Health Services

HEALTH SERVICES: The Health Nurse visits all U.S.D. # 413 attendance centers. The nurse schedules eye checks and hearing checks during the school year. Parents may request this to be done at anytime. The nurse can be contacted if any emergency arises.

ILLNESS

In order to keep the number of cases of communicable diseases to a minimum, we are asking that parents and guardians please observe the following regulations, not only for the safety of your child, but for the safety of others:

1. Keep home any child complaining of the following: sore throat, vomiting, upset stomach, flushed face, watery red eyes, nasal discharge, persistent cough, rash on any part of the body or a temperature elevated above 100. It is recommended that the child stay home for 24 hours after the temperature has broken.
2. Notify the school when you know your child has a communicable disease.
3. Physician’s permits are required when a student is absent from school for more than three consecutive days or ten days in a semester due to illness. A physician’s permit is also required in case of the following illnesses: Infectious Hepatitis, Rheumatic Fever, Meningitis and surgical procedures. Please have your physician state any restrictions to be observed at school. The school nurse reserves the right to request a physician’s permit for other health-related circumstances as necessary.
4. We suggest that you take precautions when a child is catching cold to keep them under care for at least 24 hours. Parent or guardian cooperation is greatly appreciated.

If a child becomes ill at school, they will be made as comfortable as possible until a parent arrives to take the student home. For this reason, it is imperative that the school has current telephone numbers, both the residence and the work numbers, plus an emergency number in case neither parent can be contacted. The name of a preferred physician is also a necessity. In case a child becomes ill or has a serious accident at school, the parents will be called immediately to take charge of that child.

MEDICATION AT SCHOOL

The law requires the parent and the doctor sign a permission sheet before any medication can be administered at school. The medicine must be in its original container with the student's name, dosage and doctor’s name on it. Medicine will be kept in the office. School personnel may not give any kind of non-prescription medication (including aspirin, cough drops, and all over the counter products) unless a permission sheet is completed by a doctor. If any changes occur in the type of drugs, dosage, and/or time, a new permission sheet must be completed and a newly labeled container must be brought to the school office.

The school nurse is responsible for the overall supervision of medication administration in all U.S.D. # 413 attendance centers. A staff member at each building will be assigned to administer medication. After administering the medication, the assigned staff member will record the student's name, medicine name, dosage and time. Then, they will sign the log sheet indicating the staff member giving the medication.

We realize this is an inconvenience to parents but the school has no other choice. Please be sure to follow this policy so situations will not arise which may be embarrassing to staff, parents or students.

STUDENT SELF-ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATIONS

The self-administration of medication is allowed for eligible students in grades K-12. As used in this policy, medication means a medicine for the treatment of anaphylaxis or asthma including, but not limited to, any medicine defined in the current federal regulation as an inhaled bronchodilator or auto-injectible epinephrine. Self-administration is the student’s discretionary use of an approved medication for which the student has a prescription or written direction from a health care provider.

As used in this policy health care provider means a physician licensed to practice medicine and surgery; an advanced registered nurse practitioner, or a licensed physician assistant who has authority to prescribe drugs under the supervision of a responsible physician.

Student Eligibility: An eligible student shall meet all the following requirements:

1. A written statement from the student’s health care provider stating the name and purpose of the medication/s; the prescribed dosage; the time the medication is to be regularly administered; and the length of time for which the medication is prescribed;
2. Written consent from the student’s parent or guardian;
3. The student shall also demonstrate the health care provider or the provider’s designee and the school nurse or the nurse’s designee the skill level necessary to use the medication and any device that is necessary to administer the medication as prescribed. In the absence of a school nurse, the school shall designate a person who is trained to watch the demonstration.

Authorization Required: The health care provider shall prepare a written treatment plan for managing the student’s asthma or anaphylaxis episodes and for medication use by the student during school hours. The student’s parent or guardian shall annually complete and submit to the school any written documentation required by the school, including the treatment plan prepared by the student’s health care provider. Permission forms shall be updated during enrollment.

EMPLOYEE IMMUNITY

All teachers responsible for the student’s supervision shall be notified that permission to carry medication and self-administer has been granted. The school district shall provide written notification to the parent or guardian of a student that the school district and its officers, employees and agents are not liable for damage, injury or death resulting directly or indirectly from the self-administration of medication.

Waiver of Liability: The student’s parent or guardian shall sign a statement acknowledging that the school district and its officers, employees or agents incur no liability for damage, injury or death resulting directly or indirectly from the self-administration of medication and agreeing to release, indemnify and hold the schools and its officers, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims relating to the self-administration of medication allowed by this policy.

Additional Requirements:

• The school district shall require that any back-up medication provided by the student’s parent or guardian be kept at the school.
In a location to which the student has immediate access if there is an asthma or anaphylaxis emergency.
• The school district shall require that all necessary and pertinent information be kept on file at the student’s school in a location easily accessible if there is an asthma or anaphylaxis emergency.
• Eligible students shall be allowed to possess and use approved medications at any place where the student is subject to the jurisdiction or supervision of the school district, its officers, employees or agents.
• The board may adopt policy or handbook language which imposes additional requirements relating to the self-administration of medication allowed for this policy and may establish a procedure for, and the conditions under which, the authorization for student self-administration of medication may be revoked.

A student shall be denied the opportunity to self-administration of medications if:

1. a student fails to register with the school officials or fails to submit all required paperwork and consents;
2. a student does not follow proper administration of medications
3. a student fails to adequately secure medications at school.
4. a student shares or attempts to share (a prescription) medication with another student.

HEAD LICE

Parents are asked to periodically check their child to prevent this problem. According to Kansas law, children found to have head lice will be required to stay home until they have been treated and all nits have been removed from their hair. They will also need to be checked by the school nurse before being allowed to return to class. The school nurse will give each family a lice treatment checklist when a child in the family is infested. If you have any questions, you may contact the school nurse at 432-2530.