The mission of the health services department of the Northampton Public Schools is to promote and protect the physical and emotional health of students and staff. The Health Services Department, through the School Nurses, provides comprehensive health programs that advance the well-being, academic success, and life-long achievement of all students.
“You cannot educate an unhealthy child and you cannot keep an uneducated child healthy…”
Dr. Jocelyn Elders, Former Secretary of Health
Each school in the Northampton Public Schools has a full time registered nurse. It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to inform the school nurse of any health condition that may impact their child while at school. It is the responsibility of the school nurse, working with parents/guardians, teachers, and other staff, to develop an individualized health care plan for any student who has a significant health care need. The school physician is available to the school nurses for consultation.
What’s New
Health Services department is proud to now offer Nursing Care Coordination for students with complicated heath care needs! Care Coordination is the process of organizing and coordinating resources and services in response to individual healthcare needs along the illness and care continuum and in multiple settings. This project will pilot a nursing care coordinator position, responsible for assessing, planning, coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the options and services to meet an individual student’s health care needs across the continuum. The position will also assist the primary care providers, school nursing, counseling, teaching and administrative staff to determine level of care and post-acute care needs. Patti Zubini-Weiss, R.N., BSW, has been hired as the NPS Nursing Care Coordinator and she can be reached at (413) 587-1384 or pzubiniweiss@northampton-k12.