Whew!!!! The beginning of the school year is finally over! The staff inservices (bloodborne pathogens update, medication administration, choking prevention and diabetes 101 -required yearly in my school district), tracking of immunizations (exclusion days have come and gone), writing of individual health care plans, and gathering and reviewing medical emergency cards. As you all know this is just a small piece of what we have done already and now the flu season begins. I want to take this opportunity to THANK YOU all for what you do for Ohio’s school children. You are great!! Here are some of the things that have occurred since the last newsletter:

• I presented “The Trials and Tribulations of a School Health Advisory Council” at a Wellness Conference in Delaware, OH on August 15th. This was a success with a working power point presentation.
• Joan Keith, Central’s regional representative to OASN, represented OASN at the ONA Nurse Summit regarding the Nursing 2015 Initiative.
• Renee and I attended the New School Nurse Conference in September. Six school nurses joined our organization that day. (The power point presentation that day did not work.)
• Mary Kiplinger, former president of OASN, hosted a "coffee and conversation" event for Senator Fedor and school nurses in NW Ohio. Several school nurse issues and concerns were discussed. This was so successful and productive that the Senator would like to return in February.
• I attended the 22nd Annual School Health Update hosted by Columbus Children’s Hospital. The topics were varied from adolescent risk behaviors, diabetes, BMI, immunization update, head injuries, and how to tell if a child is sick or crying wolf. It was a full day with many stimulating presenters and stimulating side comments too.

Sincerely,

Kathy Inderbitzin, RN, BSN, MEd.

OASN President

FLY LIKE AN ANGEL- by being part of OASN’s Endowment Fund.

OASN’s Education and Research Fund invites you to be part of a special group. Under the umbrella of the Columbus Medical Association Foundation, we have established an Endowment fund which now allows donations to be made in OASN’s name which meet tax deductible laws. Gifts may be designated to the Pat Baum Educational Scholarship, the Carolyn Azbell Research Award or unrestrictive which will assist OASN financially in securing professional speakers for conferences and other educational endeavors.

Think about what OASN and school nursing has done for you as a professional. An angel gift shows your commitment to what you believe is important and allows excellent educational opportunities for school nurses today and in the future. Why not leave a legacy to OASN: a memorial gift to honor a special person who was your school nurse mentor, a school nurse educator, or the professional organization itself? What a special holiday gift for someone who is difficult to but for!

Recognized ANGEL LEVELS: (cumulative over the years)

• NEW ANGEL: Anyone donating during the 2006 year
• ANGEL OF CARING: Gifts up to $500
• ANGEL OF SHARING: Gifts from $500-$1,000
• ANGEL OF MERCY: Gifts over $1,000

Remember your donation is tax deductible and may be made on line at www.oasn.org or by sending your contribution, designated to OASN, to:

The Columbus Medical Association Foundation Unlimited
431 E. Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Please don’t hesitate to contact Norman Nikkola ( nnikkola@earthlink.net ), Endowment Fund Chair, should you have any questions.

Mary Kiplinger

OASN’s fiscal year of 2005-2006 had a total Income of $61,505.32 and Expense of $65,421.75. The checking account balance on October 31, 2006 was $5,703.57.

The board is seriously looking at the budget for this fiscal year and attempting to cut out all unnecessary expenses as we have had a deficit budget for two years and looks like we will this fiscal year. Current budget proposal I have is for $57,200 Income and Expenses of $61,265.

Our fixed expenses are primarily the annual conference, executive director, lobbyist, and conduction of OASN and NASN responsibilities. The board has already agreed to not do the new guidebook in paper, it will go on disc. This alone saves $3000 in printing. Last year, the newsletter went electronic which saved several thousand in postage and printing. Board meeting food is being paid by the board member, not out of the budget.

In February the board will revisit the budget. We are looking at fundraising ideas and would welcome any ideas you may have. Other than membership our biggest income comes from exhibitors and sponsors at the annual conference. If you have a contact with someone who might be willing to sponsor a speaker, meal, etc at the conference please contact us.

OASN continues to offer scholarships (these will eventually be funded by the endowment fund), represents and supports school nurses at the statehouse and Ohio Department of Education, collaborates with various professional organization on your behalf and provides the annual conference. This year’s conference will offer you Legal continuing education hour required for licensure renewal among many other interesting topics.

If you have fundraising ideas or contacts for donors, please feel free to email me at treasurer@oasn.org

Debra Stoner, OASN Treasurer

• Officers retained are:

COASN BOARD for 2006-07

• President – Kate King
• President-Elect – Lisa Kauffman
• Vice President - MaryLee Rippl
• Past President – Sue Casto
• Secretary – Amy Vereb
• Treasurer – Laurie Tufts
• OASN Representative – Joan Keith
• Membership Chair - Carol Lynn O' Neill
• Webmaster - Judy Harmon
• Hospitality - Chris McMahon

COASN currently has 113 members (down from 130 in spring 2006), which breaks down to 107 active members, 4 associate members, 2 retired members. 13 school districts are represented among these members. (There are 88 total school districts in the 14 counties within COASN).

Public school districts represented are Bellefontaine, Columbus Public, Dublin, Gahanna, Granville, Groveport Madison, Hilliard, Olentangy, Newark, Upper Arlington, Urbana, Whitehall, and Worthington. We are pleased to also have the following Private, Parochial, or Charter Schools represented: The Childhood League, Columbus School for Girls, Our Lady of Peace, St. Agatha, The Wellington School, Horizon Science Academy, and St. Andrew.

On October 18th COASN hosted the fall dinner and continuing education meeting. Sixty participants gathered at the Midwest Conference Center at I-71 and Sinclair Rd (which is a newly renovated facility on the north side of Columbus). The topic was “Current Trends in Childhood and Adolescent Psychiatric Disorders.” Speaker was Carol Lebeiko, M.D., who specializes in childhood psychiatry in the Columbus area. The topic and speaker were generally well received.

The next continuing education program will be on January 18, 2007. Kathleen Morris, RN, MSA, from the Ohio Nurses Association will provide a legal update on the Ohio Administrative Code #4723 that will fulfill our nursing licensure requirement for renewal.

When: January 18th. 5:00 pm Dinner at 5:30- 6:30 pm
Program 6:30 – 7:30 pm followed by a brief business meeting.
Where: Villa Milano, at 1630 Schrock Road, Columbus, Oh 43229

Pre-registration is required and cost for members will be $20 for dinner and CE. Non-members will be $35 for both. Questions??? Contact Mary Lee Rippl at 614-855-9336 or mrippl@columbus.k12.oh.us

COMING IN MARCH: COASN is again proud to be the host region for OASN’s 34th annual conference scheduled for March 16th ~ 18th, 2007 at the Embassy Suites in Dublin, Ohio. In addition to the COASN executive board and committee chairs, 18 COASN members have volunteered to assist with conference preparations.

Respectfully submitted,
Joan Keith, RN, MEd., NCSN COASN Rep.

The board members for the 2006-2007 school year are as follows:

• Candi Hendershot - President
• Laurie Gladieux - President- Elect
• Kate Malone - Past President
• Martie Moline - Treasurer
• Sara Velasquez - Secretary
• Maureen Knowles - NW Rep to OASN
• Mary Beth Durbin and Mary Martin - Newsletter
• Ann Cipriani - Membership Chairperson
• Rosemary Timmins and Mary Schwartz - Ways and Means

Our first meeting of this school year was held on October 4th, 2006 at Stone Oak Country Club. There were 42 people in attendance. We heard a timely topic “Self Mutilation” given by Liz Skaff, LSIW. The business meeting was held over dinner. Our current membership number is 58. This is a decrease from the previous year. Methods to increase membership were discussed. NWOASN donated $500 to the JDRF walk for the Cure.

The winter conference is set for Saturday January 27th, 2007 from 8:30 – 4PM in Findlay, Ohio. The topic is NASN Disaster Preparedness for School Nurses, presented by Debra Strouse. The cost is estimated at $80 for members and $95 for non- members. This program has been awarded 7.5 CE units.

The spring conference will be held on Thursday, May 10th at St. Lukes Hospital. Debra Mattin will present “Nursing and the Law”, which will fulfill our law CEU for licensure.

Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Knowles, NW Rep

SWOSNA held its first general membership meeting for the 2006/07 school year on September 20, 2006 at the Holiday Inn, Dayton Mall. Seventy-one people attended the meeting. The theme “You’re an Essential Piece” is being continued through this year. Judy Marrinan RN, MSA, M.Ed., NCSN was the speaker presenting “Perceptions, Priorities, and Practical Solutions.”

Announced in the last newsletter and at the meeting were the recipients of: Cameos of Caring 2005 is Joyce Burleigh ; new NCSN awards are Dawn Abbott, Virginia Noe and Kathy Strasser; Martha Carrick Scholarship is Lisa Parks and no one has applied this year for Pat Baum Scholarship. Last year the winner was Eva Garchar

On October 7th, Linda Hilvert was recognized as the 2006 Cameos of Caring recipient from SWOSNA. This is a big event sponsored by Wright State University College of Nursing and Health. SWOSNA is very honored to have Linda recognized for her clinical excellence in the area of school nursing.

SWOSNA is working with OASN to monitor and promote legislative efforts on behalf of Ohio’s school children in collaboration with the SW Ohio Children’s Advocacy Group. I contacted the SW OH Child Advocacy Group on behalf of OASN/SWOSNA. This group is working toward many issues with one being mandated school nursing services in OH. We would like to join forces with this group. The group’s chairperson sent the following correspondence to our request:
"Thank you for your message. We are working towards finalizing the agenda for SW Ohio children. At this point the school nursing proposal is still in there. I am sending your message to the other leadership on the committee. We are also working towards a legislative briefing where the SW Ohio Children's agenda will be presented to the SW Ohio General Assembly delegation. We will be sure to let you know when that is."
Melissa Saladonis

The next SWOSNA Board meeting will be November 16, 2006 at the Holiday Inn, Dayton Mall. Julie Kolde RN, BSN, NCSN will present “Integrating Technology Into School Nursing Practice” for 1.3 CEUs.

Respectfully submitted,
Joan Hlinomaz RN, MS, NCSN

CDC Launches Campaign to Raise Awareness on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a national public education and awareness campaign on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), a weakening and often devastating illness for millions of Americans. The campaign, called “Get Informed. Get Diagnosed. Get Help”, is designed to increase awareness among clinicians and the public, because 80 percent of Americans afflicted with CFS illness may not know they have it. “The CDC considers chronic fatigue syndrome to be a significant public health concern, and we are committed to research that will lead to earlier diagnosis and better treatment of the illness,” added Dr. Gerberding. For more information about CFS, visit http://www.cdc.gov/cfs.

Prescription Drug Use on the Rise
Misuse of prescription drugs is second only to marijuana as the nation’s most prevalent drug problem, and the annual average number of people using pain relievers non-medically for the first time exceeds the number of new marijuana users according to a study released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).Misuse of Prescription Drugs is available on the web at http://oas.samhsa.gov/prescription/toc.htm

EPA Research Suggests Decline in Exposure to Pollutants
The percentage of children living in counties that do not meet the air quality standard for fine particulate matter declined from 24 percent to 16 percent from 1999 to 2004, according to new data released by EPA. The data come from an update to America's Children and the Environment, EPA's compilation of information from federal databases that provide insights into children's environmental health.For more information on America’s Children and the Environment, please visit http://www.epa.gov/envirohealth/children/index.htm.

Electronic Inhalant Abuse Prevention Kit Now Available The Alliance for Consumer Education (ACE) has developed an Inhalant Abuse Prevention Kit.This Kit can be easily downloaded (free of charge) from ACE’s Inhalant Abuse Prevention website:
http://www.Inhalant.org.
Please note, hard copies of the Kit will still be available to ship through the mail. To find out more information about ACE, please visit http://www.Consumered.org. Also, to learn more about ACE’s next emerging program- Disease Prevention please visit http://www.Stopgerms.org.

School violence
NASN has an excellent disaster preparedness program available for affiliate presentation. NASN will also look at what additional resources and information we can offer to our colleagues. Listed here are excellent resources to assist the school nurse and community:
The National Education Association’s “Crisis Communication Guide & Toolkit”
http://www.nea.org/crisis/index.html
This tool offers information that can be used to conduct drills, revise crisis manuals, improve crisis response, come to the immediate aid of affected individuals and consult when needed.

The Crisis Response Box: A Guide to Help Every School Assemble the Tools and Resources Needed for a Critical Incident Response. From the California Attorney General and State Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Safety Schools Task Force
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ss/cp/documents/crisisresp box.pdf
This comprehensive resource was created to guide schools in crisis prevention planning and in responding to a critical incident. It suggests including everything from aerial photos of the school campus to blueprints to fire alarm turn-off procedures to student photos in your school’s box.

The U.S. Department of Education’s “Practical Information on Crisis Planning: A Guide for Schools and Communities”
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencypla n/crisisplanning.pdf
This 146-page pdf document offers practical tools such as Action Checklists and tabletop exercises, plus information on lockdowns, evacuations, relocations, dealing with the media, considering special needs of staff and students, and much more.

The U.S. Department of Education’s “Preparing Your School for a Crisis” Page
http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/crisisplanning. html
This resource links to a “Practical Information on Crisis Planning” brochure while also providing information on mitigation/prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

School Health Index Training Manual Is Now Available
The Division of Adolescent and School Health is pleased to announce the release of the School Health Index Training Manual, available at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/SHI/Training. This manual is a packaged set of materials for conducting trainings or presentations on the School Health Index: A Self-Assessment and Planning Guide (SHI).This manual is intended to be used in conjunction with the School Health Index, which can be completed interactively, downloaded, or printed from the Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/SHI.

Sincerely, Aurelia Barney OASN Rep. to NASN

Mark your calendars now for this huge event organized by ONA! The Ohio Association of School Nurses is one of 12 nursing organizations sponsoring the Statehouse visit by nurses in order to bring key issues before legislators. Last year, Gabi Karpowicz was a panelist sharing school nursing issues with more than 400 nurses present. It was an opportunity for all of the nurse panelists to describe concerns in their specialty areas that got the attention of the legislators and informed our colleagues in other nursing arenas

OASN members will again be given a discount to attend with a continental breakfast and box lunch included. Legislators will be joining nurses at lunch. Visits to legislators will be scheduled throughout the day. Please let OASN know if you have registered to attend by emailing either Kathy Inderbitzin kindern@aol.com , President or Renee Besecker, Executive Director rjbesecker786@aol.com , thank you.

BE SURE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND AS SOON AS YOU GET YOUR REGISTRATION BROCHURE AS THERE IS LIMITED SEATING IN THE STATEHOUSE ATRIUM!!