A thread about #coronavirus and schools: My nurse mom, frequently mentioned here, was a school nurse. People thought she just put on band-aids all day. She was, in fact, the health and safety officer for the largest tech school in the state. She treated severe injuries...
She had a three bed mini-clinic in her office. She typically worked ten hour days and usually didn't eat lunch because there was no time. She treated everything from missing digits to heart attacks to car crashes to seizures. She handled many complicated conditions.
But what really stuck with me was that for many kids, she was the first, last, and only line of medical defense. For families without insurance, she was the doctor. Kids came to school sick so she could treat them.
I want to say that again--kids came to school sick so she could treat them. This was not the occasional kid--this was extremely common, day-to-day stuff. Without a system where people could have access to affordable primary care, she was the primary care. That will matter now.
Without a working health care system, people go in sick and illnesses spread. We are watching it happen. We are paying the price for not doing the things that truly matter and acting like health care is a luxury.
