Cuts on Campus (Sentinel Aritcle)

This spring quarter a student was mugged on the schools parking lot. School security and 911 was quickly dispatched and the student got the necessary attention and support. But where do those students who need medical assistance turn to when a 911 call isn't called for?
Providing students with the proper security and support so they can focus on their academic goals should be on the schools top priority list. Is the school looking out for their students' health? Where is our school nurse?

These questions came to my attention when I sat down and talked to Damaris Valdez, a nurse-student and one of the staff at the South Seattle Community College woman center.
"Students should have somewhere to go if they are facing a health issue. They should have a school nurse that can answer health related questions, give referrals and take care of basic necessities as fixing cuts and bruises from accidents that happens on school premises."
The entire staff at the woman center shares this opinion. So why don't we have a nurse on campus?

Mark Mitsui, the vice president of student services, agrees that the school should have a nurse on campus, but argues that there aren't enough funds to back it up. "The schools main priority is the students academic achievements. With regards to health issues, the school provide a number of services for students in need" He mentions that the students can call 211 to get answers to health related questions or referrals, the school has security guards trained in first aid and there are three fulltime counselors working to help students that feel depresses or just need somebody to talk to. The school also provides a health insurance for students' with ten credits or more.

What about the soon to become nurses that roam our hallways? Can't we get a school nurse thru the nursing program, giving nurse students' valuable experience and the students in general a greater sense of security? Do they have the necessary skills to give such a service?
I direct this question to Malcolm Grothe, director of the nursing program, who responses positively to the idea.

"We have certified nurses that can provide the basic services that are requested. The resources are here."

Both Mark Mitsui and Malcolm Grothe agrees that first of all we need to conduct a student survey to reveal if there actually is a need for a school nurse, and in that case what services are requested. The student government could grant the funds for such a survey.

Kyle Schaffer, the USA president says, "A student survey is a great idea, I will bring it up on our next executive meeting. Such a survey could be done rather quickly;" Kyle also sees the nurse program as a possible resource and solution to solving the nurse situation.

I've interviewed a number of students and all of them had taken for granted that there was a school nurse, and the majority of them felt less safe knowing that they had nowhere to go if a situation occurred.

Kimiko Foz, a student majoring in communication was very surprised over the fact that her school didn't fulfill such an important and basic service.

"I don't feel comfortable. Where do I go if I get hurt?"