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State Representative Paul Thissen
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5375
For more information contact: Sandy Connolly 651-296-8877
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SCHOOL NURSES SERVE ON FRONT LINE OF CHILDREN’S HEALTH CARE
State Representative Paul Thissen, Chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee, applauds the report of the Minnesota School Nurses Association and Minnesota 2020 released today. The report makes clear that Minnesota’s school nurses are under tremendous stress.
“Minnesota school nurses are on the front line of children’s health care in this state. Because we have failed to provide affordable health care to 85,000 Minnesota kids, school nurses are forced to perform triage and manage complex chronic conditions from asthma to diabetes," Rep. Thissen said.
Rep. Thissen recently met with the Bemidji School District’s sole full-time registered nurse who that very day met with the family of a girl newly diagnosed as a diabetic. The child’s mom is also a diabetic and the family lacks health insurance. The nurse spent a good part of her day figuring out how to manage diabetes for the girl and keep her healthy.
“The health care system is not working for too many of our Minnesota kids,” said Thissen. “Over fifteen thousand students have a vision problem that keeps them from seeing the blackboard and yet can’t get glasses because their families lack insurance. Thousands of childhood mental health issues go undetected each year.”
The report also highlights an opportunity for Minnesota to re-imagine how we deliver care to students in Minnesota.
“School nurses ought to play a bigger role in keeping kids healthy and we should provide them resources to do so,” said Thissen. “We need to move the debate beyond just getting health coverage to kids, although that is critically important. We need to get health care to more kids. And schools provide us a great opportunity to do that.”
Rep. Thissen will hold hearings in the next legislative session to look at models for expanding the health care services we can provide through our local elementary and high schools.
For more information, please contact Rep. Paul Thissen at 651-296-8375 or rep.paul.thissen@house.mn
News Items
- DFL Leaders Eager to Confront Minnesota’s Challenges with Focus on Economy and Middle Class - (Posted: Jan 9 2013 2:21PM)
- State Representative John Persell appointed Majority Whip - (Posted: Dec 21 2012 1:11PM)
- Speaker-designate Thissen to Establish Select Committee on Living Wage Jobs - (Posted: 2012-12-19 00:00:00)
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