One hundred Boston Public School nurses provide for the health and safety of every student. Our smaller schools share a nurse, and no nurse has more than two schools. Each year the nurses are deployed based on a school's level of need.
In an average year, Boston Public Schools nurses will administer 8,000 doses of prescription medicine per month, case manage 13,200 students with special health care needs and screen more than 12,000 students for Body Mass Index. Most importantly, their expertise allows 92.5% of the children who come to the school health room to return to class -- meaning they don’t lose time from their education.
These pages at left provide information that will help you, your child’s medical provider and the school nurses care for your children’s medical needs.
- Partnering with your Nurse and Doctor outlines what you need to know to make sure you are in communication with your school nurse, and to ensure your nurse and doctor are able to share important medical information. You will also find information about athletics, immunizations and student who need additional health accommodations.
- Asthma Management describes how you and your school can work together to help students with asthma.
- Head Lice are a common nuisance in schools, but are not a health risk. Here, find information on what you can do as a parent to prevent and treat head lice in children.
- School-Based Health Centers provide an additional opportunity for students and their families to access health care. These Centers are satellites of the Boston Medical Center in partnership with the Boston Public Health Commission and are located in eight BPS high schools. Find a full list, including contact information, here.
Understanding Health Policies and Procedures
These are the official policies (Superintendent's Circulars) and protocols in the Nurses Protocol and Procedure Manual.- Medical Emergencies
- Medical Transportation
- Medication Administration
- Immunizations
- Life Threatening Allergies
- Asthma
- Diabetes
- Prevention and Management of Sports Related Head Injuries
- Communicable Diseases
- Lice and Bed Bugs
Want to Know More About the Nurses' Work?
The nurses use an electronic medical record, much like those used in the local hospitals and health centers. This helps them manage the health care of an individual child while also providing data that identify health trends. This data is presented to the Massachusetts department of Public health and compiled annually. For more, read the Essential School Health Services Annual Report.
