Newspaper Page Text
-School health assistants a ‘godsend’
By Laura Lavezzo
’> Staff Writer
Forsyth County’s lone school
. health nurse, Nancy Rithmire, is get
ting a little bit of a break this school
year.
Prior to September 1997, Rithmire
was the school system’s only desig
• nated employee to deal with first aid
and health issues. Last fall, 11 part
’ ’ lime health assistants were placed in
‘the county’s elementary schools to
assist with first aid, dispense pre
scription medication per parental
approval, assist with the reviewing
of immunization records and contact
parents about student absences.
The part-time health assistants are
not necessarily health professionals,
but include parents and community
volunteers who have been trained by
Rithmire.
. * “Some are nurses, and others are
* ’parents who were already active in
’ the school,” said Rithmire, who
. supervises all of the health assis
tants.
*• Rithmire arranged for a profession
al from Egleston Children’s Hospital
to train the individuals about dia
betes, asthma, immunizations and
how to assess whether or not a child
needs to go home due to illness.
Although she greatly appreciates the
Meningitis prevention study planned
By Laura Lavezzo
. Staff Writer
»
. * The good news is Forsyth County has had no cases of
meningitis in the last year. The other news is there have
been an overwhelming number of cases of meningitis
caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitis in the sur
rounding counties of Hall, Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb and
Bartow - right down the commuting corridor to Atlanta.
State Department of Health officials want to provide
our high school students with free throat cultures as part
•of a study conducted by Dr. Scott Kellerman of the
.Epidemiology Program Office, Center for Disease
Control and Prevention. A result of data collected from
' Jan. Ito Dec. 31,1997 shows the heavy presence of the
' Neisseria pathogen in the North Georgia area.
• Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes that
’ surround the brain and spinal cord. Viral meningitis is
more of a summer malady, caused by viruses similar to
the one that causes influenza. It is less severe than other
forms and runs its course untreated in a few days.
Bacterial meningitis, however, is more dangerous. It is
caused by either Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria
meningitidis or Haemophilus influenzae type b. If left
College notes
* Piedmont College
Brianne Coates of Cumming
was named to the Dean’s
Scholars list at Piedmont
College as a result of academic
performance in the fall 1997
semester. To be named to this
list, a student must achieve a 4.0
grade point average while taking
* at least 12 credits. She is the
daughter of James C. Coates 111
. and Susan K. Coates of
’ Cumming.
» » _
University of Alabama
Donald Patrick Beatty, Michael
Edward and Allison Lynne, all
of Cumming, graduated from the
University of Alabama in
January. Commencement exer
cises were held at the
Tuscaloosa campus. All three
earned masters’ degrees.
University of Michigan
Elizabeth A. O’Brien of
* Cumming was named as a
degree candidate at the
University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor. O’Brien will earn a Juris
Doctor of Law degree once her
dissertation is complete.
Brenau University
Jennifer Marie White, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Harrill White of
Cumming, was named to the
Dean’s list at Brenau University I
for the fall 1997 semester. To be
named to the Dean’s list, a stu
dent must achieve an average of
at least 93.
Auburn University
Andrew P. Davies and Joseph
A. Gresham, both of Cumming,
graduated from Auburn
University Dec. 15 in Beard-
Eves Memorial Coliseum. Both
earned bachelor’s degrees.
North Georgia College
Taxpayers in Lumpkin and sur
rounding counties can receive
free tax preparation assistance
from the North Georgia College
and State University Accounting
Society on Feb. 21 and 28, from
8 a.m. and noon both days.
Bring 1997 W-2’s, 10995, forms
received by mail and a copy of
last year’s returns. For more
information, call (706) 864-
1949.
I !
additional help in the schools, she
says it is still not enough.
According to Rithmire, the nation
al recommended standard is one
nurse per typical group of 750 chil
dren, one nurse per 250 special edu
cation students, and one nurse per
125 severe special education stu
dents, a group which includes bed
bound students.
“Dr. Magill cares about children,
and knows that children leam more
when they’re healthy and need to be
healthy to leam,” said Rithmire, “but
local funds have not been there to
support the program.”
Funding for the program is current
ly provided by Baptist North
Hospital, Northwoods Medical
Specialists, North Fulton Regional
Hospital, the St. Joseph Mercy
Foundation and North Hospital. The
donations were acquired after a
small group of concerned parents
banded together with Director of
Student Support Services Debbie
Rondem and Barbara Noon of
Northwoods Medical Specialists.
Rithmire hopes future funding will
provide for the addition of more
health aids.
“They’re desperately needed there
full-time, and the middle schools
and high schools have not yet been
untreated, bacterial meningitis may lead to brain damage
or even death. Luckily, antibiotics are available to stop
the progression of the disease, and vaccines are available
for children over age 2 for some bacterial varieties.
Kellerman would like to use Forsyth County high
school students as the control group in his study of
Bartow County’s high rate of the disease. Since Forsyth
County has a zero rate of meningitis at this time, it is per
fect for a control study, which represents “the norm.”
“We are happy about the study because we want to pre
vent communicable diseases as much as possible,” said
the county’s school health nurse, Nancy Rithmire. “Ten
percent of the population is considered carriers of the
Neisseria bacterium. We hope families will see this study
as a prevention opportunity and give permission for chil
dren to have the throat cultures.”
The parents of students who are found to be carriers
will be notified in confidentiality, and treatment will be
provided free of charge to eliminate the bacteria.
“We have not had the disease and we want to know
why,” Rithmire continued. Since one out of every
100,000 people have the disease, Rithmire sees the study
as a chance to help our neighbors and ourselves at the
same time.
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offiufih caticot
assigned health assistants,” she
said.“ We’ve asked that the strategic
plan in the long-range five-year
planning include a budget for one
R.N. in each cluster.”
Nevertheless, the recent addition of
the part-time helpers is a great
improvement, especially since it
frees up the administrative staff in
the schools who were taking on the
responsibility of medication dispen
sion, attendance tracking and much
more in addition to their regular
duties. After all, Rithmire could not
be in 18 places at once, and children
get sick in all 18 schools every day.
In October alone, there were six bro
ken arms, three children in need of
stitches, 31 asthma action plans in
effect, and numerous classroom
head lice checks.
In addition to the unexpected prob
lems, there are approximately 60 to
80 medications dispensed in each
middle school daily. Some are for
seizures, others are for diabetes,
ADHD, or asthma, said Rithmire.
“T\venty-seven percent of Forsyth
County’s middle school students
have a significant health problem,”
she said. “This shows a real need for
someone at each school to be
responsible for health issues. This
program has been a godsend to me.”
iHiiiKiininni . L,
I ® «
by -i."..'* lESsI I« / 'jaw'—
■mfe?S 1 I mr
Photo/submitted
Social Science Fair winners
North Forsyth High School students James Voerg and Ryan Klee
were the Class IV (11th and 12th grade) winners of the Social
Science Fair. Voerg won first place with “Should illegal drugs be
decriminalized?” and Klee took second with “Are congressman
unduly influenced by lobbyists?” All first place winners, grades fifth
through 12th, will be at the Feb. 19 Board of Education meeting.
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, Fubruury 16,1998 -
School notes
Change of meeting time
The Feb. 17 meeting of the
Special Education Advisory
Committee has been changed. The
committee is now scheduled to
meet Monday, Feb. 23, from 5:30 -
7 p.m. in the board room of the
Central Office.
Forsyth For Families
...sponsored by the Council on
Youth, the Forsyth County School
System and local PTAs and PTOs
will be held on Sunday, Feb. 22,
from 2:30 - 5 p.m. at South
Forsyth Middle and High Schools;
on Monday, March 2, from 5:45 -
8:30 p.m. at North Forsyth High
School; and Thursday, March 5,
from 5:45 - 8 p.m. at Forsyth
Central High School. For more
information, call (770) 887-
2461.
PAGE 17A