School nurse shortage seen in Bridgeport

A child in Bridgeport who is anxious to start the sixth grade cannot do so because her guardian says there aren't enough school nurses to give her a physical. Nina Dumas says she has been trying to get

News 12 Staff

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Sep 15, 2008, 1:34 PM

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Updated 5,946 days ago

A child in Bridgeport who is anxious to start the sixth grade cannot do so because her guardian says there aren't enough school nurses to give her a physical.

Nina Dumas says she has been trying to get her niece a required physical since classes began last month, but each appointment has been canceled because of a shortage of nurses.

Adeline Demarrais, the director of a children's social service agency in Bridgeport, says Dumas is being caught in a ripple effect stemming from city budget cuts.

"The school nurses are all gonna be laid off in December, so they're quitting now to get other jobs," Demarrais says.

Demmarais says she found other city schools that have as many as 30 children in the same situation. "We can't let this go on," she says.