Good afternoon peeps- I am just reaching out to see if there are any School Nurses on here from Missouri that will be performing the BinaxNOW Rapid tests in their schools.
I also want to hear from you if your schools didn't decide to participate and what the rationale was for that?
For those that will be doing the Testing- How are you feeling about the process, as we are preparing to start testing soon?
So thankful for the training and support that we are receiving to get ready to start the Testing process.
Specializes in Med Surg, Tele, School Nurse, EMT/FF.
Our governor just announced last night that our whole state will be receiving these test for in school. Said they will be in schools by the week after Thanksgiving. Haven't heard anything from the district/my director about it yet. Our district is already so short on nurses, I don't know where some schools will find the time to test (even if it is only 15 minutes). Some schools don't even have a nurse ? Oh, and there was mention of drive-thru testing by the school nurse in the morning at drop off ?
I reviewed the DESE powerpoint from the Binax webinar. It didn't mention following up a positive with a PCR, just a negative. Did you see that somewhere else in the huge amounts of materials that DESE has been putting out? Thanks!
Statewide DPH is still recommending a confirmation PCR. But the call I was just this morning said some DESE guidelines are being updated.
Is this the powerpoint from the Binax info session? My school didn't opt in (and only 100 school out of the 300 interested were selected - private schools could not opt in).
Also - the documentation with the test says a nurse should do it. But ont eh webinar I was on, it was stated "any trained staff - does not need to be a health care provider." And I was picturing front office people doing these tests and my brain exploded just a little, LOL.
Statewide DPH is still recommending a confirmation PCR. But the call I was just this morning said some DESE guidelines are being updated.
Is this the powerpoint from the Binax info session? My school didn't opt in (and only 100 school out of the 300 interested were selected - private schools could not opt in).
Also - the documentation with the test says a nurse should do it. But ont eh webinar I was on, it was stated "any trained staff - does not need to be a health care provider." And I was picturing front office people doing these tests and my brain exploded just a little, LOL.
The PP was from the DESE webinar. FYI, I just heard from my old director at a private school and they were just "allowed" in after initially being declined. Maybe they have fewer participants than they anticipated.
Also, new DESE guidance this week. It boils down to people being able to stop quarantine at day 10 if they have a negative PCR on day 8 or later. (There are a couple of caveats but that's the gist of the change.)
The PP was from the DESE webinar. FYI, I just heard from my old director at a private school and they were just "allowed" in after initially being declined. Maybe they have fewer participants than they anticipated.
Also, new DESE guidance this week. It boils down to people being able to stop quarantine at day 10 if they have a negative PCR on day 8 or later. (There are a couple of caveats but that's the gist of the change.)
Or more tests? It was very confusing that I could opt in. Schools approved for the trial were published in the Globe this week.
And yep, saw that. I don't know how many people will wait until day 8 to be tested. (And results can take longer than 2 days if Quest processes them.)
Specializes in Home Health,Dialysis, MDS, School Nurse.
I've been doing these test for a couple weeks now. They are very straight forward to do and simple to learn and perform. I've done about 25 of them. For students the rule is that if they are sick enough for me to decide to test, they are sick enough to go home regardless of the result. Plus I need signed parent permission to test, so they are right there anyway. Staff have always been either already off due to illness, or on their way out when I test them.
I've been doing these test for a couple weeks now. They are very straight forward to do and simple to learn and perform. I've done about 25 of them. For students the rule is that if they are sick enough for me to decide to test, they are sick enough to go home regardless of the result. Plus I need signed parent permission to test, so they are right there anyway. Staff have always been either already off due to illness, or on their way out when I test them.
Specializes in Home Health,Dialysis, MDS, School Nurse.
13 minutes ago, JenTheSchoolRN said:
Fun times. Curious, any for a minor symptom like just having nasal congestion?
No not really, I don't test for minor stuff like that, unless they are already a close contact. Fever, loss of taste/smell, or severe cold symptoms gets you tested.
Specializes in School Health, Community Health, Nursing ED.
I put this in another forum but I want to know, is any one negotiating changes to their contracts before they do rapid testing? Does everyone who is doing the testing currently wear N95s? We have a very small supply of N95s and I worry they will say a surgical mask with face shield is fine to do the testing. I worry about PPE, office coverage, emergencies in other parts of the school building, breaks. Seems to me this should be done in the first 1 hour 1.5 hours of school then shut the thing down so you can get some work done.
Specializes in School Nurse. Having conversations with littles..
I have worn a regular mask and a face shield and feel safe doing it this way. as it takes just a few seconds to collect the specimen. But, if the person I am testing is coughing or sneezing at the time. I would take more precautions. Missouri has provided a large amount of PPE when they ship the tests.
Cattz, ADN
1,083 Posts
OK. Hang in there and good luck.