MOSES LAKE, Wash. – Parents in Moses Lake are raising concerns about a shortage of nurses in the local school district. This comes as the district grapples with ongoing budget shortfalls stemming from an $11 million accounting error discovered last year.
Kati Leach, a teacher at Frontier Middle School, recounted a frightening incident involving her daughter at Groff Elementary. Last Tuesday, after dropping her off, Leach received an alarming call.
“My heart dropped because I knew that if I get a call from the school district, especially this one, there’s something going on. And she told me my daughter was having a seizure here, out on the playground,” she said.
Her daughter requires an injection if a seizure lasts more than five minutes, but this can only be administered by a licensed nurse or paramedic. Leach was heartbroken knowing her child was without qualified medical assistance.
“It breaks my heart to know that people were taking care of her that, although they love her, not a medical professional. It’s just a very scary situation. It could have gone way worse,” she added.
The district currently employs only seven nurses. Liz Pray, one of the school nurses, was at another school during the incident.
“This year I’ve got three buildings. I think that if things were fully funded, it’d be different,” she stated.
Paramedics reportedly arrived 15 minutes after the seizure started. Pray explained that budget constraints have prevented the district from hiring the necessary staff.
“We should be around twelve nurses for the district this year. But with a double levy failure like we saw this last spring, they can’t bring on those nurses,” Pray said.
Both Pray and Leach addressed the Moses Lake School Board last week, urging them to address the nursing shortage.
“I’m here today to bring attention to the lack of nurses in our schools,” Pray emphasized.
Leach believes more can be done to prioritize student safety.
“I know that we can be creative. I mean I do think that if kids’ safety was number one, I know that we could be creative. I know that there are some positions that could unfortunately be dissolved to make sure that we closest to the classroom, make sure that they’re in class, make sure they’re not missing school, making sure they’re safe and have a good experience throughout their schooling,” she said.
The district has posted openings for two nursing positions, but these roles may take weeks to fill.
