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| | Certification: ASNC continues to work diligently toward State Department of Education certification for school nurses. Our efforts to have our certification packet included in current proposed changes to certification were unsuccessful. A meeting was planned to meet with invited superintendents, but lacked a promised endorsement from Commissioner Sergi. The committee continues to advance our cause. Meetings are being held on the 1st Monday of each month at the Connecticut Nurses Association 377 Research Parkway in Meriden, CT. If anyone is interested in joining this committee, or in monitoring the meetings to stay more informed, please feel free to come. Meetings are scheduled from 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM on the first Thursday of the month.- Lynne Gustafson, the long time chair of the committee has resigned. She remains interested and supportive of our efforts. We thank Lynne for all the time and energy she spent over the last 10 years. The new co-chairs, Donna Kosiorowski and Patrice Donavon are continuing her efforts. Members of ASNC testified in support of School Nurse Certification and against the elimination of School Nurse Teacher Certification at a public hearing held on January 27, 1998. The Connecticut Department. In addition to the ASNC members who appeared, testimony was given by Pattie Ralabate, Vice President of the Connecticut Education Association (CEA) and Mary Jane Williams, President of the Connecticut Nurses Association (CNA). ASNC is fortunate to have the support of these two organizations. Mary Alice Leonhardt, ASNC lobbyist, provided testimony on behalf to the association. On February 6, Donna Kosiorowski and Pat Krin met with Commissioner Sergi, Bureau Chief Abigail Hughes, and representatives from the CT Association of Boards of Ed (CABE) and the CT Association of Public Schools Superintendents (CAPSS). the outcome of this meeting is that a study group will be formed to look at the certification issue. As soon as any information is available it will be posted here. We continue to work hard toward certification. We have not been able to get a commitment from the Department of Education. Our meeting with the Bureau of Certification and representatives of CAPSS and CABE on December 7, 1998 put us no closer to our goal. The committee continues to work hard, and additional strategies are being planned. Look for updates here. If you have questions, concerns or comments about this issue, please email us.
On March 8, 1999 members of ASNC provided oral testimony to the Public Health Committee regarding Raised Bill #1295. AAC Qualified School Nurses. While the bill did not get out of committee, we do have a commitment from Senator Harp for the facilitation of dialogue between ASNC, the Department of Eductation and members of the Public Health Committee. Our lobbyist is also working on a legislative study regarding school nursing. - On September 14, 1999 members of ASNC( Donna Kosiorowski, Pat Piatek, Trisha Vayda and Pat Krin) met with Senator Toni Harp, Senator Tom Gaffey, Associate Commissioner of Public Health Norma Gyle, and Dept. of Education Bureau Chiefs Abigail Huges and Mark Stapleton. Also present were Polly Barey, Exec Director of the Connecticut Nurses Association and Ginny Grzymkowski representing the Superintendents. We had a productive meeting and came away with a committment to meet to discuss changing regulations regarding school nurse qualifications.
On February 3, 2000, members of ASNC representing the RESC catchment areas throughout the state, the Board of Examiners for Nursing and Higher Education met at the Department of Education to discuss school nursing practice in CT. Attending were Nancy Bafundo, Patrice Donovan, Tracey Morelli, Donna Kosiorowski, Pat Krin, Pat Piatek, Mary Schulze, Leah Turner, Nancy Turner. Identified issues were: - Standards/qualifications/levels of preparation/role in the school/expectations/staffing patterns of school nurses;
- Data on school nurses and services they provide;
- Review of statutes pertaining to school nursing;
- Role of the State Department of Education Health Promotion Consultant
- Communication mechanism with Superintendents, Department of Public Health, State Department of Educaction;
- Nurse preparation curriculum/CEUs/student teaching experience.
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- Meetings were held throughout the year. Numerous changes were made to the draft, a mentoring process was discussed, and a preliminary licensure framework was developed.
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- The final draft of the proposed regulation changes were to be submitted to Commissioner Sergi on October 25, 2000 for his approval for moving them forward through the regulatory process. The meeting was cancelled and has been rescheduled for October 30.
The Connecticut Board of Education ultimately approved the new qualifications in 2003. From there they moved on to the Office of Policy and Management where they were denied citing the nursing shortage. ASNC Continues to work on this issue with help from the Office of the Child Advocate. |
Association
of School Nurses of Connecticut 
