Insights: the Magnus Health Blog

Client Profile

• Name: Kris Sabel
• Title: Middle and Upper School Nurse
• School: Latin School of Chicago
• Location: Chicago, IL
• Type: Pre-K-12 Private, Coed, Day School
• Size: 1,110 students
• Website: latinschool.org

Prior to becoming a Magnus Health customer, Kris, like many nurses, documented student visits on paper. The downside to that was that she did not have time to take very thorough notes. It was also nearly impossible to keep the notes private when the health center was busy and she was caring for multiple students at a time. “Thorough and accurate documentation is a huge priority for nurses,” Kris explained, “it is our safety net, should legal instances arise. When a school is sued, it is often related to a medical issue. According to nursing law, no documention means that no interventions were provided.”

Recently, the National Assoctiation of School Nurses (NASN) published the results from their Annual School Nurse survey. In it, data showed that school nurses are eager to learn more about legal issues and how they affect school nurses. So, we did a little bit of research and came up with the top seven must-know legal facts for school nurses. Without further adieu, here they are...

It is estimated that one out of every 100 students has epilepsy and that 75% of all cases are diagnosed during adolescence (Plan for Nationwide Action on Epilepsy, Vol. 1. U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare). Although epilepsy is not a disease, nor a mental disorder, it is a chronic health disorder caused by temporary disruptions of electrical impulses in the brain that result in seizures. There are many types of seizures, from staring spells to tonic-clonic, which frequently involve convulsive movements and loss of consciousness. 

However, this article’s intent is not to focus on what epilepsy is, nor how it is treated. My goal is to discuss the increasing role of the school nurse and others in how best to handle the increasing number of students diagnosed with a seizure disorder. This is of particular importance when the student’s private prescribing physician specifies the use of the DIASTAT to be administered at the time or soon after a student experiences a seizure.

Over the years we've heard many school health services professionals say they'd like to compare their own health center to others of similar size, budget, employees, etc. The problem is, that information hasn't been available. So we set out to change that. We're excited, and think you will be too! 

Shouldn't everyone have an advocate? We think so. Meet Nina Gervase, the Magnus Health Client Account Advocate. Her job is exactly what it sounds like: advocating for our clients' needs - from setting schools up with new SMR features, to creating solutions for tricky situations. Whatever a client's needs may be, Nina has their back. She's so dedicated, in fact, that she played a critical role in developing our new client Training Site. (More on that below.)

The first quarter of 2014 has come to an end, and hopefully with it, all the cold, snow, and ice. As we look forward to the second quarter, and embrace the 70+ degree temperatures, let's take a look back at all the Magnus activity over the last several months.

Before we even begin, let’s all take a deep breath. Cell phone use is a hot-button topic, and most educators have a strong opinion about what students should and should not do with their cell phones while on school grounds. Believe me when I say I don’t want to start any fights. Besides, violence isn’t the answer, right? So while we all sing "kumbayah" together, let's take a look at the three main approaches to student cell phone use, and why schools use, or refuse to use, them.

We get really excited when new SMR features make school staff lives easier. If it just so happens that the same feature also makes our own lives easier, you certainly won’t hear us complain. Our newest feature, Auto Roster Import (ARI) checks both of those boxes. 

ARI functions much like its name sounds – it automates the roster import process. Convenient, right? It really is. It’s quick and easy, and allows schools to create a CSV file, or export it from a third party, and import that roster information into Magnus, thereby updating names, contact information, and more. The beauty is that schools have the ability to sync data and update information en masse whenever they’d like. Have a big group of new students you’d like to add to the system? ARI can handle that. Want to update cell phone numbers or emails every month? Week? Day? Done, done, and done.

I am a school nurse, and it’s very common to hear people in and out of the medical profession say generic medication is “the same” as the brand name equivalent. Although I’d never researched this issue before, I started investigating generic verses brand name medications when one of my staff member’s blood pressure went sky high after changing to a generic. 

I came across an article written by Dr. Tod Cooperman, MD, “What You Need to Know About Generic Drugs” and found some interesting and upsetting statistics. As a nurse, I think it’s important that we’re all educated consumers and should be aware of discrepancies. Here’s what I found. Later I’ll explain why these findings are so upsetting to me as a school nurse.

• Eight percent of drugs we take in the US are now generic versions of the brand name medication.
• Generic drugs are required to provide 80% to 125% bioavailability to your bloodstream.
• Generics can contain very different other binders and fillers than their brand name counterpart, which can impact how fast or slow the active ingredient is released into the blood stream, especially in extended-release forms of the medications.
• The FDA requires that the package inserts for generic drugs show the same data as the brand name drug. However, this isn’t always true and that information is not always released.

Maybe you've heard of the RDU International Dodgeball Charity Challenge - it's kind of a big deal. OR, maybe you haven't - after all, the event is less than a year old. Either way, I'm here to tell you this fall we will hold The Second Annual RDU International Dodgeball Charity Challenge, and it is in fact a very big deal.

Last year we held the tournament, and spent over 1,000 hours volunteering, all in support of the Wake County Boys and Girls Clubs. All proceeds from fundraising througout the year, and at the tournament went toward the Clubs' biggest need - transportation. With the more than $27,000 we raised, they were able to overhaul their entire fleet of buses, giving the club kids reliable transportation to events vital to their development.