School nurse shortage prevents Hamilton child from going to school

A Hamilton father says his daughter’s education is suffering because the school board and province cannot sort out a months-long school nurse shortage across Ontario.

Marcel Janssen says his five-year-old daughter, who has Type 1 diabetes, was thrilled to go back to school on Sept. 9 after months of missing her classmates during the pandemic.

“She met her new friends. She sat at her desk for the very first time. She was proud to be there and happy to be in school,” he tells CityNews.

But mere hours after they picked her up from a half-day of class, the Janssen family were told her first day of school would be her only one for a while.

“I feel like this is a barrier to her education based on her nonvisible disability.”

“We got a call from the principal stating there had been a decision made at a board level that students who need medical support from nursing and didn’t already have it were not to come back to school until such support was in place,” said Janssen.

Janssen says the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board board didn’t provide any advance notice to parents. He calls the last-minute change both disruptive and unfair.

“We were told basically, don’t worry, bring her to school, we’ll work it out. We will have a nurse. Come to find out — none of that was planned,” he said. “I feel like this is a barrier to her education based on her nonvisible disability.”

The board confirms that students at 20 of its schools, both elementary and secondary, are impacted by the nursing shortage.

“I just feel bad for all the other children like mine who are being held behind in their educational opportunities because of the shortsightedness of the bureaucracy that’s in place,” said Janssen.

He says he has reached out to anyone who he thought could help, including the school superintendent, his member of provincial Parliament and even Premier Doug Ford’s office. Among his many calls, he spoke to the Local Health Integration Network, which is responsible for providing nursing support to students. He says he was told the school board was notified of the shortage well in advance.

“The school board made the decision on the first day of school, which is just inconceivable to me why they would let us start and then pull the rug out from under us at that moment,” he said. “Apparently [the shortage] has been going on all summer. This should not have been an issue at the start of school, this should have been an issue in August.”

Policy problems

Adding to the frustration is a Ministry of Education policy that only a nurse is allowed to administer insulin to a diabetic child in school and educators are prohibited from doing so.

Janssen says his wife could go to school during lunch hours to administer insulin, but parents are not allowed into school for any reason due to COVID-19 protocols.

According to Janssen, there is no need for a healthcare professional to monitor his daughter’s blood sugar levels or administer her insulin. He says anyone on school staff can easily be trained to do it.

“My child can’t go to school now, because they’ve made that policy. If they were to amend that policy [it would] make the school more accessible for my child.”

“My daughter is on a glucose monitor, so there’s no poking of fingers or test strips. It’s a wireless device that you just put over a sensor and it tells you what her blood sugar is,” he explains.

When it comes to insulin, he says his daughter is on a pump and does not require any shots. Further, the family already provides all calculations for the amount of insulin required, even when a nurse is available.

“[They don’t] have to do any thinking, any calculations,” he said. “All [they have] to do is read the number on the lunch pail, input that into the insulin pump, push the button and five seconds later, it’s done. My daughter goes back to class. Life goes on.”

Janssen believes the policy is too restrictive and needs to be changed so that educational assistants or teachers can be trained on basic diabetes care for young students like his daughter.

“My child can’t go to school now, because they’ve made that policy. If they were to amend that policy [it would] make the school more accessible for my child.”

“Diabetes training should be a mandatory training, just like first-aid, just like CPR. It would destigmatize it — the teachers and the EAs would not be so worried about it if they knew the simple ways that you can handle diabetes,” he said. “It is scary when you don’t know what it is. If you are trained in it and you know how to deal with it, it’s not that frightening.”

“We’re working on it”

The Ministry of Education said in a statement that the Ford government has increased overall funding for school-based public health nurses and it is expected that individual school boards will accommodate students’ medical needs in school.

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board confirmed to CityNews that without nursing support, a student that needs “to have their medical requirements met in a school environment” will likely not be able to attend school.

“An educator cannot provide the medical supports provided by a nurse as outlined by the Ministry of Education’s provision of health support services in school settings,” they said. “System staff are working with school administrators to understand the nursing requirements and collect the information to see how best we can support them.”

“What are you doing to put my child in school and give her the education that she needs and deserves?”

Home and Community Care Support Services, which helps connect school boards to nurses, also says it’s working with healthcare providers to secure services.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created staffing challenges for delivering health care in all sectors across the province,” they said. “We remain committed to all patients of Home and Community Care Support Services, including those children returning to school. We will continue to collaborate with our partners to ensure patients receive the services included in their care plan.”

Janssen says such responses are simply inadequate and leave his child’s learning in limbo.

“‘We’re working on it’ is a very non-committal answer. What does that mean?” he asks. “Did you call someone, have you scheduled a round of meetings? Are you looking at the policy to change it? What is happening? ‘Working on it’ is not an answer. I need to know nuts and bolts – what are you doing to put my child in school and give her the education that she needs and deserves? She’s being discriminated against and that is a wrong thing.”

He adds that every day his daughter is not in school, she’s falling behind, as online school is not an option for a five-year-old.

“When they’re that small, they should not be on the screen that often. Kindergarten is learning through socialization and group activities. None of that is possible through a zoom call,” he said.

“It breaks my heart. She’s an awesome child. She deserves to have the same education without barriers.”