Hoover School Nurses In Short Supply Amid COVID Surge

HOOVER, AL — The coronavirus pandemic has hit just about every facet of the country's school systems, and Hoover City Schools has seen first-hand how the pandemic is affecting the nurses within the system.

Hoover superintendent Dee Fowler sent a letter to parents this week letting them know that the omicron variant of the coronavirus has hit faculty and staff hard, including school nurses. This has caused problems as school nurses are now in short supply.

"Our school employees are struggling to keep the doors open, buses running, meals served, classes taught, health rooms staffed, phones answered and floors cleaned," Fowler said in his letter sent Wednesday. Recently, we have only been able to fill about half our employee absences with substitutes."

Fowler noted that many school systems in the state have had to go virtual because of a staff shortage and a shortage of substitutes to fill in when faculty and staff get sick. He said he does not want the situation in Hoover schools to come to that, but the nurse shortage is cause for alarm.

"We have learned that one of our choke points, or an area of particular concern, is the attendance of our school nurses," Fowler said. "Our schools have many medically fragile children (students with doctors' orders that have to be managed daily or treated in emergency situations by trained nurses). These situations include children seizures, brittle diabetics, tube feedings, heart issues and a myriad of other health issues. Our nurses see all sick children in our district, and despite all possible precautions, many have fallen ill during this most recent surge."

Fowler said system administrators have tried getting nurses from other systems to fill in but have had no luck, as other systems are experiencing the same issues.

he added that Hoover schools are operating their health resources at a "bare minimum" and if the situation arises where a school has no nurse available on a given day, parents will be notified and can keep their children home with an excused absence.