American Federation of Teachers Deeply Disturbed By
Proposed Elimination of Los Angeles Public School Nurses 

WASHINGTON D.C. -- The American Federation of Teachers Healthcare Division today expressed dismay at Los Angeles School Superintendent Roy Romer's recent proposal to eliminate public school nurses.

"Quite simply, eliminating school nurses potentially puts students in danger," said Sandra Feldman, president of the AFT and AFT Healthcare. "This proposal is going in the wrong direction. We need more school nurses, not fewer."

AFT Healthcare includes more than 15,000 school nurses among its members across the country. Its school nurse members perform complex emergency medical procedures such as insertion of tracheal tubes and changing colostomy bags, as well as handling numerous students' daily medication schedules that require precise dosages at regular intervals.

"School nurses aren't just handing out bandages and wiping scraped knees," said Feldman. "They provide critical care and medical expertise that is required at a moment's notice."

School nurses are caring for an increasing number of students who have difficult, challenging healthcare needs that only medical professionals are trained to handle. Often school nurses are the only primary care providers that children see on a regular basis. More than 97 percent of school nurses currently care for students with diabetes; more than 95 percent care for students with seizures; and more than 93 percent care for students with chronic and severe asthma.

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