WASHINGTON COUNTY, IDAHO, Idaho — Schools in Cambridge and Midvale are getting assistance from nurses at Weiser Memorial Hospital for the first time this school year. Two nurses from the hospital will begin traveling to smaller school districts in Washington County and working part-time as school nurses.
It's been decades since Cambridge schools had a school nurse specific to their school, and it is not known if Midvale schools have ever had a school nurse.
Kasey Davis, the community health education coordinator for Weiser Memorial Hospital, recognized the need for nurses in the community's schools and began researching how the hospital could best benefit the students.
"I partner with a lot of groups and organizations and try to work toward ways that we can help people understand their health or make better health choices," she said.
Through her research, Davis connected with a program in Michigan that looks to connect nurses with local rural schools, which she said was quickly recognized as a perfect fit for Washington County.
"I feel like it's a really important thing, even if we can only give them a few hours a week. It's enough to help think of the day-to-day things like headaches and scrapes," Davis said. "But to help with lice checks, you know, stuff that takes a lot of teachers [and] staff time to do but also then to help students better understand their health. If you've got a student with a chronic health condition, for example, then they learn how to better self-manage. So it'll be a good resource for them."
Davis is "more than happy" to connect with other Idaho school districts that may want to start a program like theirs.
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