NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio — Nurses are the front line health workers in our local schools.
In tonight's reopening report card, our Romney Smith spoke with a school nurse to see how the pandemic is changing the job.
Carolyn Baetjer says as the North Royalton School District Nurse, she’s always paying attention to students who present any kind of illness.
“You know, I’ll be honest, as nurses we are always aware of potentially contagious situations,” says Baetjer.
Now that the school year is up and running, if a student presents with any symptoms, there is a detailed plan of action.
“We have rooms set aside where we can protect the rest of the school population in the event that we are worried about a particular student or staff member,” says Baetjer.
She’s been a nurse in the school system for years and says the pandemic has changed the nature of her job.
"I’ve been identified as the liaison. I’m working very closely with the folks from the Board of Education to do the report that the governor has required of us. We keep our website updated with the number of staff and students in isolation and in quarantine," says Baetjer.
Even if a nurse suspects a student has Covid-19, don’t expect your child to come home with a confirmed case.
“We are not likely to diagnose so we have to use our best judgement and that’s exactly what we’ve always done and that’s exactly what we’ll continue to do,” says Baetjer.
There are things she want parents to keep in mind to help make the school year safe for students to continue to attend in-person.
“We ask the parents each morning to check their child make sure they don’t have symptoms. Physically take their temperature,” says Baetjer.