Secondary School Nurse Newsletter

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January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Every year since 2010, the President has dedicated the month to raise awareness about human trafficking and to educate the public about how to identify and prevent this crime.

Human trafficking is a crime that involves exploiting a person for labor, services or commercial sex. The United States Department of Justice classifies human trafficking into two major categories:

• Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing or soliciting of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act is 17 or younger.
• Labor trafficking involves the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtainment of a person through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery.

Those trafficked are of all ages, races, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, socioeconomic backgrounds and citizenship statuses. Traffickers can be anyone, including family members, intimate partners, business owners and community leaders. Trafficking occurs in various industries, such as restaurants, massage parlors, hotels, factories, domestic services, child care, health care and sexually oriented businesses.

If You or Someone You Know are in Danger and Need Immediate Help:

• Call 9-1-1 for the local police department
• Contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline:
  • Call: 1-888-373-7888 (TTY: 711)
  • Text: 233733
  • Chat Online: Human Trafficking Hotline Web Chat

The Texas Human Trafficking Resource Center connects Health and Human Services staff, health care providers, stakeholders and those who have experienced human trafficking to resources needed to locate services, help prevent trafficking, and recognize and respond to potential trafficking situations.

Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that has taken far too many lives. But together we can make a difference.

* Fentanyl poisoning is the leading cause of death for people ages 18 to 45 in the U.S.

* 99% of fentanyl overdoses are accidents.

*Over 150 people die EVERY day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

*The number of fentanyl-related deaths in Texas has almost doubled in just one year.

*Fentanyl kills one person every 8.57 minutes.

*Data indicates that there was an 89% increase in fentanyl-related deaths reported in 2021 compared to 2020. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of the Texas Governor)

Prevent Blindness Texas (PBT) created a Back-to-School Toolkit to help families, caregivers, and health professionals understand children’s vision and its importance in education. PBT has certified external instructors who can work with your district’s health services department to provide state vision screening certification to school nurses, parents, and community volunteers. PBT offers free eye exams and/or eyeglasses for qualifying students and their families. The PBT application, available in English and Spanish, must be completed by the parent/guardian and submitted by the school or parent/guardian via email at info@pbtexas.org. For more information, visit the PBT Back-to-School webpages.

The SWISD Health Services department looks forward to the 2024-25 school year and caring for student(s). Updated physician’s orders are REQUIRED each school year to provide physician prescribed health services to students. SWISD staff is not permitted to administer medications or medical procedures without updated physician’s orders.

• The use of e-cigarettes is unsafe for kids, teens, and young adults.
• Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine. Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s.1
• E-cigarettes can contain other harmful substances besides nicotine.
• Young people who use e-cigarettes may be more likely to smoke cigarettes in the future.

Cold and Flu Season is upon us! Please follow proper handwashing and respiratory etiquette to help prevent the spread of unwanted germs

University Health and Southwest ISD are excited to have a School-Based Telehealth Program that serves our students and staff at Southwest ISD. Through this program, medical exams are provided remotely, connecting our students in the school nurse’s office to a University Health Board Certified Healthcare Provider. This partnership with University Health takes their already offered telehealth video visits one step further. With the use of advanced handheld technology, this program allows the provider to examine, diagnose, and treat common conditions related to the student’s ears, lungs, heart, throat, skin, abdomen, and temperature — all without being in the same room. This is a convenient and accessible option for your child or for yourself to be seen by an experienced provider right from a SWISD school campus.

For more information, click here.