Education minister panned for school nurse claim

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This article was published 13/08/2020 (1498 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The last time Annette Greene can remember seeing an on-site school nurse was 1974.

She was thus surprised to hear Manitoba Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen claim during a news conference this week public schools would have easy access to nurses to help the fight against COVID-19 when students return next month.

“In all my years as an educator and as a parent, and that’s going on 30 years, I’ve never seen an in-house nurse, a nurse dedicated to a singular school,” Greene, who teaches at Maples Collegiate in the Seven Oaks School Division, said in an interview Friday.

“Not in my school and not in my division, and not in any of the metro Winnipeg divisions that I know of.”

During a media conference Thursday with Goertzen and Manitoba chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin, the education minister responded to media questions about the availability of health-care professionals, claiming “many schools have nurses.”

“Many schools have many different resources when it comes to things that are outside of your traditional education system,” Goertzen added. “I don’t believe that every school would have a nurse, but certainly the divisions themselves would have that ability.”

Greene, along with NDP MLA Lisa Naylor and a chorus of teachers and educators, took to social media to push back. Many noted they had never encountered an on-staff nurse in the city school system.

Radean Carter, senior information officer for the Winnipeg School Division, confirmed in an interview with the Free Press its schools have not had access to on-site nurses during her time with the division.

Instead, divisions are served by a single health and wellness nurse, who provides “information, consultation and support to school personnel” for all students who qualify for health-care support, according to WSD policy documents. That group includes students with severe allergies and pre-existing health conditions, Carter said.

Schools are directed to contact parents and emergency responders to address immediate student health concerns.

As many on social media criticized the minister for being out-of-touch, Greene noted she’d like to see Goertzen and Roussin make school visits in the fall to have a better understanding of the on-site situation in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

“We would welcome them, because I think we’re seeing a lot of disconnect in their ideas and thoughts based on what we see first hand in the schools,” she said Friday.

Meanwhile, Carter noted having nurses in schools may not help educators face the challenges of managing COVID-19 in their buildings, but added it’s still too early to say either way.

“Until we actually get back to school, it’s hard to say what extra staff we might need. But in terms of the screening that needs to be done, we are really relying on families to do that,” she said. “We cannot afford to have students or staff coming into our school with flu-like symptoms.”

Parents are being asked to screen their children with the province’s online tool for symptoms or risk factors associated with the novel coronavirus. The same screenings will also be taking place with students and teachers at Winnipeg’s schools.

As September looms closer, with or without available nurses, “I would like to see the province provide PPE (personal protective equipment) to educators… I would like the province to say all teachers and students should be wearing this protective equipment because that is what’s advised by our very own government,” Greene said.

Representatives for Goertzen’s office responded to requests for additional comment late Friday, saying the minister was instead referring to improved mental health services.

“The minister had just replied (Thursday) to the previous media question about mental health support provided at schools, and was continuing to refer to resources for students beyond the traditional education system — including an investment of $4.4 million announced last December to improve access to mental health and addictions services beginning in certain areas of the province,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jsrutgers