Nurse Linehan and Covid-19

Nurse Linehan checks if students have completed their Magnus app screening in the lobby before school.

Our school nurse, Maureen Linehan, has kept busy preparing for and maintaining the return of the student body and faculty.

For 29 years, Ms. Linehan has taken care of the students and Covid-19 is her biggest challenge so far. With school disrupted for nearly a year and a half, students and faculty are just getting back into the swing of things. Browning has kept busy trying to keep it this way.

“We have the screening, the Magnus app in the morning,” said Nurse Linehan, “we have the testing, and after the big breaks we will test the entire school.”

Covid testing is done after long breaks such as winter and spring break. The whole school will be tested including the faculty.

“I contact every single family of everybody that is out sick,” said Nurse Linehan, “if they’re symptomatic, they will have to have a PCR. If they are out because they have, as a parent might say, an upset stomach, we are eligible to accept a rapid antigen test”.

PCR tests are more accurate but take more time, and rapid antigen tests are slightly less accurate, but take less time. This policy of testing has allowed students who are sick to return to school as soon as possible while being as accurate as necessary. Students who test positive will be asked to stay at home and self-quarantine.

“We are not sure if they can isolate,” says Nurse Linehan, “we ask them to quarantine.”.

If someone catches Covid, Nurse Linehan keeps an extensive spreadsheet in order to contact trace their whole class.

“This includes the date I submit the case, the case ID, the student’s name, the student’s birthday, their last day at this facility, and then every single person he has been in contact with and all of their information,” said Nurse Linehan.

Students who have been in contact would be asked to take a PCR test five days after contact and to self-monitor. If students are vaccinated, they would not have to quarantine, but if the class is unvaccinated, such as the lower school, they will have to quarantine.

“Sometimes I might get a little pushback that I am asking for tests for every single symptom,” says Nurse Linehan, “but it’s the only way to make sure you all are healthy and keep you all in the building.”

Despite the events around the world about vaccines, there has not been much push back about the vaccines in Browning.

“It seemed to mee like the majority of upperclassmen wanted to get the vaccine because they wanted to start their lives again.” said Nurse Linehan, “everyone is vaccinated, and I was thrilled”.

Nurse Linehan has worked hard to keep everyone safe and in school last year, and this year. When asked if she was satisfied with how Browning handled the pandemic, she said “I am, I wouldn’t change anything.”