NASN President Congressional Testimony Announcement

Dear NASN/ASNA Members,

Early last Thursday morning a friend messaged me, saying she heard my name dropped while watching the PBS News Hour Broadcast of the  House Education Committee meeting on the Reopening of Schools.  Dr. Sean O'Leary (AAP) supported school nurses on several occasions, including during Rep. Lauren Underwood's 5 minute opportunity to ask questions of the experts. If you fast forward to 1:53:38 you can hear Rep. Underwood's 5 minutes of testimony.  She was granted permission by the chair to enter my written testimony into the record, testimony which addressed the disparity in school nurse staffing in the US (1:55:41). If you listen to the end she also talks about the need to fund PPE in schools. 

Your advocacy efforts at the federal, state & local level are needed to amplify messaging about the value of school nurses. See NASN Press Release- Safer Return to School

• The safety of students and staff must take priority in the decision to reopen schools
  • These decisions are best made through the lens of accurate public health data
  • There must be sufficient funding for PPE, sanitation & other safety protocols, and the hiring/retention of school nurses and other school health providers
• Access to school health services is an equity issue for students
• NASN and its health and education partners are requesting a minimum of $208B to enable environments where students are able to learn and students and staff are healthy and safe.

Thank you for your leadership and for the work you are doing to support student health, safety and readiness to learn within your state and local communities.
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With gratitude,
Laurie Combe
President - National Association of School Nurses
lcombe@nasn.org