Mayor Vitale Announces Major Healthcare Initiative |
Oct. 19, 2006
Interim Mayor Joseph F. Vitale has announced an innovative healthcare program that promises to make a significant impact on the well-being of thousands of school children – by the simple expedient of getting them expert medical attention quicker.
The Mayor provided details of the Woodbridge School-Based Nurse Practitioner Health Services Pilot Project at an Oct. 19 press conference at Avenel Middle School, along with Woodbridge Township School District Superintendent Vincent Smith, members of the Woodbridge Township Board of Education and representatives from the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey.
The program is a partnership among Woodbridge Township, the Woodbridge Township School District and Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey.
“ Our purpose is to help students get the medical treatment they need in a more timely, cost-effective manner,” says Mayor Vitale. “The program will allow the school nurse to work with an Advanced Practice Nurse to offer primary care service for the student at the school.”
Under the pilot project a student complaining of illness or injury will be recommended by the on-site school nurse for an immediate consultation with an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) from the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey. The APN will have authority to prescribe appropriate medication or other primary care treatment, thus avoiding the delay of sending the student to an outside doctor for a condition that can be easily remediated by the APN.
“In essence,” says Mayor Vitale, “the student will receive the necessary treatment at school without parents having to lose time from work taking the child to a doctor’s office where they would likely add to the doctor’s already full schedule.”
The program goes one step further, adds Superintendent Smith. “At each school site on an ongoing basis, the Advanced Practice Nurse will work with the school nurse and provide the next level of primary healthcare. The APN, in collaboration with a physician, will provide physicals, immunizations, health screenings and diagnosis and treatment of common childhood health issues. The net result will be a consistent level of healthcare service for our students with a significant decline in absenteeism from illness.”
Six elementary schools with a population of 2,291 will participate in the pilot: Avenel Street School, Port Reading School, Ross Street School, Woodbine Avenue School, Lafayette Estates School, Matthew Jago School.
It is anticipated that within the first year, close to 1,000 students will access the program, accounting for approximately 3,000 visits.
Along with the implementation of new ethics standards for Township officials and a redevelopment pay-to-play ordinance, the Woodbridge School-Based Nurse Practitioner Health Services Pilot Project is the final component of Mayor Vitale’s three major policy initiatives undertaken during his three-month tenure as Interim Mayor.
Other key objectives of the pilot project include:
health promotion and disease prevention
providing affordable health coverage for children and low-income parents
A legislative co-sponsor of the state’s Family Health Care Coverage Act, State Senator and Interim Mayor Vitale sees the School-Based Nurse Practitioner Health Services Pilot Project as a major step forward in expanding healthcare access. “The school-based nurse program will help hard-working New Jersey families meet the healthcare needs of their children and help get more families involved in a regular network of healthcare prevention.”
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©2000
MIS Department
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