School nurses are on the front lines for the nearly 1.5 million school children in Georgia. These nurses see everything from head lice and the common cold to youngsters dealing with long-term chronic illness and, until recently, many of these nurses worked on their own.

Within the past five years, the staff at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has created the School Nurse Liaison program to interface with school nurses in 28 schools in 22 counties throughout metro Atlanta. The program provides school nurses with access to resources, training and guidelines to help them better serve their patients.

"Many of these systems had no orientation [for their nurses], no guidelines or standards from county to county," said Joyce Allers, RN, manager of illness prevention and management for the community health development and advocacy department at Children's Healthcare. "We really value our front-line nurses who see these children every day. Now we can provide them with access to resources and support."

Part of that support is the Georgia School Nurse Resource Manual, provided to every school nurse in the state. Produced in cooperation with the Georgia Association of School Nurses and the Georgia Department of Human Resources, the fourth edition of manual has been distributed this fall to provide consistent information to all school nurses. It covers a wide range of topics - from setting up a school clinic to dealing with chronic illness and handling emergencies.

"Many nurses come to school nursing from other areas," Allers said. "In the school setting, they will be handling immunization rules, hearing and vision screenings and other areas. Many times they will be working on their own. We provide the doorway for those who may not have the same resources as they had in a hospital setting."

Allers manages five nurse liaisons who work from home offices to interface with school nurses. Her department also works closely with the Georgia Association of School Nurses, the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Department of Human Resources. The program offers research videos, general clinical education, workshops and continuing education topics requested by school nurses.

Nurses who have pediatric health questions can call an advice line 24 hours a day at 404-250-5437. In addition, Allers takes calls directly at 404-785-7202 to connect school nurses with each other and to help them network.

"School nurses have to be generalists, dealing with everything from head lice and handwashing to the flu," Allers said. "However, they may also be dealing with a child who has had a heart transplant, multiple surgeries or other chronic conditions. When a child has a long-term illness, we hope that they will go back to school and continue their learning.

"The school is going to have to deal with the child's condition and we're working to help them make the transition."