Reminder, the January AK School Nurse & Health Services Behavioral Mental Health Learning Session will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, January 10th, 2024 at 3:00-4:00pm.

 Topic: Mental Health Emergencies

 

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84584676595?pwd=QVVhQkhCZUJJTTIxbmcxZzgyVEdWdz09

 

Please share with all school health & nursing services staff in your districts!

 

ALL school health office staff, school nurses, substitute SN’s, and Health Aids/Para’s are encouraged to attend!

 

We hope you will all will be able to join us for this amazing opportunity to learn how school nursing staff can partner with prescribers in ensure effective management of student mental & behavioral health conditions managed with medications.  This is the first presentation in our PAL-PAK/Seattle Children’s Hospital partnership for an Alaskan school nursing/health services learning series.  The presentation will be followed by a discussion where you can ask questions, share successes or challenges, get subject matter expert feedback/recommendations, and hear what school nurses in Alaska are doing to on this topic to support students. 

 

Future series sessions will occur the first Wednesday of each month from 3:00 – 4:00pm, through May 2024.

Additional topics will include:

• Acute & chronic anxiety – management and support.
• Psychosomatic symptoms intervention & management for those students with known MBH concerns with reoccurring physical symptoms resulting in frequent SN office and absences–
• Behavioral supports
• Mental Health Emergencies
  • Crisis intervention assessments for SI/HI/SH
  • Chronic Self-harming behavior medical support, intervention, and follow-up.

 

*Have a topic idea?  Email session topic suggestions or requests to wendy.williams2@alaska.gov

 

Pal-Pak/Seattle Children’s Hospital Partnership background:

In 2018, the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Seattle Children’s Hospital/University of Washington joined with Alaska Department of Health to expand support to community-based health practitioners in their efforts to address mental and behavioral health concerns in the Alaska children and adolescents they serve. The SCH/UW Partnership Access Line for Alaska program, or PAL-PAK, provides consultation to Alaska based health care providers regarding questions about diagnostic issues, psychopharmacological management of, and psychotherapeutic strategies for, youth.  This service provides live, on-demand telephone consults to any prescriber level health care provider in the state to support the care of any youth in their care, Monday through Friday from 7am to 4pm.  In 2023 the PAL-PAK program was extended to include a partnership with the Alaska Education and Early Leaning Department to provide outreach to school nurses and rural and itinerant staff who are at the front line of fostering the well-being of Alaskan children and supporting their mental and behavioral health.  In the 2023-2024 school year, PAL-PAK for Schools program will offer monthly continuing education presentations on topics requested by the Alaska teams.

 

 

Regards,

 

Wendy & Maureen

 

Wendy A. Williams, BSN, RN, NCSN (she/her/hers)

State School Nurse Consultant II

School Nursing/Health Services Program & Office of School Health and Safety

Women, Children, and Family Health | Division of Public Health 

Department of Health | State of Alaska

907.269.7368 Office

907.744.5567 Work Cell

wendy.williams2@alaska.gov or healthyschools@alaska.gov

 

Maureen Hall, BSN RN NCSN

School Nurse Consultant 1

Division of Public Health |WCFH

Department of Health | State of Alaska

Work Cell: 907.727.6813

maureen.hall@alaska.gov