Staff Spotlight: Children’s Nursing team provides exceptional care
January 11, 2018
Latham students and their families truly appreciate the TLC provided by the Children’s Program Nursing Department, which includes 4 nurses and 3 medical assistants. Director of Nursing Jane Blum describes their roles, noting that she feels fortunate to work with this highly qualified, caring group:
“The nurses have either a medical or a psychiatric background, and the department operates on a “Primary Nurse” model so that students and their families can develop a relationship with one nurse. Students are seen by nurses on a daily basis to address their medical complaints, monitor other health issues, and assess any potential health issues as our students have complex medical needs. The nurses communicate with the medical personnel that each student is seen by. The medical assistants are essential to the department, as they arrange and transport students to medical appointments including Boston appointments. They manage the oversight of the students’ medical records and they maintain several important medical reports needed by the agency including diet list, allergy list, monthly vital signs, and monthly weights. The department juggles many tasks including daily medication dispensing, medication accuracy, new medication prescriptions, and keeping an accurate supply of medications. They also oversee the nurse practitioner who is on campus weekly to make sure all documentation is presented to her and that all documentation from her is completed and medication changes are accurately implemented.
The department also communicates continually with parents and guardians to keep them apprised of health issues and appointments. This is a very different job than a regular school nurse as our students don’t go home nightly; they are with us 24/7. Some of the children come from other parts of the country and some have guardians through the state. Nursing has the very important task of making sure we maintain their health. I am proud to work with this staff. The best part of working with this group is that all of them go above and beyond – they’re dedicated to providing the very best care for our students.”
