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Christina Klaas, BSN, RN checks Bishop Kelly student Margaret Acuna's temperature. (ICR Photo/Philip A. Janquart)
By Philip A. Janquart
ICR Assistant Editor
She has seen it all: stomach aches, bloody noses, allergic reactions, sprained ankles and more.
“I had two students in one week whose rings got stuck on their fingers,” chuckled Christina Klaas, BSN, RN. “We had to send them to the ER… and the jeweler,” she noted. “It was very odd; you never know what you are going to get.”
For Klaas, a 1993 Bishop Kelly High School graduate, it was just another day as Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center’s School Health Program Coordinator.
Launched in 1993, the program is a partnership between Treasure Valley Catholic schools and Saint Alphonsus in Boise through its Community Health and Well-Being Department. The aim is to provide health care services to students in all six K-8 Catholic schools and Bishop Kelly High School.
“Fall semester was very busy; I averaged about 30 students per day for walk-ins,” said Klaas from her nurses’ office at Bishop Kelly. “In our 2024-2025 calendar school year, we had 13,000 walk-in visits at our office spaces in our schools; that’s a lot of kids.”
The partnership began more than 30 years ago when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise and Saint Alphonsus recognized a need for formal, onsite care at the schools.
The result was an agreement to provide a nurse at Bishop Kelly as a test run. It was well received, and the program eventually grew to include the Diocese’s K-8 schools.
Saint Alphonsus registered nurse Kathleen Hunthausen conceived the idea for the partnership. In 1999, she was named Idaho’s School Nurse of the Year, receiving the award from then-Idaho Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marilyn Howard.
“It’s really a lovely partnership, bringing the two together, the Catholic schools and the Catholic hospital, to support the kids in an academic environment and keep them here (in school) as much as possible,” Klaas said.
THE PROGRAM
The program goes beyond a first aid kit; it provides health care services and education, including CPR classes, hygiene classes, disease transmission instruction, and health emergency education.
“We do a lot of proactive teaching,” Klaas said. “The CPR class actually meets the state requirements for health students to take a CPR module; I help the school meet that. We do opening education at the start of the school year for the teachers, where we go over health emergencies and how to manage kids with chronic health conditions like seizure disorders, diabetes and allergies. We front load the education for teachers so they can do their best classroom management and support their students who have health issues.”
At the elementary level, school nurses teach handwashing and disease prevention and provide anti-vaping talks to promote healthy habits and nutrition, drawing from the resources available through Saint Alphonsus.
They also conduct health screenings, targeting vision, hearing and scoliosis, and screen for immunization requirements to meet compliance with the State of Idaho.
“We do triage visits, which means that students walk into our offices with various ailments,” Klaas explained. “We help determine if they meet criteria to go home, or if they need a higher level of care or emergent care—you know, 911. We do that for our students and our staff, so we are serving both populations.”
The School Health Program partners with Bishop Kelly counseling teams to address mental health.
“It’s huge; our kids are under high stress, and I feel, sometimes, it’s under-recognized,” Klaas said. “I’m passionate about it, making sure students are seen and heard, and have resources and know what’s available to them so they can reach out for help, to know there are people who want to support them and help them.”
“We intake paperwork from parents and double check with our physicians if we need to, in terms of making sure it’s the right medication and right dose for that kid, and then administer according to physicians’ orders,” Klaas said.
PARTNERSHIP
Currently, the schools and the hospital share in the cost of providing the service.
“Saint Alphonsus upholds a legacy of bringing healthcare to people where they are,” said Rebecca Lemmons, Saint Alphonsus Health System Regional Director of Community Health & Well-Being. “Our longstanding partnership with the Catholic schools through the Catholic Diocese of Boise has cemented our shared mission for serving our community in the Spirit of the Gospel as a compassionate and healing presence.”
The relationship is unique in that it directly brings the broad capacities of a modern health system like Saint Alphonsus to students in their schools. Services include access to pharmacies, technological capabilities, and more. Whether they are in the classroom or on the playground, Lemmons said, care is significantly more accessible when they need it.
“It’s also a wonderful way for us to help people who need it… because there are disparities in [access to healthcare] in different populations,” Klaas added.
NURSES
There is generally one nurse per school, and their work hours are based on each school’s student population. Some nurses work partial days while others work a full day.
According to Klaas, Bishop Kelly and St. Ignatius in Meridian have the largest student populations.
Eight registered nurses and one certified nurse assistant work for Saint Alphonsus under its Community Health and Well-Being arm. They are specifically hired to work within the School Health Program.
While some nurses are not Catholic, they must agree to follow Diocesan rules governing their contact with children.
“You don’t have to be Catholic to be a nurse, but we support all of the Diocesan requirements,” Klaas said. “We are very respectful. We go to Mass with the students; I was born and raised Catholic, so it’s beautiful for me.”
SAINT ALPHONSUS
The Boise hospital opened in 1894 and was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. The hospital is no longer administrated by the Sisters, but they have left a legacy through the hospital’s mission. At least one Holy Cross Sister continues to volunteer in Boise.
“The School Health team is a true reflection of the work of our founding Sisters and the Saint Alphonsus mission to serve together in the spirit of the Gospel as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities,” said Klaas. “Our team has a passion for working with students and children and is blessed to be able to serve in the Catholic school setting. This is my ministry from within, and I feel blessed to serve in this capacity through my employer.”
Janet Campbell BSN, RN, left, and Sister Dipti Toju, right, a health intern, at Saint Ignatius School in Meridian. (ICR Photo/Phil Janquart)
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