I am so proud of the work school nurses do each and every day. As my term of president wraps up on June 30, I've been reflecting on the Wisconsin Association of School Nurses past 41 years and thinking ahead to the future.
In November 1970, the first conference for Wisconsin school nurses was organized. On May 12, 1977 the School Nurses of Wisconsin (SNOW) was officially organized and Katheryn Etter was the first president. The name of our organization has since been changed to reflect our affiliation with the National Association of School Nurses (NASN). When you join WASN you also become a member of NASN. WASN members have the pleasure of local District Directors across the state. The state school nurse consultant serves as the NASN Director and is also serving on the NASN Executive Board. On June 18, 2018, WASN hired an executive director to continue advancing the organization into the future.
I am pleased that through working in committees, the organization has been able to accomplish nearly each and every element of the most recent strategic plan. Through advocating to our own membership, the Board will be the most complete it has been in the past 4 years! Through the past several years, WASN has addressed issues related to delegation, stock epinephrine laws, use of opioid antagonists in schools, TB screening of school employees, and most recently has provided the school nurse voice with the State of Wisconsin new Office of School Safety.
I thank the dedicated school nurses who are not hesitant to push up the sleeves and pitch in. This is why so much movement toward the future will continue.
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