Lawrence Township changes look of school nurses’ offices, adds isolation area

LAWRENCE, Ind, (WISH) — Seeing a school nurse is going to look different this year in Lawrence Township. The district has made changes to keep students safe and healthy.

Children are still allowed to go see the nurse, but before they come in the school nurse will make sure each student uses hand sanitizer and determine where they should be placed. COVID-19 has forced the district to make changes in case a student shows symptoms.

The district has separated the clinics into two areas. The first is a waiting area for students without COVID symptoms. The second is an isolation area, which is six feet away from the other area. A student would get moved to the isolation area if showing signs of COVID-19.

The isolation area is sectioned off with vinyl shower curtains which can be wiped down and cleaned. Nurses have face shields, goggles and isolation gowns if needed.

The district says parents are part of getting students back to school safely.

“They’re going to have to monitor their kids before they send them to school,” Lawrence Township Health and Nursing Services coordinator Mandy Pardue said. “You cannot send your sick kid to school. If we really monitor that at home before getting to school then we won’t have to send kids home and they won’t be exposed to other students.”

Teachers within the district are getting COVID-19 training so they can recognize symptoms and know when to send a student to the school nurse. The district says if your child is symptomatic it’s usually 10 days before they can return to school. But it will be an individual process for each family.

On a side note, the district is encouraging personal transportation. They said it’s difficult to social distance on a school bus. But by law, the district is required to provide buses for children.