Adult learning center: a unique adventure for a school nurse.

The school nurse's role in an Adult Learning Center presents a unique challenge. The learning center serves clients who range in age from infancy to elderly adults. The population includes low-income children in day care to alternative high school or adult education classes. Many participants have no health insurance or source of primary health care. The school nurse provides care to meet individual health needs, needs that may be illness related or involve health promotion or primary prevention. The nurse's involvement includes health assessment and appropriate nursing care. This learning environment, although non-traditional for a school nurse, offers health services to those who are at risk due to lack of health education, poor health habits, or lack of access to health care. The school nurse is an essential bridge to people who need care and who may have no other source of health information or care in the community.