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NASN Responds to President Biden’s Call for More School-Based Mental Health Professionals
Silver Spring, MD, March 2, 2022—The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) applauds President Joe Biden’s announcement during his first State of the Union address to double the number of school-based mental health professionals.
School nurses are often the first to identify and address student behavioral health concerns and serve as an early warning system for children and families in crisis. School nurses are a critical part of the public health infrastructure and offer medical expertise to support their communities. They manage children’s mental health problems on a routine basis.
“NASN is pleased President Biden discussed the nation’s mental health crisis in the State of the Union,” said Donna Mazyck, MS, RN, NCSN, CAE, FNASN, executive director of NASN. “The strategy President Biden laid out dovetails with NASN’s commitment to health equity for students by increasing school nursing services in the country.”
The Biden-Harris Administration had previously announced in May 2021 that it planned to invest $7.4 billion from the American Rescue Plan to recruit and hire public health workers to respond to the pandemic and prepare for future public health challenges including dedicated funding of at least $500 million to hire school nurses to help schools safely reopen and remain open for in-person instruction.
President Biden called the nation’s mental health crisis a priority for the Administration, and a personal commitment of his own. The President laid out a comprehensive whole-of-government strategy to build system capacity, connect more people to care, and provide support to Americans, especially children, by fostering healthy environments in real world and online.
About NASN
The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) is a nonprofit specialty nursing organization, organized in 1968 and incorporated in 1977, representing school nurses exclusively. NASN has close to 18,000 members and 50 affiliates, including the District of Columbia and overseas. The mission of NASN is to optimize student health and learning by advancing the practice of school nursing. To learn more about NASN, please visit us on the Web at www.nasn.org or call 866-627-6767.
Media Contacts:
Jen McNally
Marketing Director
National Association of School Nurses
jmcnally@nasn.org
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