Officials: School nurses could be called to help hospitals

PARKERSBURG -- Nurses in Wood County Schools may be called to the front lines if the spread of COVID-19 increases in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Wood County Schools Superintendent Will Hosaflook last week told the Wood County Board of Education school nurses could be sent to help at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center.

On Monday, Gov. Jim Justice announced a stay-at-home order for the state would take effect at 8 p.m. today. West Virginia was the last state to have a confirmed case of coronavirus, but now has 16 confirmed cases. Washington County in Ohio on Sunday announced its first confirmed case.

Hosaflook said Monday as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread and evolve, the school system is ready to help in any way it can.

"If this gets really big, all of the health care facilities will need to be helped out," he said. "We've already got our mobile unit at Camden Clark for them to use as a testing site."

Julie Bertram, director of health services for Wood County Schools, said while it remains a possibility, no school nurses have yet been asked to serve at the hospital.

"That's just the extent of what we know at this time," Bertram said. "A couple of our nurses already work there on the weekends. We have seven to eight who have volunteered if the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department needs us. The Health Department already has asked us to help with making some calls, but so far we have not been 'activated' yet."

In the meantime, the district's school nurses are active at the schools, screening employees for the coronavirus.

"They are taking temperatures of all the employees, monitoring for symptoms, making sure nothing has changed and they've not been in a situation where they may have been exposed," she said.

Bertram said as more information becomes available, more changes may be announced, but for the time being everyone is asked to follow the guidelines from the Health Department and Centers for Disease Control.

"We encourage everyone to stay home, make the best of things," she said. "We'll be able to see each other again soon when this all passes."