A handful of school health clerks complained to the school board April 18 that district leadership is demanding they administer insulin shots to diabetic students that need the medication during school hours.
Veteran health clerk Heidi Curiel told the board neither she nor her colleagues, some of whom stood with her at the podium, are trained in performing the “invasive procedure” and it should be left to trained professionals such as registered nurses.
Curiel said the Morgan Hill Unified School District’s health clerks are “feeling harassed and bullied to take on the duties.”
California law permits “trained, unlicensed personnel” to administer prescription medication under a doctor’s orders, including insulin, according to a 2013 edsource.com article. The information was based on a Supreme Court ruling.
District staff did not respond to requests for comment before Wednesday’s press-time.
Reluctant to do so, health clerk Natalie Simoneau, who has worked at Britton Middle School for the last 12 years, echoed Curiel’s sentiments and requested that staff not change her job description to include insulin injections for students. Simoneau said she inherited 300 new sixth grade students this year and has more than 60 medications to administer in her office, including Epi-pens and inhalers for ailments such as allergies and asthma.
Mark Miller, father of two children at Paradise Valley Elementary School, said his daughter requires insulin shots throughout the school day.
“What blows my mind is her health clerk is only on campus three hours per day,” said Miller, adding that the population of diabetic students needing daily insulin injections is increasing and that can’t be done if there is nobody on campus to administer them. “I want to see some change.”
Noel Weeks started as a part-time nurse with the school district in August and has since taken on full-time duties. However, she said the district is understaffed to cover the diabetic student population at all schools.
“I love my job. I love this school district,” Weeks said. “We’re grossly understaffed and looking for hopefully some answers or another LVN or another RN to cover the gap.”
Elaine Gomer, the second school nurse employed by MHUSD, said she supports the health clerks decision not to administer insulin shots and is in opposition of the district changing their job description.
“You are expecting health clerks to function as nurses. However, they are not nurses,” saId Gomer, who cited the 2013 law that allows unlicensed personnel to issue insulin if they volunteer to do so.
Gomer explained the district employs the equivalent of 1.6 full-time positions for school nurses this year since they failed to replace two other part-time nurses after they left the district. She called it “unsafe” and “impossible” for the remaining nurses to supervise the 12 health clerks at all times.
According to the American Diabetes Association, one in 400 children are diagnosed with diabetes nationwide.
