Letter: The district deserves a healthy nursing staff

Re: “Board can’t promise a cure,” April 16.

It’s very sad to learn that Burbank Unified School District’s head school nurse has to beg the BUSD, Burbank City Council, and other committees to fund three more credentialed nurses to the district. We want our schoolchildren to be well taken care of for their chronic health conditions and when a true health emergency arises.

We are sensitive to this issue because our daughter experienced a life-threatening pulmonary embolism at her high school in 2013. Without the quick thinking of Mrs. Lenora Aguilera, a registered nurse, my daughter wouldn’t be here with us today. Fortunately, Mrs. Aguilera was on-site and insisted that the paramedics take our daughter to the hospital right away.

Shortly after arriving at the hospital emergency room, one of the blood clots traveled to and stopped our daughter’s heart. Had she been kept at school for another 20 minutes before being transported, she would have passed away. According to statistics, 25% of people who have a PE result in sudden death. Fortunately, our daughter was not one of them.

Our plea to all the entities in the city of Burbank is to see this: It is neither a fruitless nor impulse decision, it is a necessity. You have the power, and may we say “obligation,” to keep all students safe and from becoming a sad statistic. Please do the correct thing and make adding at least three more credentialed nurses a top priority for our 15,200 students. That decision just might save another young life and no dollar amount can be placed on that.

Cheryl and John Cottrell
Burbank