Press on Fellow Documentary!

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Published on
March 14, 2010
SACRAMENTO - ViewFinder: A Crisis in Caring: California's School Nursing Shortage focuses on the critical shortage of school nurses in Northern California. This documentary airs on KVIE channel 6, Wednesday, March 17, 7 p.m. The program offers insight on how this issue impacts students, teachers, parents, and communities. California lawmakers, health professionals, educators, school nurses, and students with chronic illnesses weigh in on the problem.

Students who suffer from asthma, type-1 diabetes, food allergies and heart disease talk about how they are often forced to treat their illness at school, without professional medical assistance. The program follows a credentialed school nurse over the course of an exhausting day, visiting more than dozen schools. A Crisis in Caring: California's School Nursing Shortage also examines possible solutions, including the use of telemedicine diagnosis and treatment with the help of leading medical institutions.

This timely and important program addresses the following issues:

In one Northern California school district, there is only one nurse for 14,800 students, 20 times more than the recommended national standard.

In many instances, if your child becomes sick or injured at school, legally only a credentialed school nurse can administer specific medications.

Chronic illnesses are exponentially on the rise in children and teenagers in our region.

Additional broadcasts of A Crisis in Caring: California's School Nursing Shortage will air on March 18, 1:30 a.m., March 19, 4 p.m. and March 21, 6 p.m.

For more information about this and other KVIE productions, visit kvie.org/viewfinder.

The ViewFinder series is underwritten by AT&T and SAFE Credit Union. This program is part of KVIE's Focus on Health initiative underwritten by the UC Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.