Advisory: A Conversation with Philadelphia Public School Nurses TODAY 4/28

Contact: Lauren Townsend 215-939-7621
Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces

A Conversation with Philadelphia Public School Nurses
TODAY 4/28

Nurses will share their experiences and talk about sick children coming to school when they should really be home getting well.

"Having been a school nurse for 29 years in the Philadelphia Public School System, I witnessed time and time again children who came to school sick because their parents had to work and couldn’t afford to take the day off to spend time helping their kids get better. Asthmatic children who came to school wheezing sometimes had to be sent to the emergency room by ambulance. Children with red, watery eyes frequently turned out to have pink eye. A student who just “looked tired” at home turned out to have a high fever with a strep throat. And a child who had a stomachache and vomited the night before turned out to have pneumonia. All of these children should have been taken to the doctor, but their working parents would have lost a day’s pay." Diane Mohney, RN.

WHAT:
Philadelphia Public School nurses (RNs) will talk about their experiences and talk about sick children coming to school when they should really be home getting well. The nurses support the Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (Bill 080474) is a bill that would allow Philadelphia workers the opportunity to earn up to seven days of sick time per year.

WHO:
Registered Nurses (RNs) working in the Public Schools will include: Diane Mohney, Francesca Hoeffel, Gwen Robbins and Lynette Lazarus.

WHEN:
4:30 PM - Thursday, April 28, 2011

WHERE:
Melrose Diner 1501 Snyder Ave, Philadelphia, 19145
* (we will be sitting at a table and will be on the look-out for members of the press)

RSVP:
Because we are meeting at the Melrose Diner, we would like RSVPs from the press. Please email/call Lauren Townsend at ltownsend4@gmail.com or 215-939-7621 and let Lauren know that you would like to join this important conversation with school nurses. Put "School Nurses" in the subject line.

Background:
Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (Bill 080474) is a bill that would allow Philadelphia workers the opportunity to earn up to nine days of sick time per year. It was voted out of the Public Health and Human Services Committee on March 1, 2011. The bill could affect up to 200,000 workers in Philadelphia who do not have access to paid sick days.

With over 40 percent of Philadelphians lacking earned sick days, a large portion of the population cannot take the time off work to go see a doctor or obtain medical treatment - regardless of the medical coverage they have.

Employees with earned sick days are more likely to stay home when they are sick, limiting the spread of the illness and protecting co-workers, customers, or anyone else they meet during the work day. During the height of the H1N1 pandemic, people were urged to stay home if they had any signs of the flu, however, those without earned sick days were less likely to stay home because they could not afford to. As a result, nearly 8 million H1N1 cases were traced back to employees going to work while sick.