2020-2021 Oakland Together School Nurse Initiative

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

The need for school nurses in Oakland County schools has never been more apparent than during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the 2020-2021 school year, only five of the county’s 28 school districts had a nurse on staff to serve their students. To create a safe environment for students and staff, and to better support the academic needs of students during the pandemic, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners (BOC) partnered with county administration and Oakland Schools, the county’s intermediate school district, to develop the Oakland Together School Nurse Initiative for the 2020-2021 school year. Through this partnership, the Oakland County Health Division (OCHD) hired public health nurses to serve in local school districts to address COVID-19-related concerns. This program aligned with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation that schools identify a COVID-19 point of contact to help serve families and staff. As a trusted source of information for students, staff and parents, the school nurses became an essential bridge between local school districts and the county’s health division. The expertise, resources and critical in-person support they provided helped school districts navigate the pandemic during the 2020-2021 school year and beyond.