If you want to know the status of school nursing in your state and across the country, ask the expert! Ask a School Nurse, the expert on school nursing. That is what Vermont’s Senator Bernie Sanders did on Thursday afternoon. I received a text message from one of his staffers, asking if I could speak with the Senator about School Nursing. Yes, I did! My cell phone rang at 1300…” The Senator is on the line” and the discussion began. His first question for me: “Soph, let me ask you this…Are there enough school nurses in our schools?” I told him no!
Then I shared several situations in Vermont that affect the hiring and keeping of a school nurse. I shared that the biggest difficulties in Vermont and the Nation are schools in rural areas. Those school districts have students for whom accessing health care can be a struggle. Without a School Nurse, the inequity of health care access for school students widens the gap. We need to have a full-time school nurse in every school every day. Senator Sanders appreciates School Nurses. He understands that the Professional School Nurse is key to equitable student health care. Senator Sanders asked if a Federal Grant could help alleviate the lack of school nurses. I told him I would like to see this as a part of the solution.
My voice is one voice. Your voice is one voice. One of NASN’s legislative priorities, the Nurses for Under-Resourced Schools Everywhere (NURSE) Act needs every school nurse’s voice speaking to their Congressional Delegation to get passed through Congress. NASN has created a tool kit to help each school nurse feel more comfortable addressing their legislators.
We know the difference we make in the lives of the students we care for. We also know far too many students need access to a school nurse in their school. Our Senators and Representatives must understand a key piece to improving equitable access to health care is a School Nurse in Every School.
I am a Professional School Nurse…and I vote!
Bio: Dr. Sophia Hall, RN is passionate about school nursing. Dr. Hall has been advocating for school nurses in schools for many years. When the pandemic hit, she was strategically situated as President of the Vermont State School Nurses Association and advocated for School Nurses to be at the decision-making table in schools.
Dr. Hall received the Vermont School Nurse Administrator of the Year Award in 2022 and the Vermont School Nurse of the Year Award for the 2022-2023 School Year.
In 2022 Dr. Hall was awarded the National Association of School Nurses Outstanding School Nurse Administrator Award and the National Board for Certification of School Nurses(NBCSN) NCSN of the Year 2022.
In May 2023, Dr. Hall was honored by the Vermont State House of Representatives for the reading of Concurrent House Resolution H.C.R. 85 in honor of her school nurse achievements. She is the Director from Vermont to the National Association of School Nurses (NASN). Dr.Hall earned the highest Doctor of Nursing Practice credentials from Chamberlain University School of Nursing in 2021. She holds a Master of Education with a Community Health Focus from Plymouth University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Vermont.