Accommodating Students With Food Allergies in an Age of Increasingly Complex Health Conditions and COVID-19
Presenters: Cathy Raisher, RN, BS, NCSN and Elizabeth McDermott, BA, BSN, RN, NCSN
How do school nurses balance accommodating and advocating for students with food allergies in an environment of increasingly complex and often competing health conditions and disparities? In this session, Cathy and Elizabeth will talk about roles and responsibilities; developing effective partnerships among school nurses, families, providers and school staff; how current laws and regulations govern school nursing care; and the impact of COVID-19 on the school environment.
About the Presenters
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Cathy Raisher, RN, BS, NCSN
Children's National Health Systems
Cathy has been a Registered Nurse for 44 years, working mainly in oncology prior to coming to school health. She has worked in school health in the District of Columbia since 1993, first as a school nurse for 16 years, then for six years as a nurse manager and most recently as a nurse case manager. The continually evolving health care challenges of children in school have led her to case management, where she can actively coordinate the care of students with medical needs to allow them to function to their greatest potential in the academic setting.
Elizabeth McDermott, BA, BSN, RN, NCSN
Georgetown Day School
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Elizabeth started her career in education as a middle and high school science teacher. She has been a nurse for 26 years and a school nurse for the past 21 years. She is the nurse on Georgetown Day School’s PK-8 campus. Georgetown Day has a large number of students with food allergies and has never had a cafeteria. Students eat in their classrooms. Elizabeth has been very active in instituting protocols to keep them safe. Elizabeth has a severe food allergy and is the mother of a child who had a severe food allergy until age four. Elizabeth served two terms as the president of the District of Columbia School Nurses Association and recently finished a term on the Board of Directors for the National Association of School Nurses.