According to nurse coordinator Kandyce Hardie, the nurses in the health center have been trying to get students who feel sick to first come down to the health center, instead of texting or calling their parents.

Hardie said, “The past few weeks, and we’ve really been working on an initiative to stop students from texting parents from class, because we have a lot of students who are texting their parents from class to go home. And then when they come to the health center, their parents are already here, and they haven’t utilized the resources that we have available for them.”

According to Hardie, if students feel sick, instead of calling their parents, they should ask for a pass from their teacher to come to the health center. There, the nurses will try to treat their symptoms.

Hardie said, “Let’s say, for instance, someone has a headache, and then they text their parents from class and their parents pick them up. We could’ve given them Tylenol or ibuprofen; we could’ve let them rest; we could’ve given them a snack. There are multiple things we can do to help their headache other than leaving school for the day and missing out on the classes and having makeup work to do.”

According to Hardie, the nurses have already taken the initiative to speak to all the teachers in their meetings to educate their students about this issue. They are, however, currently still working on getting the voicemail process for the health center changed on the CHS line when students’ parents call in.

In addition to this issue of getting students to first come to the health center when they feel sick, the nurses have also seen an increase in the number of students they see daily.

The nurse’s assistants—students who help the nurses in the health center every period—have also noticed an increase.

Nurse’s assistant and senior Madison Stewart said, “On average, more than 20 students come down here during fourth period. It’s actually more than usual, but I think it’s less than most other periods.”

Hardie said, “With the number of students we see daily higher and as we’re getting into the cold and flu season, if [students] feel ill, have them come down to see us cause we’re here for them.”