Providing Safe Health Care:
The Role of Education Support Professionals

Section 2: Protocol for the Care of Students with Special Health Care Needs

Numerous people-including parents, administrators, state Department of Education officials, teachers, social workers, nurses, and physicians-are involved in deciding how to care for the child with special health care needs. Too often the ESP is at the hub of the wheel - at the center of everyone who is concerned about student care - receiving directives from virtually everyone involved in the child's schooling.

In such a context, the school support employee is given tremendous responsibility-but not consistent, well-conceived plans for the student's well-being. The ESP may hear one directive from the parents, another from the school nurse, yet another from the teacher, and others from everyone from the school principal to the state education department official! This presents a nearly impossible situation, both for the ESP, who may be confounded at the conflicting messages, and for the student, whose health care is compromised.

The ideal working situation for the support employee, on the other hand, has the ESP working closely with - and reporting directly to - the school nurse, who has coordinated the input from all the others involved in providing health-related services for the student. In this model, the nurse is at the hub of the wheel, hears and sorts the needs and concerns expressed by all involved, and coordinates the student's care. In such a situation, the ESP can perform tasks confident that the nurse has a firm hand on the situation, and will provide proper training and supervision.

To Section 3