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Peter & Jennifer info@watsoninvestments.com (905) 842 -2100 Provincial revisions to health support services for medically fragile students of the Halton District School Board (HDSB) have left parents and staff reel- ing from the "severe and negative implications." In late January, Minister of Education Stephen Lecce outlined the government's draft plan to download med- ical services to education staff this fall. This move would have a "significant impact" on the board and has the potential to affect students beyond special education, said Co- lette Ruddock, HDSB super- intendent of education, dur- ing a presentation for the board's Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) in early February. Changes to the current delivery model prompted more discussion and ques- tions about risk manage- ment, lawsuits, union part- ners and additional funding during the Feb. 16 HDSB trustees meeting. Currently, staff from Er- inoak Kids provide complex medical support services -- such as tube feeding and catheterization -- to medi- cally fragile students. Un- der the proposed plan, such responsibilities would fall to staff, as "delegated by a healthcare professional" reads the confidential min- istry memo. Should the revised poli- cy, known as PPM 81, go for- ward, "in all likelihood, these tasks would fall to our EAs (educational assis- tants) to provide the servic- es," said Ruddock. "It is unbelievable to me that the ministry would rec- ommend that we actually remove trained health-care professionals who current- ly come into our schools and provide support to our medically fragile students and students with various medical conditions, and put this incredible responsibili- ty onto our educational as- sistants who already have a great deal of work and re- sponsibility," commented Oakville trustee Joanna Ol- iver. To ensure that students with medical supports have access to an EA, there would be a redistribution of EAs, which will draw from the service available to stu- dents with significant spe- cial education needs, said Ruddock. The government proposal is ethically and morally inappropriate, said Alison Brindle, chair of HDSB's SEAC. In her response letter to Lecce, Brindle references revisions that would allow medical professionals to delegate their tasks to non- medical staff, and "for the system to require educa- tional assistants to under- take services which are not in their job descriptions, they have not been medical- ly trained for and which may impact the life of a stu- dent." Staff also envision ineq- uity in service as some fam- ilies may hire private healthcare professionals for OT, physiotherapy and speech-language therapy, potentially disrupting a school community as prin- cipals make attempts to ac- commodate the time and ac- cess they require. "As this PPM covers vi- tal day-to-day and life-sav- ing services to students, it deserves a deeper discus- sion and analysis," said HDSB chair Margo Shuttle- worth in her written feed- back to Lecce. Shuttleworth also addressed the "lack of additional funding" to cover the sweeping changes. "If educational assis- tants will be pulled from the classrooms to provide med- ical care for students, and administrators required to oversee private care provid- ers in school settings, and ensure compliance with all regulations, additional staff will be required to under- take existing tasks," stated Shuttleworth. Staff are not healthcare providers, and principals are not in the business of or- ganizing healthcare profes- sionals, said Milton trustee Heather Gerrits. "We are educators; we are in the business of edu- cating. I'm very disappoint- ed that this would even be put in writing." CONCERNS RAISED OVER PROPOSED DOWNLOADING OF STUDENT SUPPORTS Halton District School Board Chair Margo Shuttleworth is concerned that responsibility for the administration of medical procedures could fall to educational assistants. Graham Paine/Metroland KATHY YANCHUS kyanchus@metroland.com NEWS PARENTS, STAFF FEEL MOVE WOULD NEGATIVELY IMPACT VULNERABLE YOUTH "As this PPM covers vital day-to-day and life-saving services to students, it deserves a deeper discussion and analysis." - HDSB chair Margo Shuttleworth