[MaineSchoolNurse] Follow Up Email to Office Hours 1/3/24

Thu Jan 4 08:26:51 EST 2024

Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed some quiet time during the holiday season and are refreshed for a new 2024. Here are the notes from Office Hours. As always, feel free to reach out to the team if you need anything!

Danielle Peterson is the new Program Manager for the School Oral Health Program (SOHP) and as you know, the SOHP team has gone through some recent changes. The SOHP is working to coordinate and provide the opportunity for kids to receive foundational dental services and education in all Maine Public Schools including fluoride varnish and oral health screenings. The aim of the SOHP services is to eliminate barriers and oral health disparities by working to reduce the most common chronic childhood disease, tooth decay.  In the last legislative cycle, the SOHP was charged with expanding services to all schools in Maine, not just elementary schools, and as such, we continue to need to grow the workforce available to offer these services.  We want to invite each of you to learn more about oral health and how you can make a difference in your school or multiple schools in your district. We are actively recruiting registered nurses to provide fluoride varnish applications and oral health screening. We have attached a communications flyer containing links to provide you with additional information.  Please contact me (dpeterson at mcd.org<mailto:dpeterson at mcd.org>) or Chantelle Roddy (croddy at mcd.org)<mailto:croddy at mcd.org> with any questions. See the attached flyer.
We have links to oral health resources on our School Health Services Guidelines<https://www.maine.gov/doe/index.php/schools/safeschools/healthed/nurseresources/guidelines> webpage. Check it out sometime.

January Nurse Webinar Series: Pertussis in the School Setting coming up on Tuesday, January 23, 3:30-4:30. You can register here: https://www.maine.gov/doe/calendar#calendar-6c6f22e1-033b-47cd-8ea3-0906acf8c9e4-event-lqcgxksv

Coming in February 27: Supporting Students experiencing housing instability and the basics of McKinney-Vento Act. Stay tuned!

If you missed our Newsletter. Take a few minutes to read it through. You can access it here:- https://mailchi.mp/maine/maine-doe-data-reporting-update-march-1327088?e=d990143ad9

COVID19 Tests kits announcement that went out at the end of December—these are the at home test kits that schools can order and distribute. Only if your district wants to—not required.

Free COVID-19 over-the-counter (OTC) rapid antigen tests are available for local education agencies (LEAs) nationwide. School administrative units (SAUs), the Maine School of Science and Mathematics, Child Development Services (CDS) sites, the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Preschool, and Education in the Unorganized Territory (EUT) schools are all encouraged to order tests and make them available to school communities, students, parents, and staff. This opportunity provides students and staff testing access throughout the winter months, keeping everyone informed, and schools open. These tests are provided through a partnership between the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), which is an entity within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
SAUs should identify a primary point of contact (POC) person to determine number of tests desired and to register for the COVID-19 Testing Supply Program here<https://protect-ows.hhs.gov/secure-upload/forms/n2fu3jd3gbl2meqzcauuhw6mks>. It will take between 7-10 days after registering for it to be processed by the U.S. Department of Education. A confirmation email, outlining next steps, will be received by the POC once the registration is approved. These next steps will include a 30-minute online ordering portal training.  COVID-19 test kits will be shipped directly to the SAUs, and the identified POC will be responsible for distribution efforts within that SAU.

School Nurse Summer Institute—SAVE the DATE—July 30-31, 2024 at Thomas College in Waterville. We are looking for speaker proposals and resource fair exhibitors. If you are interested or know of a local resource, feel free to share the form.
If you are interested in providing a learning session, please complete this form.<https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=q6g_QX0gYkubzeoajy-GTsNW3El-C_5Fk5NV88SOugNUQjI0NkdESTJCNDFXSTI1TUkxTkhWM01HTS4u>
SNSI planning committee—requesting 4-5 volunteers---email us!

Lastly, if you applied for a Wellness Summit Scholarships—they are being reviewed this week to notify people the first of next week. Note the scholarships do not cover the registration fee.

Winter programming for kids: https://winterkids.org/teachers-schools/

________________________________________

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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