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Nurses at some Loudoun County, Virginia, public schools will be able to monitor diabetic students’ blood glucose levels remotely this school year.
It’s part of an update to a policy in the Northern Virginia school district that was approved at a school board meeting last week. It will allow students who wear a continuous glucose monitor to have their glucose levels observed by school nurses.
The change is something parents have been advocating for, Loudoun County Public Schools public information officer Dan Adams said, but it took time to make sure doctors were involved and there were plans for safely accessing a student’s health information.
“They’ll be able to have that extra level of monitoring, getting alerts if anything is off and helping students be able to check those levels throughout the school day,” Adams said.
Continuous glucose monitors provide access to blood glucose information without having to stick a finger and use a separate machine. Students who use those devices, and whose parents have asked that the school nurse be involved with their care and have filled out the necessary paperwork, will be able to have their readings monitored by school nurses.
As of Monday, Adams said school nurses will use iPads to remotely monitor glucose readings at 27 schools, but added that there could be more.
“It’s not at every single school, because there’s not a student at every single school that requires that level of assistance,” Adams said.
With the technology, Adams said, “even if the levels are trending in a way or a direction that could have an adverse effect, the student could address it themselves, or even ask for assistance from the school nurse and be able to address that.”
The approach, he said, “was a really good example of the school division and the parents really working together to come up with something that fit.”
The first day of the 2024-2025 school year at Loudoun County Public Schools is Thursday, Aug. 22.
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