Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/108811
> F E AT U R E She performs vision, hearing and scoliosis screening, attends Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings for students with special needs, casemanages and evaluates health treatment plans, links families and students to community resources, and assists with medical insurance applications. She is often the first line of defense for students lacking medical insurance. McGeough saves students��� lives by connecting them to health care providers and requesting that certain diagnostic tests be performed. One student whose recurrent fainting spells were blamed on heatstroke was diagnosed with a heart condition after McGeough wrote to the girl���s doctor requesting certain cardiac tests. Another student with severe stomach pains was found to have a rare and sometimes fatal disease after McGeough asked the girl���s parents and doctor to re-evaluate. While school nurses save lives, they are an endangered species. California is 45th in the nation for student-to-nurse ratio, with just 3,000 school nurses serving 6.3 million public school children. McGeough has worked in hospital emergency rooms and intensive care units, but she loves being a school nurse best of all. She drives 90 minutes each way to work, but says it���s worth it. ���It���s amazing what you can see and achieve in a day,��� says the Santa Rosa Teachers Association member. ���It���s a wonderful job where you can make such a difference in a student���s life.��� Indeed, a typical day in the life of a school nurse is hectic, unpredictable and rewarding. NUEVA VISTA HIGH SCHOOL 1:30 p.m. McGeough visits the infant toddler program because staff asked her to check on a 2-year-old with a seizure disorder. The school has day care for babies while moms attend class. The baby���s mother would like to go on a ���eld trip with her classmates, but McGeough instructs the staff that only the parent may administer Diastat, according to doctor���s orders, so options will need to be explored for the baby if ���Mum��� goes on the ���eld trip. 2 p.m. McGeough meets with teen moms to ensure all baby immunizations are on schedule. ���What about you?��� she asks one of the mothers. ���Do you have health insurance?��� ���No,��� says the girl. ���Just my baby.��� ���I���ll link you up to some insurance so that you can be healthy, too,��� says the school nurse. ���It���s important for you to stay healthy so that you can take care of your baby.��� 12 California Educator February 2013