California judge rules only nurses can give insulin to kids

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Permalink Reply by Luciano on November 15, 2008 at 6:54pm

Finally, a state that understands and values the importance of the school nurse for our children. Now, how long will it take the rest of the country to follow?? Thank you Judge Connelly for setting this precedence.

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Permalink Reply by Claudine on November 15, 2008 at 7:28pm

This is nuts! I am not a nurse and most of us aren't, but we can administer shots. If we can be trained to keep our children alive that means other willing people can be trained too. Schools only typically have one nurse if that many. What... Are our kids just supposed to sit around and wait while they are busy with other kids or to travel from another school??? All I can say is that I am disappointed in the judges who allowed this and for the nurses that were only thinking of themselves and not what problems this will cause to their patients who should be their first priority. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate nurses in general but I disagree with this move.

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Permalink Reply by Carol on November 15, 2008 at 8:21pm

The battles we go through My daughter was diagnosed over 16 years ago she also has developmental delays. She has always been in Special Ed. When she was diagnosed, I had to fight for two years for the nurse to make the staff blood test her. She did not want to train them to this because it was blood products. I said what do you do when a kid cuts himself. Give me a break! We had aides and staff that would not even code her meter because they were not medically trained. It went against their union and job decription. I could tell you more stories and battles we have gone through with this condition. Now she is in a day program. The diabetes educator would like her having insulin with each meal. She can test herself and give herself insulin under supervision. I mentioned her having insulin at lunch to some of the staff that care for her. You should have seen their faces. Maybe some day that staff will give insulin. Right now her insulin regiment is a cocktail with a small amount of NPH with the Novolog for breakfast to hold her through lunch. She gets Novolog for dinner and Lantus at bed time. She does the pen herself.
When my daughter was diagnosed, I did not have a medical background. I had never given anyone a shot in life. Yet I had to learn how to care for her. It was over-whelming at first. I do not see why lay people can't learn to do this. Home health aides and nurse's aides and other willing health care workers could be trained to do this. They probably have more medical training than most people. Unfortunately insulin must be taken as a injection or pump to maintain health. Can't pop a pill for Type 1 diabetes.

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Permalink Reply by Sohair Abdel-Rahman on November 15, 2008 at 11:18pm

There is on going program in Riyadh started by our best diabetologist Dr Khalid Al Rubean with the cooperation of school health department to give courses to teachers about diabetes care at schools. It is very important to manage diabetes by well educated staff, and how to manage the hypo and hyper especially where there are no available nurses or doctors.

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth on November 16, 2008 at 1:14am

This is SO bogus. It's just making it harder for parents. If I can learn to give insulin injections properly, so can anyone else—it's not rocket science and doesn't require a nursing degree. Shame on the nurses for fighting parents on that—they should be working to help us make life EASIER, not harder. And in reply to Luciano, don't you think the school nurse's time is better served taking care of kids who are actually SICK than in performing what amounts to maintenance? There's usually only one nurse per school, and in some districts there's one nurse for several schools. So what's to become of my son when he has a high reading during the day but the nurse is off in another school for that afternoon? Sure, you can argue all you want that it simply points to the fact that each school needs its own nurse, but budgets are what budgets are, and many school districts in rural areas can't AFFORD a nurse. So you have one of two choices: raise taxes to fund the nurse (which only stresses parents more because most of us can't afford any new expenses) or allow a non-professional to administer the insulin.

I don't think anyone with diabetes will argue that having a nurse in schools would be best, but some of our communities can't afford it.

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Permalink Reply by Cara on November 16, 2008 at 4:58am

By taking the care out of the hands of the adults who care for a child (by limiting the care to nurses), you are seriously limiting the care a child with diabetes may get. And what if that "child" is 15 or 16 and wants to do their shot themselves?? There was never a school nurse when I was in school. I could check my own blood sugar by the time I was in kindergarten. And there was always a teacher who knew how to do it too. I didn't go on mdi's (I was only 2 shots per day) until I was a freshman in high school. Guess what...still no school nurse. Not that I would have let them near me anyway. I did my own care. And did just fine, thank you.

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Permalink Reply by Lahle Wolfe on November 16, 2008 at 7:31am

This is a HUGE blow to the class action lawsuit and the credibility of the California Board of Nursing. The question now remains just how the schools will comply with their requirement to provide an equal opportunity to students with diabetes. The nurses have refused since being ordered to comply, to do so. Now, it seems they can legally refuse to comply. The nurses have endangered our children and overburdened schools who are STILL required by law to take children with diabetes only now, they cannot provide care for them.

Shame, shame, shame on the nurses associations AND the teachers association that came out with big guns to keep our children out of public schools.

Very few states in the nation have any laws requiring nurses at school and as a professional legal advocate I get letters every single week from parents across the country whose children have either been unable to attend school or have been seriously injured at school when no one recognized or treated blood sugar problems. Most schools in the nation do NOT have nurses so no one onsite can or will help our kids. It literally has boiled down to "sure, the law says we have to take your kid, but enter at your own risk."

I was very involved with this case from the start and the bottom line was the considerations were not about our children but about the nurses who have long been ignored pushing the need to hire more school nurses. While I fully support our poor overworked school nurses, this will not lead to hiring more health professionals to help with the crisis. It will lead to more children with diabetes being unable to attend school, and more serious diabetes crisis in school because now, even more than before, schools will be "hands-off" for our children.

CA faces a nursing crisis (3rd worst in the nation). There are not enough nurses to hire to fill our California schools. How many children will die at school before the courts care? And yes, children have already died at school in California because of inept diabetes care. How many of us parents are nurses? We are sent home still reeling from diagnosis with our children to learn as we go. To say that only a nurse can provide care is a poor excuse. My 9-year old can give her own insulin now, but at age 5 she could not. The law does not permit nurses to train staff, but parents can? HELLLOOOO???

My daughter remains home schooled because her school, which did not have a nurse on site, literally, nearly killed her because they would not do anything for her without a nurse around. Nor did they even call me. I went to check on her as I always did several times each day and found her slipping into a coma unattended on a playground. Only minutes before she complained to her teacher she was not feeling well. With no nurse avaiable, she simply sent her out to play with other children in 100+ degree weather "until your mom gets here." But "Mom" was never called. Had I not arrived when I did I shudder to consider the possibilities.

Our school district policy is literally "if something's wrong all 911. Then call the parents."

I wish I could say this decision saddened me, but frankly, it enrages me beyond belief. It was about MONEY not about children and liability.

This battle is not over. Not as long as I live in CA and have two kids home schooled because of diabetes and a school system that would rather not deal with "my" problem.

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth on November 16, 2008 at 1:18pm

Oh, my GOD, what a horrible story. THANK HEAVENS you got there in time. I am just as enraged as you are. How dare they take such chances with your daughter's life???

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Permalink Reply by Lorri Strider on November 17, 2008 at 7:18pm

Keep fighting Lahle! After reading your story I realize how lucky we are in Mountain Home to have schools with registered nurses who are willing and very capable of taking care of our children in this area with diabetes. I can't imagine what would have happened had you not checked on your daughter frequently! It is too horrible to even think about. How could teachers who are suppose to care for children do such a thing?????

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Permalink Reply by Lahle Wolfe on November 17, 2008 at 7:28pm

Okay, I think I am moving to your community!

:)

Lahle

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Permalink Reply by Blondie on November 23, 2008 at 7:21pm

What is wrong with these people??? How can they just stand by and let that happen? All they worry about is the big L (Liability). Not the health and well-being of a child. I am so sorry you had to go through this.

I think it is so sad that a child has to be treated this way because they have Diabetes. We think we are so civilized but this ruling proves different. Why are children with nut allergies and developmental issues taken care of so well but a child with Diabetes ignored? It is probably because Type One Diabetes is still rare. That is just wrong.

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Permalink Reply by Denise on November 16, 2008 at 8:36am

insanity-rest of my angry thoughts here:

http://indigopegasus.spaces.live.com

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