For Immediate Release
August 25, 2021
Contact: Carol Walsh
National Association of School Nurses
cwalsh@nasn.org
news release printable version
CDC Epilepsy Program Awards $1.5m to the National Association of School Nurses to Create and Sustain a Strong Public Health Infrastructure for Epilepsy
Silver Spring, Maryland [August 25, 2021]– The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) announced today that is has been selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Epilepsy program as a funding recipient under a new five-year cooperative agreement: Improving Epilepsy Education, Systems of Care, and Health Outcomes through National and Community Partnerships. Funding for the first year is $300,000.
According to the CDC, 3 million adults and 470,000 children in the US have active epilepsy. Of the 470,00 children with epilepsy, 42% live at or close to the poverty level. “Because children spend nearly 50% of the calendar year in school, schools present a tremendous opportunity to increase social participation, reduce the stigma and social isolation, and improve the health and quality of life for students with epilepsy,” said NASN President Dr. Linda Mendonca, DNP, RN, PHNA-BC, NCSN, FNASN.
With this funding, NASN and other funded organizations will aim to address four key areas:
- Improve the social environment for people with epilepsy
- Strengthen the health system to improve epilepsy care
- Foster connections between clinical services and community programs
- Address social determinants of health to improve quality of life for people with epilepsy
NASN’s work will specifically focus on educating school nurses about epilepsy, seizure fist aid, and epilepsy stigma to create a multi-tiered system of support within the school community for students with epilepsy; and developing multi-sector partnerships with underutilized community resources to address the social needs of persons with epilepsy.
NASN looks forward to working alongside the other organizations that received awards for activities related to this agreement including the American Epilepsy Society, Epilepsy Association of Western & Central PA, the Epilepsy Foundation, and Epilepsy Foundation New England.
NASN
The National Association of School Nurses is a non-profit specialty nursing organization, organized in 1968 and incorporated in 1977, representing school nurses exclusively. NASN has more than 17,000 members and 50 affiliates, including the District of Columbia and overseas school nurses. The mission of the NASN is to optimize student health and learning by advancing the practice of school nursing. To learn more about NASN, please visit www.nasn.org or call 866-627-6767.
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