June 3, 2025
On April 21, Region 4’s Brandy Bowlen, BSN, RN, NCSN, Program Specialist for School Health, led the successful delivery of the American Heart Association’s Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition and Stabilization (PEARS) course for 25 school nurses in Cleveland ISD. Designed for the first healthcare professionals to respond to medical emergencies on campus, the course equips participants with the skills to recognize, assess, and stabilize students, staff, and guests on campus who need medical assistance before emergency medical services arrive. Region 4 is the only education service center in Texas offering this specialized training to school nurses.
According to Bowlen, the nurses in attendance ranged from first-year professionals to those with more than two decades of experience. “The PEARS course addresses team dynamics in an emergency, so it was a great opportunity to problem-solve and plan for creating and leading great emergency teams within their own school communities,” said Bowlen. Region 4 will host its first open-enrollment session on Monday, July 21, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.