SYDNEY — Nurses who work at youth health centres in Cape Breton high schools are ready to resume their duties today.
Nova Scotia Health confirmed public health nurses returned to the centres on Jan. 4 to prepare to reopen to students today when classes begin.
As reported in the Cape Breton Post, the health centres were closed for the first term of the 2020/2021 academic year because the nurses who work at them, providing primary care and clinicial services, were redeployed into areas like COVID monitoring and response.
"Public health has hired additional nurses to support COVID-19 response, allowing nurses to return to youth health centres in the Cape Breton county area," Nova Scotia Health director of public health western cone Catherine Hebb said in an email.
Hebb, who is also lead for youth health, said the centres will operate as they did before the pandemic, with the same hours and services.
GOOD NEWS
Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education spokeswoman Heather Calder said they are "pleased" public health nurses and support staff are back and the centres can reopen.
"While we understood and fully supported the decision public health made in redeploying resources to the COVID response, these centres and the professionals who work in them provide a valuable service to our students," Calder said in a written statement.
"The well-being of students is important to their success and the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education is proud to collaborate with public health to continue to create healthy, inclusive, safe and inspiring learning environments."
ADVANCE WARNING
Madonna Doucette, an LGBTQ+ educator who does presentations in Cape Breton schools across the island, said she is "grateful" they are reopening.
As reported in the Cape Breton Post in October, Doucette was one of the people who voiced concern over the health centres being closed for the term. She said students and other youth who use the medical centres would be in dire need of their services
During the last term, Doucette said she hhas heard from many students who didn't know where to turn when they realized the centres weren't opening for the term. She hopes in the future when the health centres need to close students will know in advance instead of figuring it out on their own, weeks later.
"We can never lose sight of the value of the harm reduction services, which is what those centres are providing, the value they provide for students," Doucette said.
"Hopefully in the future...they'll be kept in the loop in decisions like this which can affect their mental and physical health."
Nicole Sullivan is education, enterprise and diversity reporter for the Cape Breton Post.
