Any nurses NOT responsible for contact tracing?

[MHDNURSE]

Curious if you are not the one doing the contact tracing in your school, who is?  Or of you are but with assistance, who helps you?  We are looking at changing our current system as the nurses have no time to do anything else when they are contact tracing and it is literally taking the entire day, so other than critical meds, nothing else is getting done.  Not sustainable. We obv have had a huge uptick in cases, this the time being spent on CT.

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

We are not tracing in school per se (like last year), but we are responsible to report clusters (3 related) and outbreaks (2+ clusters that are not related) to the state. Pain in my butt.

[k1p1ssk, BSN, RN]

At this point, contact tracing would be done by the building based nurse with support from the district nurse leader. We are in the process of getting approval for an extra, PT float nurse who would also be helping out with all things COVID related, wherever the need is greatest (I.e. if there is a positive, they would work in that building until CT, Test & Stay, etc. is complete).

[Eleven011]

In my school, the Principals and Secretaries work together to contact trace.  They are the ones who know what classes the students have, who they sit by, what sports they are in, if they ride the bus, what daycare they go to, and on and on...    I don't know those things.   Actually ,my admin and front office staff have been amazing at dealing with the bulk of Covid related stuff.   I of course handle testing, reporting results and ordering supplies.   But that's about it.   

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

Haha. Nope.

I do the bulk of COVID stuff for my school, I will say. I do this so that my other 2 FTE nurses can handle more of the day to day stuff (have 2 LPNs I coach/supervise). 

[T-ROD, LPN]

I am the only one in my district that does Covid things plus be the only nurse for the entire pk-12 district. I will say though that our principals are wonderful. They have helped me anytime we have had a mass tracing. Whether they are calling parents or looking at rooms with me. I come up many times after hours and trace and they have both either been here to help or have offered to help. 

I know the neighboring district has the front desk secretary do it.  The nurse doesn't even know who has covid there. 

[drvncrazy, BSN]

I am in Texas. We are not contract tracing at all this year. It was for sure a Full time job last year by each campus nurse and the district Coordinator together. The District Nurse Coordinator does still report positive students to the Health Department. We are only Quarantining Positive students. Family members may attend school as long as no symptoms. If they begin with any symptoms they must have a Negative Covid test to return.

 

[KKEGS, MSN, RN]

We aren't contact tracing at all this year but we used some COVID money from our state last year to hire 2 LPNs to help do the contact tracing.  That was all they did was deal with COVID stuff so if a nurse was informed that a student or staff tested positive it was passed on to the COVID Team which consisted of one of our RNs and the 2 LPNs we hired.  

[MHDNURSE]

On 10/19/2021 at 2:49 PM, T-ROD said:

the only nurse for the entire pk-12 district

OMG how???  Do you go from school to school?  I cannot imagine...

[Eleven011]

On 10/21/2021 at 10:14 AM, MHDNURSE said:

OMG how???  Do you go from school to school?  I cannot imagine...

I can't speak for the original poster - but not every school district has multiple buildings.   I am the nurse for our entire school district also,  ECIP/PreK/JK/K-12 grades.   But, we are all in one building, about 600 students total.  So it is very doable.  

[nursekoll, BSN, RN]

Health Department does contact tracing here. I wait to hear from them, but parents usually contact the school first. I don't have time and don't want to be the COVID police anymore. Our COVID policy is nonexistent. People do whatever they want anyways, so it doesn't matter what I try to do/recommend. I am also the only nurse pre-k through 12th grade (about 300 total in 2 different buildings/towns).

[T-ROD, LPN]

On 10/21/2021 at 10:14 AM, MHDNURSE said:

OMG how???  Do you go from school to school?  I cannot imagine...

We do have 2 buildings. PK-6 and 7-12. They are within walking distance from each other. I spend so much time each day at each building and carry a radio that is district wide so they can reach me easily in an emergency. I do have 2 trained med-aides in each building to help with the little stuff, so that helps. I typically do not have much down time!