[MaineSchoolNurse] Follow Up to Office Hours 12/4/2024

Wed Dec 4 16:25:10 EST 2024

Good afternoon,
Today we had a good turnout of about 35 people in office hours. I reminded you all to reflect on the article that I shared last month in office hours that reminds us to focus on good things in our lives in order to foster resilience. Did any of you try any new strategies or try instituting the Three Good Things<https://www.myamericannurse.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/ant12-3-good-things-1207.pdf> strategy? Did it have an impact on you and your workplace?
Pertussis- Maine is seeing an uptick in pertussis cases, commonly known as whooping cough. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) reports 101 pertussis cases between January 1 and October 23, 2024. Last year, 76 cases were reported throughout all of 2023. Ages ranged from 1 month to 55 years old. Teenagers (13-19 years old) accounted for 43% of cases. Children under 5 years old accounted for 26% of cases. The Maine CDC has created a Pertussis Guide for Health Care Providers.<https://links-2.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fwww.maine.gov%2Fdhhs%2Fmecdc%2Finfectious-disease%2Fepi%2Fvaccine%2Fdocuments%2FPertussis-Guide-Providers.pdf%3Futm_medium=email%26utm_source=govdelivery/1/010101930d98f639-66fa4ae9-38a0-4925-b046-209e8a3694f8-000000/UBCBpgdpO2K07NABfuUdFD-yEqkERyQTAk-OX4kjBW0=378> For more information, please see the recently released Maine Health Alert Network Advisory<https://links-2.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fcontent.govdelivery.com%2Fattachments%2FMEHHS%2F2024%2F11%2F08%2Ffile_attachments%2F3064523%2F2024PHADV037Pertussis.pdf/1/010101930d98f639-66fa4ae9-38a0-4925-b046-209e8a3694f8-000000/L3JrjlF713oIrDJk-4how-GIVpr86CoNLI-kHclfSEs=378>. If you have pertussis in your school or learn of a potential case, call the CDC to report it and for guidance.   If your school is in outbreak status with pertussis, there may be more testing and interventions recommended. Again, call CDC.  1-800-821-5821
Any reportable disease— when you call CDC, share as much information as possible such as who was the provider that diagnosed or where was testing done. You can view the Notifiable Form<https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/disease-reporting/documents/notifiable-form.pdf> that includes the information that CDC will be seeking, if you have it.
Pneumonia Many areas in the state are seeing an increase in pneumonia diagnoses.  There is no exclusion requirement for pneumonia. Students/staff should stay home with the general exclusion criteria (fever, etc.).
HIV/Hepatitis C Rapid Testing Training Opportunity with Maine CDC- we are passing along information about valuable opportunities for HIV and Hepatitis C rapid testing trainings in Bangor, Rockland, and Portland. These take place in-person over the course of two-days, and attendance both days is required to become a certified tester. The trainings include practice testing and counseling, updates on HIV, STIs, and Hepatitis in Maine and the US, and much more. To test independently, each person must complete 5 tests with someone who is already certified and do a short post-training assessment. Your organization is then eligible for free rapid tests from the Maine CDC, provided your organization has a CLIA Certificate<https://www.cms.gov/regulations-and-guidance/legislation/clia/downloads/howobtaincliacertificate.pdf>. These trainings are open to all members of the community.  The Bangor training is Wednesday and Thursday, December 11th and 12th (sign up here<https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=q6g_QX0gYkubzeoajy-GTkBozc2Q9vBAql0TL27ksdtUMlBYTjAxVEhLR0NZSFk3T0hSOUE5UjIyUy4u>), Rockland is on Tuesday and Wednesday January 7th and 8th  (sign up here<https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=q6g_QX0gYkubzeoajy-GTkBozc2Q9vBAql0TL27ksdtUNllYNElXNDRRRDBEMFJMWEg4QjhNTDZOQS4u>), and Portland is on Tuesday and Wednesday, January 14th and 15th (sign up here<https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=q6g_QX0gYkubzeoajy-GTkBozc2Q9vBAql0TL27ksdtUNllYNElXNDRRRDBEMFJMWEg4QjhNTDZOQS4u>). You must sign up to receive more details.
Late notice, but there are still openings! Basic Life Support recertification is being offered on December 11, 2024 at Waynflete from 1:30-5:30! This course is offered at a minimal cost, with only a $5 cost for the BLS eCard. A link for payment is within the registration form. You also have the option to complete the STOP THE BLEED® Interactive Course<https://www.stopthebleed.org/training/online-course/> (STB), and join us for a skills session starting at 1:30.

MaineCare Provider search demonstration: https://mainecare.maine.gov/mhpviewer.aspx?FID=PDIR  Example—optometrist search.  Caveat—this doesn’t tell us if they are actually accepting new patients.
https://www.maineneeds.org/
Supports long-time Maine families, newly arrived immigrant families, people escaping domestic abuse, people coming out of incarceration, and people who are unhoused or newly housed.
Maine Prevention Store--Eyes Open for ME Translated Post Cards: Never Share Your Medications This 6x4 post card talks about the importance of not sharing medication. Available in Arabic, Dari, French, Khmer, Lingala, Pashto, Portuguese, Somali, Spanish, and Swahili. Eyes Open for ME Translated Post Cards: Never Share Your Medications<https://www.mainepreventionstore.com/collections/opiates/products/safe-storage-and-disposal-of-medications-copy>
We discussed professional learning budget planning at this time of year. You should  try to plan ahead for 2025-2026-- Think about what you want to participate in/professional goals to make your budget requests in advance. Some ideas for professional learning are: NASN Annual Conference (June), New England School Nurse Conference (May), Maine Association of School Nurse Fall Conference (October). The next School Nurse Summer Institute will be in the summer of 2026.
School Health Services webpage<https://www.maine.gov/doe/schools/safeschools/healthed/nurseresources/guidelines> tour with Lori Huot--please give us feedback on our changes--is there something missing? Something you wish you had access to? Let us know!

As always, feel free to reach out to your liaison or any of us. We are here to support you.

________________________________________

Emily Poland, MPH, RN, NCSN (she/her)
School Nurse Consultant
Coordinator – Coordinated School Health
Office of School and Student Supports
Maine Department of Education
23 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333-0023
Email: emily.poland at maine.gov<mailto:emily.poland at maine.gov>
Phone: 207-592-0387
Maine DOE<http://www.maine.gov/doe> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/MaineDepartmentofEducation1/> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/mdoenews> | Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/mainedepted/?hl=en> | Maine DOE Newsroom<https://mainedoenews.net/> | School Health Services<https://www.maine.gov/doe/schools/safeschools/healthed/nurseresources/guidelines>

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