Strout quoted in BDN’s ‘Nurses Care’
Kelley Strout, an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Maine, was quoted in an article from the Bangor Daily News’ “Nurses Care” special section titled “School’s cool for many nursing professionals.” Strout believes school nurses are essential for students’ health, sense of belonging, and overall mental well-being, the article states. “School nurses can help a lot of kids who are dealing with anxiety and stresses inside and outside the school. A lot of kids go to school nurses for reassurances that someone cares about them,” said Strout. “There’s so many standardized test requirements that kids are getting shorter and shorter lunch periods where they’re inhaling food. Some schools have free or reduced lunch up to 90 percent and we’re giving them 10 minutes to eat lunch when that may be the only food they get for the entire day. School nurses should be able to be front and center for these issues. But because we’re so limited in the supply of school nurses, they can’t fight those battles too and make sure kids are healthy enough to stay in school every day.”