The goal of the Health Room is to provide professional health care and guidance and to coordinate the resources of the school, home and community as they pertain to the total health of students and staff. Vision and Hearing screening is performed in grades K-6 and grades 8 & 10. Postural screening for scoliosis is completed in grades 5-9. Health Room staff also screen student records for compliance with state law requiring vaccination of all students.
The Health Room is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Except in an emergency, students in need of Health Room services must have a pass from their classroom teacher to proceed to the Health Room.
If a student becomes ill or injured in school:
1. First aid is administered immediately.
2. A parent or guardian is contacted.
3. If the parent or guardian is not available, the individual identified on each student’s emergency card as an emergency contact will be called to help locate the parent or take the student home. Students will not be released from school without the permission of the parent or guardian.
4. If the situation appears to require immediate medical attention, the student’s physician will be called. If the physician is not available, the covering physician will be consulted. If neither the physician nor covering physician is available, the school physician will be contacted.
In an emergency or life-threatening situation, the procedure is the following:
1. The parent or guardian is contacted.
2. The town ambulance or rescue squad is called and the student is taken to the Hospital Emergency Room for treatment. Because of the possibility of emergencies, all students must have current, completed emergency notification cards on file.
Families also need to be aware of the following health regulations:
1. Parents of students with special needs or who are considered "at risk" - those with diabetes, asthma, seizures, severe allergies, etc. ‚ should advise the school nurse of the condition, any medications taken by the student, any side effects of such medication, and the manner in which acute episodes should be handled. Conferences with teachers can be arranged through the school nurse.
2. If a student's oral temperature is over 99.6F., the student must be kept at home until the temperature has been normal (98.6 F.) for at least twenty-four (24) hours. This regulation protects not only the ill student, but also others who might be infected with the illness. Students who return to school while they are ill contribute to the proliferation of illness during the school year. If the student returns to school with a fever, or develops an oral temperature over 99.6F during the school day, the school nurse will send the student home after evaluation.
3. If your student develops a highly contagious disease such as chicken pox, strep throat, impetigo, pertussis, bacterial conjunctivitis or head lice, please notify the Health Room at once. Any of these conditions will result in dismissal from school after evaluation by the school nurse. An antibiotic or other treatment approved by a health care professional must be administered for a minimum of twenty-four hours before the student will be permitted to return to school. Students who have had chicken pox must be evaluated by the school nurse before they will be permitted to return to class.
4. State law requires all students to have been vaccinated. Students who have not been vaccinated may be excluded from school.
School policies regarding the administration of medications are designed for the safety and protection of all students and are as follows:
1. Before students may carry or self-administer any medications during the school day, the student, parent or guardian and school nurse must enter into an agreement specifying the conditions under which such medication may be administered, AND the parent or guardian must provide written authorization for the student to administer the medication. At the discretion of the school nurse, the student may be required to provide a written order from the prescribing health care professional for the medication and its administration by the student.
2. If medication for a chronic condition must be administered during school hours, the medication must be provided to the school nurse in a pharmacy or manufacturer-labeled container provided by the parent or guardian. A student who is taking prescription medication should request the pharmacy to prepare separate prescriptions for home and school so that medication is not forgotten in school and treatment is disrupted. Medication should be provided in no more than a thirty-day supply.
3. Before medication can be administered in school, the following forms must be completed and on file in the Health Room. Forms are available in both the main office and the Health Room and also on the nurse’s website.
a. Consent form for administration of medication, signed by parent or guardian;
b. Medication order signed by the students's prescribing health care provider. For ongoing conditions, the order must be renewed as needed and must be current for each academic year. If the medication is to be administered for ten days or less, the pharmacy-labeled container may be used in lieu of a prescription order at the discretion of the school nurse.
4. All unused, discontinued or outdated medications will be returned to the parent or guardian, and all medications will be returned at the end of the school year.
5. Non-prescription medications may only be administered by the school nurse in accordance with the regulations of the State Department of Health.
6. Students are expected to report to the Health Room at the appropriate times for their medication.
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