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Sandwich Public Schools Health Services Team Selected for the TEAMS Project in Chicago!

Dr. Richard Bloom and Carilyn Raines, RN - part of the SPS Health team

by Carilyn Rains BSN, M.Ed, RN, Nurse Leader – Sandwich Public Schools

The Sandwich Public Schools was among selected school districts across the nation – via a lengthy application process – to attend the Teams Project – to collaborate with both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) – through the Enhancing School Health Services Project.  This was the second cohort visit to Chicago for Carilyn Rains, attending a booster session to follow-up on the original Injury Prevention Project that was developed by both Carilyn, the district’s Nursing Supervisor and School Physician Consultant, Dr. Richard Bloom in the Fall of 2013 during their first visit to the Academy. There will be a third and final booster session to once again collaborate with both the CDC and AAP next year as part of this grant-awarded process to follow up on the final phase of the Injury Prevention Project Collaboration.

With the Training, Education, Assistance, Mentorship, and Support (TEAMS) Project, the American Academy of Pediatrics provided customized training, resources, and technical assistance to our school district as we were able to demonstrate a commitment to  strengthening our district policies and practices related to school health services. As part of the TEAMS Project, we were guided through a process to:  engage stakeholders and foster partnerships to support improvements in school health services policies and practices (SHSPP); assess current SHSPP; identify and prioritize key areas for improvement through strategic planning; develop an action plan and mobilize support; and finally, to implement and evaluate changes to SHSPP.

We will take part in the third and final phase of this project in the Fall of 2015!

Carilyn Rains with other school health professionals, in Chicago

Carilyn Rains with Nurse Leaders from Massachusetts, in Chicago