Spotlight on School Nurses and Staff Trainings in Oregon

This month, we are shining a spotlight on Epilepsy Foundation Oregon (EFOR), a local Epilepsy Foundation that serves the more than 43,000 people in Oregon who live with epilepsy and their families. In 2019, EFOR has been hard at work training school nurses and staff around the state in seizure recognition and first aid.

Training Throughout the State of Oregon

From June-November 2019, EFOR Program Manager Rae Stewart held 13 trainings and trained 46 school nurses and 169 school staff and staff members at local organizations. EFOR won’t be stopping anytime soon, with one more training scheduled for November.

Learn more about the Epilepsy Foundation’s signature training programs that are supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Quotes from Participants

Rae and EFOR have been met with positive feedback from the participants they train:

• “Not only is Rae a wealth of information and support for staff and students, but families too. She offers a personal connection by sharing her story. Education is the key to not letting something such as epilepsy stand in the way of any of our students’ dreams. The more educated and informed we are, the better we can teach and help educate those around us,” Krista

• “Rae has been consistently willing each and every school year to provide training to our transition program that works with students 18-21 with developmental disabilities. She has worked with our school registered nurse, taken our feedback as to what we want targeted for the in-service workshop, and has been extremely beneficial and impactful to the program. She has not only helped the students and parents but the staff who support our students in a community-based program. She has provided specific focused trainings on individual students and their needs, working in conjunction with the parents. The staff have been taught to recognize signs and symptoms of a seizure disorder, administer proper seizure first aid, provide emotional support that may be necessary for a student with epilepsy, and received tools on how to educate ourselves in building a favorable social climate for our students with epilepsy,” Krista
• “Each year, we work with numerous kids who have various different types of seizures. We have seizure protocols for all of our kids and adults who need them. But I was also looking for an overview of the different types of seizures, how they may manifest themselves, what should staff do if they witness a seizure, different types of medication used for seizures, etc. The Epilepsy Foundation Oregon was able to provide us with timely information to help our staff feel more comfortable in responding to and working with our kids and adults who have epilepsy,” Chery
• “Rae Stewart has been a great resource and speaker on epilepsy. She has given epilepsy trainings at the schools for teachers and staff, which has helped the staff to feel much more prepared and knowledgeable should anyone have a seizure,” Agnes

Get connected with your local Epilepsy Foundation by visiting epilepsy.com/local.

More about Epilepsy Foundation Oregon

• Upcoming Events
  • 2019 Epilepsy Foundation Portland Contest
  • 2020 Walks to END EPILEPSY^® in Oregon
• Programs and Services
  • Support and Networking Groups
  • Community Action Network
  • Camp Discovery
  • Community Education and Training Programs
  • Veteran's Epilepsy Center

Thank you to Epilepsy Foundation Oregon for providing trainings to schools and staff in the state of Oregon!