Fighting for Oregon's kids is Liz Smith Currie, award winning policy advocate, cool mom of 4 year old twins, and the wife of an out of control UCC minister. Check out her recent letter to the editor:
School nurses critical
Thank you for highlighting the importance of school nurses in addressing the growing health needs of children ("The nurse will not see you now," Sept. 16).One of the many important roles provided by school nurses is that they often are the first to identify unmet health care needs and can refer families to an appropriate provider for care. Unfortunately, too many children in Oregon lack health insurance or access to a provider who can see them in a timely manner.
This is why school-based health centers are such an important complement to school nursing services. These on-site health centers provide primary medical care to children who otherwise might not get the care they need, keeping them in school and ready to learn.
With the efforts that Oregon is making toward health care reform, policymakers should keep in mind the critical role that school nurses and school-based health centers can play in improving the health of Oregon's children and strive to make these services more widely available
LIZ SMITH CURRIE
Policy director
Oregon School-Based Health Care Network
Northeast Portland
Check out Oregon School-Based Health Care Network for more on these issues.
