Insights: the Magnus Health Blog

In the past we've written blogs and research papers about the many things schools must consider when it comes to preparing for an emergency or natural disaster. One stone left unturned (at least in great detail) is the necessity to continually prepare students for what they need to know and do in an emergency. This goes beyond crouching under desks or calmly filing out of a building. Students, particularly young ones, can benefit from understanding why they're expected to behave in a certain way, instead of just blindly following an adult's lead. I'm not suggesting providing them with gorey, unnecessary details, but some education on the subject can be helpful to everyone involved. So, without further ado, I present to you several resources you can use to prepare students for an emergency or natural disaster.

It’s rush time. And by “rush time,” I mean grab your ponchos, because it’s raining phone calls at Magnus HQ. Just last week our Help Desk received over 900 calls. Compared to the number of phone calls you and I receive each day (probably less than five, unless it’s your birthday), that’s an overwhelming number. It's an ambitious task to manage all of these calls, and we've been graced by the presence of Jordan Matthews, Help Desk Manager extraordinaire, to do just that. She's our secret weapon when it comes to keeping parents and students happy, and she does it all with the perfect mix of spunk and cheer.

Budgets are a sensitive, and stressful, topic in the world of schools. Just about everything comes with a price - from campus security systems to additional staff members. That's why budgeting is a difficult task for the business office. The business office must analyze return on investment for each and every purchase, to ensure it is the right decision for the school. The good news is that there are ways to improve school environments, and to put everyone's minds at ease, without ever worrying about ROI. How? By trying these four ways to invest in student safety. The best part is they are totally and completely free.

If you own a computer or a TV, you've heard about recent school nurse shortages. We've heard about them, too, and it's worrisome. School should be a safe place - a place where students can test their chops in the spring musical, or harness their inner math whiz. It shouldn't be a place for worrying about administering your own insulin, and that's why it's imperative for schools to be able to manage serious student health needs, with or without a full-time school nurse.

In today's digital age, it's common for schools to use technology for everyday tasks, student management, or classroom activities - it just make life easier. But as wonderful as technology is, it also brings up new concerns about protecting student information. So how can you make smart tech decisions? How can you combine ease of use with student safety? The answer starts with the unsung hero of the school: The IT guy, or gal.

Not too long ago, I wrote a post about our annual charity event, the Raleigh International Dodgeball Charity Challenge, and announced our new initiative. Now, I'm back with more details. First off, it's September 27th, 2014, and you need to be there. Even if you're across the country, you should book a flight to join us. It's. That. Much. Fun.

Summer vacation is finally here, and while all of your students bask in the glory of beach vacations, summer learning experiences, and lazy days at the pool, one thing is for certain: They aren’t thinking about the next school year. I dare say, they aren’t even thinking about next week. And you know what? Neither should you.

This summer, instead of stressing out about professional development, school leadership conferences, or staying up to date on the newest education technology, I challenge you to do something different. I challenge you to walk a mile (or rather, a summer) in your students’ shoes.

How are you spending your time? How much is dedicated to medication administration? Minor health complaints? Injuries and concussions? Your time is valuable and it's important that you're able to determine exactly how it's spent. Perhaps you need to hire another nurse for the health center, but how do you prove that? Treatment Note Insights help put your time into an easily digestable format that you can use for your own reference, or to show administration and others the time you spend with students, and the tasks and student health complaints that occupy that time.

All Magnus customers have had access to Insights for quite some time, but it can be easy to forget this capability simply because it's not a vital part of student care. However, it reflects and reports on student care and at the end of the day/week/month/year that is important information.

Client Profile 

• Name: Rona Dickman
• Title: Nurse
• School: Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy, Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School
• Location: Livingston, NJ
• Type: Co-educational Yeshiva day school
• Size: 751 students
• Website: jkha.org

Rona Dickman has served as a school nurse at Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy for the past seven years, addressing injuries and illnesses for students in grades pre-K through 12. She also sees students with chronic illnesses such as asthma, diabetes, and severe food allergies, and performs screens for height/weight, blood pressure, vision, hearing and scoliosis, as well as ensures all students are up-to-date with their immunizations. She enjoys working together with the students and parents to ensure the students’ optimal health in school.

Students are incredible. They are capable of making the Dean’s List four years in a row, breaking world records while still taking classes (yes, I’m talking about you, Missy Franklin), volunteering with their local communities every weekend, and maintaining social lives through it all. But what if I told you these feats of excellence could all come to a screeching halt due to one obstacle? Moreover, what if I told you that school staff members can help students from hitting this obstacle in the first place?