FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 28, 2024

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) joined partners in celebrating the inaugural cohort of school nurses who comprised the state’s first School Nursing Leadership Program during a graduation ceremony on Wednesday, March 27.  

Launched in September 2023, the School Nursing Leadership Program is South Carolina’s first leadership program geared toward helping K-12 school nurses improve health services for students.  

Developed through a partnership between DHEC, the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE), the South Carolina Association of School Nurses and the College of Nursing at the University of South Carolina (USC), the program was specifically designed to provide management skills unique to the education setting to help participating nurses achieve excellence in the delivery of school health services. 

“The college’s partnership with school nurse leaders and DHEC this past year has demonstrated the value of collaboration and alliances to leverage the nursing profession’s leadership and impact in South Carolina communities,” said Dean Jeannette O. Andrews, USC College of Nursing. “School nurses are such a valuable and important resource to our schools and families, and we are delighted to join forces with Dr. Carolyn Swinton, the CEO of Reveille Executive Coaching and Consulting Services, to lead this transformational leadership program.” 

The program offered in-person workshops where school nurses learned leadership skills, developed their own leadership styles and built confidence in addition to gaining a group of peers to network with. Course content included effective communication and conflict management, building trust in relationships, purpose-driven leadership and lead nurse daily operations, among other topics.    

Public health workforce development funds from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were utilized to launch the program. The first cohort of 26 nurses was made up entirely of lead nurses, who serve as the point person for every school in a district.  

“My goal was to use the funding we received to create a sustainable benefit which would continue to grow for years to come,” said Victoria Ladd, State School Nurse Consultant with DHEC and the Department of Education. “Our grant funds were used in a creative two-pronged approach: We funded school districts to unencumber their lead nurse, freeing them up from direct student care responsibilities, and developed a lead nurse training program which would prepare them to strengthen their school health services program to better serve the students of South Carolina.” 

School nursing complements academics by helping students manage chronic diseases and mental illness, allowing them to stay in class and in school. School nurses also perform many public health initiatives such as monitoring for immunization compliance and preventing and managing the outbreak of contagious illnesses.  

“It has been an amazing journey with the school nurse leaders who participated in our state's inaugural Public School Nurse Leadership Program,” said Swinton. “It was an honor to lead alongside Dianne Matlock, the Senior Consultant and Coach with Reveille Executive Coaching and Consulting Services, as we challenged them to embrace new possibilities and explore new ways of thinking and being. 

“They laughed, they cried, they learned. They are leaving the program with a deeper awareness of self, the discovery of values that will guide their leadership practices, and tools that will help them to communicate more effectively and operate more efficiently. They started strong and finished well.” 

Moving forward DHEC will work with a new source of funding, the CDC’s Public Health Infrastructure Grant, to continue the leadership program for more SC Lead School Nurses and those interested in stepping into a lead role.  

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