Another COVID milestone: Worcester schools may close pandemic-era medical waiting rooms
WORCESTER — With the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic over, Worcester Public School leaders are looking to phase out some additional help brought in to respond to the crisis.
With a contract set to expire June 30, district leaders are looking to get the School Committee's approval to remove 51 certified nursing assistants from medical waiting rooms in schools.
“Based on the decrease of Covid-19 in our community and schools, and the recent expiration of the Public Health Emergency and lifting of Covid precautions, we believe CNA staffing of medical waiting rooms is no longer needed,” Chief Academic Support Officer Annie Azarloza wrote in a memo to School Committee members.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education mandated, among other things, the creation of medical waiting rooms in schools where students and staff can go when experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
They are similar to but distinct from a traditional nurse's office.
The medical waiting rooms were staffed with contracted CNAs from Maxim Healthcare Services, the school district said in a statement. Maxim, which has as an office in Worcester, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The state mandate was lifted in June 2022, but the district continued to maintain the medical waiting rooms, per the recommendation of DESE and the state.
Azarloza wrote that medical waiting room usage by students is down 75% compared to last spring and that COVID-19 cases among students and staff have “decreased significantly.”
District leaders sought approval at a School Committee meeting earlier this month to begin phasing the CNAs out, but committee member Tracy O’Connell Novick had reservations about removing them without more information about their role in the schools.
The committee supported her motion to hold the item until the district could gather more information and report back. The item will be back for consideration on Thursday, when the committee meets at 7 p.m. at the Esther Howland South Chamber at City Hall.
Since the prior meeting, the district surveyed principals, asking if they agreed that “CNA staffing of medical waiting rooms is no longer needed.”
About 54% strongly agreed with the statement, while less than 5% said they strongly disagreed. About 17% said they agreed, while the rest said they disagreed or felt neutral.
The memo from Azarloza also said principals were asked how CNAs were being utilized in their schools, and whether there was a need to “potentially keep them in the budget.” Six in 10 said it would be “nice to have” them, but that they are not required for the next school year.
The remaining 40% expressed “a need to secure them next year.”
Azarloza has said ending the contract would save the district about $2 million. Superintendent Rachel H. Monárrez said at the previous meeting that the contract was funded using federal COVID relief money.
“This decision was first run by the Worcester Public School’s physician Dr. Beverly Nazarian and the district nursing team, all of which support the phasing out of the medical waiting room CNAs earlier in the spring,” Azarloza said.
If the School Committee opts to extend the contract, the district would need to provide the $2 million in funding from other areas of the district’s budget, the district said.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester School Committee to consider closing COVID-era medical rooms
