City Council Chair Phil Mendelson, Councilmember Charles Allen, and ANC6D Commissioner Adreea Pawley at Monday night’s virtual ANC6D meeting.
Amidon-Bowen Parents Decry Nurse Shortage in Schools
by Larry Janezich
Posted January 9, 2023
Last Monday night, a group of parents with children at Amidon-Bowen ES delivered an at-times emotional plea to ANC6D, to CM Charles Allen, and to Council Chair Mendelson for a full time nurse at the school. The presentation before the virtual meeting of the Commission – which was attended by the two councilmembers – was facilitated by Commissioner Andrea Pawley (6D04), in whose single member district Amidon-Bowen resides.
The shortage of nurse crisis is such that half of the city’s schools do not have a full time nurse. Under the current “cluster model,” two nurses are shared among a cluster of four schools in near proximity. Reflecting earlier testimony before a city council committee, the parents said that the cluster model is failing and requested action resulting in full time medical staff at Amidon-Bowen and stressed the absolute necessity for nurses at all schools.
CM Charles Allen agreed that the cluster model is not working and criticized the lack of accountability. He said that a discrepancy in pay issues which has been offered as a reason for the nurse shortage had been fixed by the council and that he would push harder for a solution in upcoming performance and budget hearings.
Council Chair Phil Mendelson agreed and said that the city’s contract with Children’s Hospital for school services was not going well. He added that given the difficulties of hiring nurses, finding a solution will not be easy, but he said he would redouble his efforts, reach out to the administration, and continue to press to get a nurse in every school. He also said there will be an opportunity to address this in the next few months in the regular cycle of performance and budget hearings.
On another matter, the Amidon-Bowen parents strongly opposed moving the Amidon-Bowen swing space to Meyer elementary school in Columbia Heights during the modernization of Amidon-Bowen scheduled to start in 2027. Both Allen and Mendelsohn expressed some confidence that space could be found closer to Amidon-Bowen, given the lead time before construction begins.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 
The nurse shortage may be one reason for the cluster model, resulting in a sharing of nurses between schools, but the reality is that DC LAW has long required a full-time nurse in schools and the LAW has never been enforced.