Editor’s Note: This is the first in an ongoing series exploring why the school has some of its regular practices.
Students need to make sure that they can perform their best throughout the school
year. This includes school health screenings, and while they occur every year, you may
wonder: “Why do we have school health screenings?”
Health screenings are annual screenings used to prioritize health concerns and
report them, according to Milton High School Nurse Ms. Crystal Hoover. Health screenings
mainly focus on growth, hearing and vision, due to those being specifically necessary to
students’ educational development, she added. Health screenings are able to identify
anything preventing a student from being able to do their absolute best in school, Ms.
Hoover said.
According to Ms. Hoover, health screenings are mandated by the State of
Pennsylvania, which means they have to be performed in all school districts, so they
cannot be missed. If a school doesn’t follow through with school health screenings, then
the school district will be reported to the Department of Health, she added. Results of
school health screenings are not be given to the state, but the state does keep a count of
students who have taken health screenings, Ms. Hoover said.
Students K-12 are screened for vision, height, and weight annually, Ms. Hoover
said. Grades K-3, 7 and 11 are also tested for their hearing, she added. Grades 6-7 are also
tested for scoliosis, which is the abnormal sideways curve of the spine, Ms. Hoover
explained. This could cause problems with the back, shoulders, hips and waist, according
to Ms. Hoover.
“My opinion on health screenings is that they are good. It is a great tool with many
benefits; it especially helps people to understand better why they aren’t doing as well in
school,” said Ms. Hoover. “I have only seen good things come out of health screenings
since I started here,” she added.
There is no risk of having a health screening; not having one could cause learning
issues and difficulties that can directly affect the learning process, Ms. Hoover explained.
According to Ms. Hoover, the most important thing screened for during a health
screening is ocular (eye) difficulties. “Vision is arguably one of the most important senses
your body has; it is used commonly in everyday life for most people and is extremely
important in most people’s definition of the learning process,” Ms. Hoover said.
“According to Child Health Data, around 25.1 percent of students ages 12-17 need
glasses in Pennsylvania,” Ms. Hoover said.
Many students as well don’t regularly visit a doctor to find this information, Ms.
Hoover said. Some student’s parents are too busy, don’t have enough money, or there are
other factors that tend to make a visit a doctor seem inconvenient. Having school health
screenings allows students to be checked while not taking any time out of a guardian’s
schedule, she added.
One objective of health screenings is to figure out any learning problems to benefit
students, Ms. Hoover said. “Students must be educated to be healthy and healthy to be
educated,” she explained.
“School health screenings are a very important thing; they help identify troubles in
your body to help you learn,” Science Teacher Ms. Kathleen Bower said. “Not a lot of kids
speak up about things that may be troubling them, so health screenings are very valuable
to be able to find out a problem.”
According to Ms. Hoover, when a problem is identified from the health screenings,
the school nurse will recommend the student see a doctor to get a proper diagnosis. This
way a doctor or professional can give a proper prescription or cure, she added.
Unfortunately, if a student’s guardian doesn’t follow up with a doctor, it could risk the
condition getting worse or continue to struggle in the future, she added.
Most of the time, health screenings can tell if a student need glasses. Most of the
time, insurance can cover glasses or other prescriptions, Ms. Hoover said.
According to Ms. Hoover, the school has a fund, which can help students who need
glasses get them. If any student is interested, they can ask Ms. Hoover about this
opportunity
