Back to school, back to measles? | Guest column
As Virginia families prepare for a new school year, the nation is confronting its worst measles resurgence in more than three decades. Outbreaks in Buckingham and Cumberland counties are a reminder that the virus is no longer a distant threat. With half of Virginia's kindergarten MMR vaccination rate below the 95% threshold needed to prevent school-based spread, the commonwealth should reconsider its policy allowing nonmedical exemptions to measles vaccination.
Meet Irene Ziegler: Virginia Playwright, Actor & Voice Artist
Whether using her home’s tiny coat closet as a recording studio, penning plays with her neighbor, or hanging out with zombies, it’s just another day at the office for the multitalented Irene Ziegler. A creative to her core, Ziegler—who has called Virginia home since 1987—divides her talents between voiceovers, writing, and acting. She proudly calls herself “a messy artistic hybrid” with a mind that never rests.
“I have a few irons in the fire most of the time,” she tells me. “When one of the...
“I have a few irons in the fire most of the time,” she tells me. “When one of the...
Rage Rooms Are Gaining Popularity Throughout Virginia
Have you ever wanted to hurl your plate across a room—like a soap opera star in a lover’s quarrel—or break furniture and bust electronics like a rebellious rockstar? If so, you’re not alone.
Column: Colonoscopies save lives. A box test could save more.
March is officially National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Virginia ranks 23rd nationally for colorectal cancer screening with 71% of our state’s eligible residents up to date on related screenings. Of primary concern, the Hampton Roads area in eastern Virginia is among the top hot spots in the country for high rates of colorectal cancer. Now the deadliest c...
The Complicated Love Story of Two Virginia Dogs
Their romance concerned me from the beginning. As a former high school health teacher, much of my 10th grade curriculum focused on unhealthy relationships. I knew the signs. Equality was key, and their relationship seemed one-sided. I questioned if Molly truly liked Ollie’s “playful” roughhousing.
Your Door Is Ajar
A Journey of Friendship and Renewal
My seven-woman friend group successfully managed homes, careers, and raised children to adulthood, but found ourselves ill-prepared as the challenges of caring for aging parents only got harder. Ranging in age from 56–64, some of us had already lost a mother or father. We felt the toll as diseases, including Alzheimer’s, wiped away the once sharp minds and able bodies of those who used to care for us. There were constant demands for new specialists, higher levels of care, and more treatments....
The Single Hire of a School Nurse Makes an Exponential Difference - VEA Website
Having grown up in Glasgow, Virginia (population 1,053), Pamela Byrnes DNP, PMHNP-BC, a pediatric mental health nurse practitioner, is a strong advocate for rural nursing and giving back to the kinds of small communities where she was raised. “School nurses are often the most accessible healthcare providers children have in rural areas. Teachers frequently share their concerns with the school nurse, who then helps gather collateral information that’s critical to understanding what’s happening da...
The Single Hire of a School Nurse Makes an Exponential Difference - VEA Website
Having grown up in Glasgow, Virginia (population 1,053), Pamela Byrnes DNP, PMHNP-BC, a pediatric mental health nurse practitioner, is a strong advocate for rural nursing and giving back to the kinds of small communities where she was raised. “School nurses are often the most accessible healthcare providers children have in rural areas. Teachers frequently share their concerns with the school nurse, who then helps gather collateral information that’s critical to understanding what’s happening da...
School nurse access can make a difference in zip code health disparities
It’s high time school nurses take their rightful place, alongside teachers and counselors, within every American school. It isn’t just about student health during the school year; it’s about kids’ health for life: longer ones. Since public schools reflect their neighborhoods, in areas rife with zip code health disparities, not having a school nurse adds another barrier for our nation’s youth to receive quality healthcare. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently outlined how prov...
Unexpected Lessons From the P.E. Department
“What’s your sport?” Coach A. asked me during my first staff meeting after she’d made introductions. I wanted to make a good first impression, but I’d never played a sport in my life.
As a former school nurse, I can tell you how the 119th Congress can help the teen mental health crisis through school-based legislation
The 119th Congress can make a difference in our nation’s youth mental health crisis by passing two previously introduced bills that would make an immediate and future impact on teen mental health using America’s network of school systems.
School nurses can see the warning signs of youth mental health issues
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Mental health challenges among students are becoming more visible in schools and often, it’s school nurses who notice the first signs.However, with limited staffing, many students may be slipping through the cracks.For many students, the school nurse is more than someone who hands out ice packs and bandages; they’re the first line of defense for mental health.“As nurses, we are concerned about prevention and early intervention,” UVA Master of Science in Nursing and...
There’s a Youth Mental Health Crisis. School Nurses Can Help
School nurses manage medications, provide first aid and care for students with chronic illnesses like diabetes, asthma and life-threatening allergies. They also play a critical role in supporting young people struggling with mental health issues, according to nurses at the University of Virginia’s School of Nursing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40% of high schoolers reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless in 2023, the most recent year for which data is avail...
Nursing Narratives
The 55-word story concept is credited to newspaper founder Steve Moss, who introduced it as a contest in 1987 to encourage mastery of word economy.
Since then, this format has been used from creative writing classes to medical school curriculums to encourage concision, self-reflection, and the processing of human interactions. The 55-word stories i...
Since then, this format has been used from creative writing classes to medical school curriculums to encourage concision, self-reflection, and the processing of human interactions. The 55-word stories i...
Alumni in Action - Lois Alderfer, FNP
Alderfer and her husband Steve (MSN ‘90, CERTI-FNP ’97), also a nurse, arrived in Charlottesville as newlyweds in 1989 to attend graduate school. They never left Central Virginia. As advanced practice nurses, they felt deeply aligned with BRMC’s goal to improve access to comprehensive primary care and reduce health disparities, so much so that they resettled in Nelson County after beginning work at the BRMC in 1991.
Want to keep schools safe? Hire more nurses
In a world of limited funds, the philosophy of what truly makes a campus safe must shift from fear to facts. When administrators and policymakers focus on hiring security staff over school nurses in the name of safer schools, they are missing the bigger picture of campus safety: student health.
CKG's SpeakUp5k advocates for teen mental health
To anyone who met Cameron Gallagher, she was a shining star, with sparkling blue eyes and a heart of gold. To those that knew her, she was intelligent, vibrant, and reflective. But inwardly she struggled, as many teens do, with bouts of anxiety, depression, and self-doubt. And she was frustrated that issues around mental health were frequently overlooked, with shame preventing many teenagers from talking about their struggles and getting needed help.
Channeling their grief, her parents, Grace...
Channeling their grief, her parents, Grace...
Drive Out Diabetes
Raising money and awareness for the JRDF.
To Be A Kid Again
Goat yoga is fun for your soul.
As a registered yoga teacher, my happy place is flowing through sun salutations in a quiet studio with clean floors never touched by shoes.
So, when my dear friend, Stacia, reaches out with an invitation to try goat yoga, my first reaction is to roll my eyes. “Goat yoga is an oxymoron,” I quip. “How can one find meditative peace amidst the chaos of farm animals? Not to mention the sanctity of my yoga mat—goats eat everything!”
“They provide mats,” Stacia tells
As a registered yoga teacher, my happy place is flowing through sun salutations in a quiet studio with clean floors never touched by shoes.
So, when my dear friend, Stacia, reaches out with an invitation to try goat yoga, my first reaction is to roll my eyes. “Goat yoga is an oxymoron,” I quip. “How can one find meditative peace amidst the chaos of farm animals? Not to mention the sanctity of my yoga mat—goats eat everything!”
“They provide mats,” Stacia tells
To Address the Teen Mental Health Crisis, Look to School Nurses
It’s a deadly time to be a teenager. The most recent CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey reports that in 2021, more than one-fifth of high schoolers seriously considered committing suicide. Worse, 10% tried. Even without pandemic data, rates of youth depression almost doubled over the past decade, making youth mental health a current top priority for the U.S. Surgeon General.
There are already people on the front lines to combat this teen mental health crisis: school nurses, the trusted healthcare p
There are already people on the front lines to combat this teen mental health crisis: school nurses, the trusted healthcare p
To Address the Teen Mental Health Crisis, Look to School Nurses
It’s a deadly time to be a teenager. The most recent CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey reports that in 2021, more than one-fifth of high schoolers seriously considered committing suicide. Worse, 10% tried. Even without pandemic data, rates of youth depression almost doubled over the past decade, making youth mental health a current top priority for the U.S. Surgeon General.
There are already people on the front lines to combat this teen mental health crisis: school nurses, the trusted healthcare p
There are already people on the front lines to combat this teen mental health crisis: school nurses, the trusted healthcare p
To Address the Teen Mental Health Crisis, Look to School Nurses
It’s a deadly time to be a teenager. The most recent CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey reports that in 2021, more than one-fifth of high schoolers seriously considered committing suicide. Worse, 10% tried. Even without pandemic data, rates of youth depression almost doubled over the past decade, making youth mental health a current top priority for the U.S. Surgeon General.
There are already people on the front lines to combat this teen mental health crisis: school nurses, the trusted healthcare p
There are already people on the front lines to combat this teen mental health crisis: school nurses, the trusted healthcare p
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