Returning to school after devastating Camp Fire

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Hi all,

I live in Butte County, California which as you probably have heard in the news we have been absolutely devastated by the Camp Fire. It literally has wiped our town of Paradise off the map. Over 70 dead, still over 1000 missing... 10,000+ homes destroyed, 400+ businesses... when I say the town is wiped out I mean it is literally gone. Of course this also means the school district has lost its schools. The fire still threatens structures and we are literally being suffocated by the smoke (we've had hazardous smoke conditions for so many days now). School has been cancelled in our entire county until December 3rd.

I am thinking about when I return to school. I am a brand new school nurse (and nurse) and I know we will be having some new enrolling students to my schools from the town of Paradise. I want to be as helpful as possible and mindful of what they are going through.

I need advice as I try to anticipate what this may be like. For those with meds to be given at school -I'll still need a med order but how are they supposed to get that since their doctors are displaced and the medical facilities burned down?? What other issues may arise from this that I can't anticipate right now? I want to be as prepared as possible. Thank you for any help you can give!!

I'm so sorry. This is completely devastating.

I would look at your state website and see if there is an emergency response hotline for the schools and hospitals affected.

Yes, get on board with SW about post trauma. Check in with your local DOH.

The med orders will have to stand. You cannot dispense meds without an order. This will be post trauma, and meds will need to be ordered.

Document your butt off.

Talk with other local nurses and brainstorm.

Are YOU okay?

Thank you for your advice!! It is devastating for sure! I actually have my brother, his wife and their two special needs children staying in our home because they lost everything in the fire. :( It's been very difficult. We are doing ok... THANK YOU for asking! So many people are homeless and camping in parking lots in the surrounding towns. I have no words. When I was in nursing school I precepted with an amazing school nurse who is the reason I decided to become a school nurse. I call her for advice every day. She lost her home in the fire as well. I'm not sure if she'll be going back to work. I'll be lost without her!!

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California fires: 'Bus driver from heaven' Kevin McKay rescued young children - CNN

Here is an account of the escape of one busload of children

There are literally thousands of stories like this. My nephew who is 7 and has autism was stuck in a parking lot with his bus driver, special needs teacher and dozens of others while the fire burned all around them. He was stuck up there all day... my brother and his wife didn't get him back until 6pm... the fire happened in the morning. :(

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Thank you to each of you for taking time to help me and encourage me. I've reached out to the California School Nurse Organization for advice as many of you encouraged me to do and i'm also brushing up on my therapeutic communication. My district is also bringing staff back to work next week (1 week before the students) and providing trainings on the impact of trauma on students and staff and how to appropriately respond w/ emotional support. This makes me very happy. So many of our own staff members lost homes (and pets) in this fire. :( It's just awful.

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Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.
Thank you to each of you for taking time to help me and encourage me. I've reached out to the California School Nurse Organization for advice as many of you encouraged me to do and i'm also brushing up on my therapeutic communication. My district is also bringing staff back to work next week (1 week before the students) and providing trainings on the impact of trauma on students and staff and how to appropriately respond w/ emotional support. This makes me very happy. So many of our own staff members lost homes (and pets) in this fire. :( It's just awful.

Thank you for letting us know. Is there anything that would be helpful for us to do for your district? Anything we can do long-distance?

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How nice of you. I really have no idea though. Today I am going to be a 'train the trainers' training put on by our County's Crisis Response team. It is going to help us help support students and staff when we return. I am really glad my district is doing this. I also found a self-paced online training called Psychological First Aid. I plan on doing that this week. Next week students come back to school. I have no idea what it is going to look like. Now nearly 14,000 homes are destroyed and over 50,000 are still displaced. :-( I can't imagine how kids are supposed to go back to school when they still don't have basic needs met (shelter!!!).

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Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.
How nice of you. I really have no idea though. Today I am going to be a 'train the trainers' training put on by our County's Crisis Response team. It is going to help us help support students and staff when we return. I am really glad my district is doing this. I also found a self-paced online training called Psychological First Aid. I plan on doing that this week. Next week students come back to school. I have no idea what it is going to look like. Now nearly 14,000 homes are destroyed and over 50,000 are still displaced. :-( I can't imagine how kids are supposed to go back to school when they still don't have basic needs met (shelter!!!).

If (over the next couple weeks) you can readily identify a thing or a place for donations needed - let us know, please. It sounds like shelter is the major issue as there already weren't a lot of low-cost housing options. Psych first aid is going to be a great resource for you. Do you have a state school nurses' association? In Texas when Harvey hit, the regional nurse group got on their Facebook page and told us what aid was needed. Hugs to all of you as you make it through this.

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Specializes in Cardiology, School Nursing, General.
We accepted more displaced students than our facilities could handle after Hurricane Harvey; students sitting on the floor in classrooms, extended lunch shifts, extended bus routes, etc...madness - but the students, both sides of the coin, handled it well with some exceptions of course, but friendships were made and some families moved here and never went back "home."

Our Governor temporarily suspended immunization and proof of residency requirements in the affected counties and since we were declared a federal disaster area meals for the students at school were free.

We do not require a MD order to administer OTC meds and, in the case of RX meds, the prescription label suffices as the MD order so individual medications were not a substantial problem.

As Emergent said, there are going to be some emotionally fragile students in that "fire" is a horrific and terrifying event so it'll be all hands on deck with counseling and the like.

Your school district has the most power in alleviating your medication issue, RE MD order, they could easily suspend the requirement temporarily, or if it's a state requirement they could do the same...remember, if the MD didn't order the medication to be given as directed on the RX label, you would not have it to give.

Good luck...may God's Grace offer comfort and healing for all those affected by this devastating event.

Exactly this and you may be getting kids with lots of mental difficulties due to the traumatic experience, so expect a lot of stomach aches, crying and other symptoms of stress. Be kind and while you will be VERY busy, take some time to talk to them and help them feel comfortable and welcomed. Sometimes a hug makes their day easier, I found, especially while their families are having issues, they feel stressed and need some kindness.

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If (over the next couple weeks) you can readily identify a thing or a place for donations needed - let us know, please. It sounds like shelter is the major issue as there already weren't a lot of low-cost housing options. Psych first aid is going to be a great resource for you. Do you have a state school nurses' association? In Texas when Harvey hit, the regional nurse group got on their Facebook page and told us what aid was needed. Hugs to all of you as you make it through this.

Thank you so much!! How very kind of you. Yes, shelter is the most important thing for people right now. It's been 3 weeks... 88 human remains found, 196 still missing over 15,000 homes gone. Still over 50,000 people displaced. :-(

We do have a state school nurses association. I've reached out to them. I've also reached out to Santa Rosa schools and made contact with one of their district nurses today. They had a bad fire last year so I figured it would be helpful to contact those nurses to get guidance.

THANK YOU EVERYONE! Students come back to school December 3rd.

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

As a nurse and a firefighter for 19 years, this is just heartbreaking for me to hear of this level of catastrophe. Big hugs to you and my deepest level of gratitude to you for taking care of those in their greatest hour of need.

As far as orders as requirements, the state should be working fast on some sort of emergency ruling. I'd say to contact them asap to see what their advice for your exact question. Phone call and email. Most likely you won't get a response because, knowing that Cali became very strict with their vaccination rules and honestly not knowing what your rules are for med orders are, but assuming they are similar to NJ where you need written order for everything otc or rx, my guess is that the state hasn't even begun to think about these things and how to quickly react. Good thing we have proactive school nurses to advocate for students.

Generally in times of disaster, parents are given extensions to get records, but are not exempted from fulfilling requirements. Perhaps you will be able to come up with a viable contingency plan involving your school physician (if your district has one) for any students that don't have a medical home as a result of Camp Fire. If your school doesn't have a school MD, perhaps they can contract with somebody temporarily for that purpose.

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Specializes in kids.

That is an awesome program...I have started using it!

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