Starting November 20, St. John’s School was expected to have no medical personnel in the building Monday through Thursday to assist Sam Allen’s 7-year-old son, according to an email described by Boston 25 News. The Head of School cited a nursing-staff resignation. The school said it planned to seek a replacement and advertise for a part-time school nurse, the station reported.
The care question
Allen’s son, a first grader, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 18 months old. Boston 25 reported that he uses an insulin pump managed mostly through an app on the family’s iPhones, but an adult needs to verify his readings. Allen told the station that she chose a private school in part to find an educational experience better suited to his needs.
A diabetes guide from Boston University recommends that buildings enrolling a student with diabetes have an appropriately licensed school nurse available throughout the school day. The guide is a recommendation; it does not establish a legal requirement for St. John’s.
Staffing accounts differ
Allen told Boston 25 that she and her family met with the school seven to ten times over the summer before enrolling her son. She said they understood that three nurses were on staff, nursing coverage was full-time and the school could provide his care. About two months into the school year, she learned that the main nurses had resigned, the station reported.
Allen told the station that the Head of School raised the possibility of finding another arrangement for her son and urged her to look for a new school. Terrence C. Donilon, the Archdiocese of Boston’s secretary for communications and public affairs, told Boston 25 by email that the school had not removed the student and was not planning to do so. He said it was working to resolve a staffing change and would remain in contact with the family. A St. John’s administrative assistant gave no comment when the station called.
The accounts leave open how the staffing change will affect the student’s enrollment and what medical coverage will be available during the school week.
Statewide nursing shortage
A 2023 WBUR report found nearly 300 open school nurse positions in Massachusetts, which the Massachusetts School Nurse Organization said represented more than 10% of the state’s school nurses. The organization’s president described the openings as the worst she had seen in 26 years and said some districts shared a nurse between two buildings, dividing the day between them.
