Wisconsin DHS puts $8.2 million toward school nurse work force. But is it enough?

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services recently announced an $8.2 million investment to help K-12 schools across the state hire and retain school nurses.

Milwaukee will receive more than $1 million of the funds.

That's a step in the right direction, but for context, Milwaukee Public Schools employs 58 school nurses in the 2021-22 school year. The official enrollment in the district is 69,115. That means one nurse for every 1,192 students.

“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” said President of the Wisconsin Association of School Nurses Kelly Barlow. “I think for quite some time Wisconsin school nurses have flown under the radar … We take care of the students who need us the most, we advocate for student health and not a lot of families know we exist.”

Barlow, a registered nurse, said that the number of school nurses across the state has been low, which became particularly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A lot of our school nurses who were close to, or at, retirement age just decided COVID was enough, and they left the profession,” she said. “Now we’re seeing a lot of people walk away from bedside nursing, and school nursing is a great space for those who want to make a difference in children’s lives."

Besides actual nurses on staff, Barlow said, schools also may lack necessary medical apparatuses and equipment.

How the $8.2 million will be used in Wisconsin schools

The $8.2 million investment comes with help from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Public Instruction and the 12 regional Wisconsin Cooperative Education Service Agencies. The funds will be used to recruit nurses, and retain them with offerings like wellness activities and professional development, according to the statement from the DHS.

The statement said the funds will offer school nurses gym memberships, yoga classes and even passes to state and national parks. Specialized training will help keep nurses up to date on childhood medical issues.

Additionally, $174,000 in funding will go toward scholarships at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Nursing to establish a pipeline for future school nurses. 

Schools across the country are lacking nurses

The shortage of school nurses is not unique to Wisconsin. More than 25% of schools in the United States did not employ a school nurse, as of a 2018 report from the National Association of School Nurses.

“School nursing is such a specific field of nursing,” school nurse in the Wauwatosa school district, Katelyn Lase said. “It’s a combination of direct care, community health and case management all rolled into one.”

More broadly, Wisconsin is projected to be short 20,000 nurses overall by 2035 because of a rising demand for care and retiring nursing educators.

Barlow said many parents expect some kind of nursing care to be available at schools.

“We have children in our buildings for eight hours a day and to just delegate some of those nursing services to unlicensed individuals could be tricky,” Barlow said.

While thankful for the grant, Barlow said the $8.2 million investment is not enough.

“It’s not a long-term fix,” Barlow said. “It’s not a long-term solution and it's obviously not sustainable, it’s not something that’s going to fix the problem.”