Georgia could double number of school nurses with Medicaid

With Medicaid under assault in Washington, Georgia’s top community health agency on Thursday approved a program that could more than double the number of school nurses in the state by tapping the federal fund.

In a joint effort with the Georgia Department of Education, the Department of Community Health board voted to approve a nursing services reimbursement program that would draw an estimated $48.6 million in additional federal dollars, assuming no major changes to Medicaid.

There were 1,629 nurses and 307 unlicensed health care and clinic workers in Georgia schools last spring. They are the only medical workers some students see, especially in rural areas where hospitals have closed and doctors are scarce. School nurses provide routine and preventive screenings and examinations, diagnosis of health problems and monitoring and treatment of chronic conditions.

The money is available as a subsidy to schools that provide such care to students who qualify for Medicaid services, generally those from lower-income households.

The money could come as early as fall, helping double the number of Georgia nurses in schools.

You can read more about what might halt this program in the complete story on myAJC.com.

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About the Author

Ty Tagami

Ty Tagami is a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Since joining the newspaper in 2002, he has written about everything from hurricanes to homelessness. He has deep experience covering local government and education, and can often be found under the Gold Dome when lawmakers meet or in a school somewhere in the state.

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