Caring For Student Needs All School Year

In addition to the day-to-day care of students through CHRISTUS School Clinics, team members are also crucial in providing trainings to school associates when necessary.

At Holy Ghost Catholic School, a 12-year-old student was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. “Fabiola Piedra, the medical assistant at the school, informed me that the student required insulin administration every day before lunchtime,” said Erika Muniz, RN supervisor for the School Clinics. “One of the student’s parents was leaving work every day to come and administer the insulin.”

Due to the limited number of days that medical assistants provide care at the clinics, they are unable to administer insulin. Muniz reached out to the school director about training staff to help with this task. 

“In order for unlicensed personnel to administer the insulin, they need proper training. CHRISTUS coordinated a training session for the staff with the help of CHRISTUS associates Edgar Chay, RN, Heidi Cabrerra, RN, Fabiola Piedra MA and myself,” said Muniz. “We were able to educate the three designated staff members on diabetes 

management, including hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, insulin administration, dosage calculation and proper injection site.” The hour-long training utilized finger and skin models to replicate a real-life finger stick and insulin injection.

“I am glad we were able to support both the student and the school by providing the reliable, necessary training and documentation,” said Muniz. “This will allow the student to safely receive insulin at school without requiring her parents to come every day to administer the medication.”