with families. Preschool nursing is a sub-specialty of school nursing.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

APRIL 23, 2025

This month, in a devastating blow to public health, sweeping federal layoffs gutted the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control a vital arm of the agency responsible for tracking and preventing some of the most common and deadly events in American life: car crashes, drownings, falls, child maltreatment, and traumatic brain injuries.

Health

Relentless School Nurse

MARCH 9, 2025

The world can be a sudden place. Take care of yourself. Take care of others around you. Take care of your heart! – Joan Boyd Short These words resonate deeply with me, as a school nurse, and as a woman navigating the complexities of our world. I’m struck by how perfectly the message illustrates the essence of school nursing and the challenges we face daily in our school communities.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

JULY 20, 2025

This was the first sunset from our family vacation in Corolla, North Carolina. We just returned from a much-needed week off. After time away with my family this summer, trading alarms and schedules for slow breakfasts and lots of laughter, I felt space open up in my mind that I didn’t even realize had been closed off. We had unscripted days and memory making moments that made me notice little things I had been missing: the sound of my adult kids joking with each other, how good a simple meal c

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

JUNE 11, 2025

As school nurses, we stand at the intersection of education and public health. We see firsthand how physical and emotional well-being affect a child’s ability to learn, grow, and thrive. Our work is rooted in evidence-based practice, and our actions are guided by science. Nursing Science is under threat. President Trump’s proposed 2026 budget calls for an unprecedented dismantling of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the complete elimination of the National Institute of Nursing

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

JANUARY 25, 2025

The Trump administration has abruptly reversed long-standing protections safeguarding schools, healthcare facilities, and places of worship from immigration enforcement. This has sent shockwaves through migrant communities and sanctuary cities. This policy change, announced on January 21, 2025, rescinds a long-standing guideline that had previously designated these locations as “sensitive areas” where immigration enforcement was generally prohibited.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

JANUARY 22, 2025

The dismantling of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention marks a seismic shift in America’s approach to addressing gun violence, threatening to unravel years of hard-won progress and leaving a gaping void in federal leadership on this critical issue. This unwelcome, but expected closure, ended the office’s brief but impactful tenure as a central hub for coordinating gun violence prevention efforts across the federal government.

Government

Relentless School Nurse

JULY 4, 2025

Like many school nurses, I have witnessed firsthand the consequences when policy decisions overlook the children and families who depend on our nation’s safety net. The passage of the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” is being hailed by its supporters as a victory for American families, but beneath the celebratory rhetoric lies a harsh truth: this legislation is a brutal betrayal, especially of our most vulnerable.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

JULY 3, 2025

As school nurses, we are the sentinels of student health, on the frontlines of care, advocacy, and equity. We are not only caregivers but also witnesses to the daily realities that shape our communities and, ultimately, our nation’s future. From chronic absenteeism to unmet mental health needs, from hunger and housing instability to the trauma that walks through our doors in the bodies and behaviors of the children we serve, school nurses see it all.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

JULY 1, 2025

Attending NASN2025 in Austin was a reunion of the heart. Imagine over 1000 school nurses gathered in one space, each carrying stories of the deep knowing that what we do matters. It’s powerful to be surrounded by people who get it —who understand the load we carry and the joy that keeps us coming back. I was immediately struck by the energy and optimism that filled every corner of the conference center.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

JUNE 10, 2025

On June 9, 2025, something unthinkable happened. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired every single member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the very experts who shape the vaccine schedules that keep our communities healthy. The entire panel of 17 experts, gone in one stroke. Why? RFK Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic with a long record of promoting misinformation, cited “persistent conflicts of interest” and claimed the committee had becom

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

MAY 24, 2025

The Houses passage of Trumps Big Beautiful Bill marks one of the most sweeping assaults on the health, nutrition, and future of Americas children in recent memory. While headlines focus on tax cuts and political maneuvering, the real story is the profound and lasting harm this legislation would inflict on millions of young people. There is so much more to unpack about the impact of what is woven throughout this pending legislation.

Health

Relentless School Nurse

MARCH 21, 2025

On March 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). The signing event, held in the East Room of the White House, was a staged spectacle in front of students. Trump asked them, “Should I proceed with this?” before signing the order. The disturbing visual was dystopian: children were used as props to announce a policy that would profoundly undermine their education and well-being.

Education

Relentless School Nurse

FEBRUARY 18, 2025

Mrs. Palo School nurse Mandy Palo, known on TikTok as Mrs. Palo , has carved out a unique niche for herself in the digital world, blending her professional expertise with the vibrant, engaging format of social media. Her venture into social media began with an Instagram account to share school nursing tips, but it was TikTok that truly captured her attention.

Middle School

Relentless School Nurse

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

A family from my school comm unity is maki ng the heart-wrenching deci sion to self-deport back to their home country, driv en by the fear of being torn apart under the current admi nistration’s immi gration policies. This choice, born out of a desp erate desire to keep their fami ly intact, will uproot the chil dren from the school community they ‘ve grown to love , leaving an inde lible mark on their lives and the fabric of our school.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

DECEMBER 6, 2024

ARS Pharmaceuticals is set to launch the neffyinSchools Program in January 2025 , providing eligible K-12 schools in the U.S. with two free cartons (four single-use doses) of neffy 2mg epinephrine nasal spray for emergency use. This initiative aims to address the urgent need for anaphylaxis treatment in schools, where many children with food allergies have experienced accidental exposure.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

JULY 10, 2025

The Most Important Work Happens in the Quiet Moments Every day, behind the door of the health office, stories unfold—stories of resilience, worry, courage, and connection. They rarely make headlines. No one live-tweets the moment a terrified student with asthma learns to trust their inhaler or the quiet exchange when a child confides about chaos at home.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

APRIL 28, 2025

The Trump administrations abrupt cancellation of hundreds of Department of Justice (DOJ) grants has sent shockwaves through communities across the country. Nowhere is this more painfully felt than in cities like Camden, where organizations such as Cure4Camden have been at the forefront of efforts to prevent gun violence. These cuts, justified as a shift in law enforcement priorities, have left local violence prevention groups scrambling and vulnerable communities at risk.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

APRIL 20, 2025

Why does it seem like so many more kids are being diagnosed with autism today than in the past? Is there really an explosion in casesor is something else going on? This question has sparked countless headlines, debates, and, unfortunately, a fair amount of misinformation. But understanding the real story behind the numbers is essentialnot just for accuracy, but for compassion.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

MARCH 16, 2025

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s vaccine research, conducted in fall 2024, provides valuable insights into effective vaccine communication strategies for schools. However, the recent appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services in February 2025 has significantly altered the landscape of vaccine policy and public health messaging in the United States.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

FEBRUARY 7, 2025

“Caring in Crisis,” an insightful essay on the current state of school nursing was written by Jill Yacu. Jill is a registered nurse and content creator for MacGill School Nurse Supplies. She is a regular contributor to The Pulse, MacGill’s weekly newsletter for school nurses. Jill’s essay explores the paradoxical nature of school nursing today.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

FEBRUARY 5, 2025

The dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education is facing a two-pronged assault from both the Executive and Legislative branches of government. President Trump’s campaign promise to close the Department is now being echoed in Congress, with Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie’s reintroduction of H.R. 899, a one-sentence bill proposing to abolish the federal Department of Education by December 31, 2026.

Education

Relentless School Nurse

JANUARY 31, 2025

In the shadows of America’s immigration enforcement policies, a silent crisis is unfolding, affecting the most vulnerable members of our society – children. The devastating impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on our students’ physical and mental health is happening in real-time. An article from Visa Verge sheds light on this pressing issue, revealing the deep, lasting scars left on children caught in the crossfire of immigration enforcement actions.

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

JANUARY 8, 2025

Today, we are faced with a profound choice: do we continue with the status quo, marked by pain, disconnection, and division? Or do we choose a different pathone of joy, health, and fulfillment, where we turn toward each other instead of away from each other; where we choose love over fear; where we recognize community as the irreplaceable foundation for our well-being?

Schooling

Relentless School Nurse

NOVEMBER 24, 2024

Gun safety has evolved into a powerful social movement, transcending political divisions through its focus on public health and community well-being. However, the incoming Trump administration is planning to challenge or reverse some of the progress made in recent years, particularly through efforts to roll back gun violence prevention policies and defund key initiatives like the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Movement

Relentless School Nurse

JULY 27, 2025

Read another powerful message from the OpEd Nurses, Donna Gaffney and Teri Mills, that was just published in USA Today. It delivers a stark warning: more than 13 million American children are going hungry, and recent political decisions are making the crisis worse. In a nation defined by abundance, it is unconscionable that nearly one in five children faces daily hunger.

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