Hospital makes education part of treatment

Teacher to help young Arnold Palmer patients

Natisha Small’s daughter, Aubryannah, celebrated her 10th birthday at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando.

She was diagnosed with leukemia in February and she’s had four rounds of chemotherapy.

“She’s been locked in her room for so long,” Small said.

Aubryannah missed the last few months of the school year, and even though the arrangement with the school district helped her finish the year, the process wasn’t without challenges. That’s why Small is a fan of Arnold Palmer Hospital’s new in-house teacher.

In-hospital teachers are mostly employed by hospitals instead of the school system, but they don’t replace schoolteachers, rather they supplement their work.

“If there’s a particular assignment they’re responsible for, I’ll be working with them to make sure they’re getting that work done and provide the support that they need to get that work done,” said Eddie Nasello, Arnold Palmer Hospital’s new teacher.

The children’s hospital is the first in Central Florida to hire a teacher, although the initiative

isn’t new or unique.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s School Program, for example, is almost 20 years old and has grown to have 10 teachers, in addition to a school liaison.

“When I tell people what I do, they say, ‘I never thought about that,’” said Laurie Leigh, director of St. Jude’s School Program in Memphis, Tenn. “But these are kids and their job is to go to school and when they can’t go because of illness, our job is to help them.”

Having a teacher inhouse can provide several benefits to parents.

In Aubryannah’s case, sometimes when an Orange County teacher would come to visit her at the hospital, she was too sick or tired to sit down for a session.

“And they have to leave because they get one or two hours [per patient], and they wouldn’t come back till the following week,” Small said.

“With a teacher at the hospital, they would know ahead of time that the child is sick and they can say let’s meet tomorrow instead of today. This would be so much better,” said Small.

Also, “The in-house teacher becomes part of the treatment plan and part of the hospital environment,” said Leigh of St. Jude. “We have access to medical records and we’re seen as part of the treatment team. We can email any physician and we discuss different issues with our physicians and nurse practitioners. It’s much easier when you’re an employee.”

Nasello can help parents enroll in the school system’s Hospital/Homebound program, which is a short-term instructional program for eligible students who have been diagnosed with a medical or psychiatric condition that confines them to the home, hospital or other restrictive settings for at least 15 school days.

And when it’s time to go back to school, he works with schools on a transition plan.

Arnold Palmer Hospital’s teacher program came about after the parent council for the local Children’s Miracle Network identified the need for additional educational resources, particularly for middle school students.

The organization dedicated about $150,000 for the next two years to start the program at Arnold Palmer Hospital. “And we’re prepared to expand it,” said Janet Morrow, president of Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network board of directors.

Nasello, who has nearly two decades of experience in teaching, is planning to visit some of the other hospitals that have a similar type of program to learn about their best practices and implement them here.

He expects to have between five to 25 students during the academic year, from kindergarten through 12.

But Aubryannah won’t be one of them.

To her mother’s joy, she’s now in remission and back home. Small isn’t ready to send her back to school, so she’ll be taking advantage of the school district’s hospital/homebound program.

“It’s been tough and challenging for her and family, but she’s a fighter,” said Small.