HUNTINGTON BEACH : Cuts in School Health Care Create Concern

At a recent conference on AIDS and teen-agers, a group of local high school nurses learned that certain vaginal disorders in teen-age girls may be early warning signs of an HIV infection.

Diane Mastright, Marina High School’s nurse for six years, who attended the conference, said she has seen such vaginal infections described in girls ages 14 and 15.

“We could be on the verge of a major epidemic if no one is there to (serve) these kids,” she said.

And, come next fall, school nurses in the Huntington Beach Union High School District will be there less often to serve their student populations. Mastright is one of four nurses who fell victim last week to a $3.1-million budget reduction, called the most severe in the district’s history.

Along with the nursing cuts, the Board of Trustees last Tuesday voted to eliminate six psychologists and at least five administrators. The board slashed at least 49 jobs, trimmed the independent-study program budget and will cut funding for after-school activities.

District officials agree that the loss of nurses and psychologists will deal the most critical blow to providing a safe, quality education.

Three nurses will remain at district high schools this fall. Two nurses each will split their time between two schools, and the other nurse will oversee two regular schools and the Valley Vista continuation high school.

According to the outgoing nurses and a county health director, the elimination of nurses on high school campuses could spell a widespread increase in student health problems, from AIDS to tuberculosis to chronic relapses of the common cold.

Disorders that are now detected early and treated by nurses--or as a result of a nurse’s referral--may be spread or develop into serious disorders, officials said. Particularly hard hit will be low-income students, who will be virtually without health care, officials said.

At Westminster High School, nurse May Hop said she sees 100 or more students daily who speak a variety of languages and have a wide array of cultural beliefs and practices--some of which run contrary to good health behavior, she said.

Sandy Landry, the county Department of Education’s administrator for health and wellness, said she foresees a critical health problem among students.

In addition to students from low-income families, the recession has created a new pool of students whose parents are unemployed and therefore lack adequate health insurance, Landry said.

The number of psychologists who treat and test special-education students, and counseling psychologists, who tend to the personal needs of other students, will also be reduced.

By cutting psychologists from the budget, the district risks unleashing an increase in teen pregnancy, suicide, drug abuse, gang involvement and other problems, said Karen Wisniewski, Ocean View High School’s psychologist.

Many students are persuaded to remain in high school, she said, chiefly because of the help of a campus psychologist.