CTU Nurses Say Private Contractors Providing Inadequate Health Care For Students
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Unionized school nurses are calling on the Board of Education to reverse a privatization deal they say could be harmful to the health of the students, reports WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore.
The Chicago Public Schools have a four-year contract with RCM Technologies for supplemental nursing services but the Chicago Teachers Union says that arrangement has decreased the level of health care in CPS schools for the neediest students.
Registered nurse Mary Anne Wesoloski who heads the Illinois Association of School Nurses says the full time nurses are specially trained to work with children.
"If a child has a nut allergy, it's not enough to have an emergency EpiPen ready," Wesoloski said. "We are also there to teach them how to care for their nut allergy, how to learn how to avoid their triggers, how to read food labels."
But a school spokeswoman says CPS is providing more nursing services to more students because the partnership with RCM is filling critical vacancies and supplementing services.