• Illness/PE Excuses

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    First-aid and medical care provided by the school nurse is mainly for illnesses or injuries that occur at school during the school day.  The Health Office is not a primary care facility like a doctor's office or urgent care facility. The nurse is qualified to collaborate with you and your child's physician to provide an educational environment in which your child can learn and thrive.  The nurse does not make medical diagnoses, prescribe treatments or medications, but can provide treatments and medications as prescribed by a physician with a doctor's order.  Please tell your child if they are not feeling well at school to ask to see me for an evaluation.  Cell phones are not to be used during school hours and if your child should call you on his/her phone complaining of illness, please tell him/her to check in with me.  This allows for an evaluation and documentation of the visit, and if the student is sent home it will then count as an excused absence.  Students signed out for illness who have not been seen by the nurse will be noted as a personal unexcused absence.

    Illness/Communicable Disease
    1.     School is no place for a sick child.  Please do not send your children to school if:
        -  they have a fever within the past 24 hours
        -  have vomited within the last 24 hours
        -  have any diarrhea in the last 24 hours
        -  have any of the symptoms listed below.  Children should be free of fever for 24 hours or one full school day before returning to school, regardless of how they feel.  If your child has been diagnosed with a communicable disease such as strep throat or pink eye, s/he must have been on antibiotic treatment (and free of fever) for 24 hours prior to returning to school.  Also, please notify the school office or school nurse of any diagnosed communicable disease so that other parents can be notified.

    Signs/symptoms of illness:
            - Fever (oral temp of 100.0 or more)
            - Diarrhea, any loose stools
            - Red, watery eyes, pus in corners
            - Constant sneezing and/or deep cough, constant runny nose
            - Unexplained rash
            - Headache
            - Nausea or vomiting
            - Swelling of the neck or face
            - Flushed face or paleness
            - Very sore throat
            - Painful earache

    2.  DO NOT send a sick child to school for the school nurse to decide whether s/he should be in school.  If in doubt, call your family physician.  School nurses can assess and refer, but we do not diagnose, and will always refer to your physician if in doubt.

    3.      If your child sustains an injury at home or off campus, please take care of it at home. I am more than happy to take care of injuries that happen during school hours, but am not here to take the place of your primary physician's evaluation and treatment.

    4.  If your child becomes ill enough to be removed from school, has more than a minor injury, or has an emergency, you will be notified.  It is the parent's responsibility to make arrangements to pick up an ill or injured child as promptly as possible.  Students are not permitted to walk home, even with permission.  Please make sure there are up-to-date home/work numbers on your child's emergency sheet.  Please notify the school and/or nurse immediately of any changes in phone numbers.  If your child has a temperature in the health office of 100 degrees or greater, s/he will be sent home.   Any child with an undiagnosed rash will be sent home and should remain out of school until all symptoms are gone or a physician verifies (with a written note) that the child is not contagious and is well enough to return to school.   If your child is sent home by the school nurse due to fever, vomiting or diarrhea, s/he may not return to school for at least 24 hours, even if s/he is feeling better.  

    If every parent follows these procedures, it will prevent the spread of contagious diseases, some of which may be life threatening.

    AS ALWAYS, hand washing is the best defense against the spread of germs.  Washing hands thoroughly with soap and warm water is the best method.  Do not hesitate to call your physician if you have any questions or concerns regarding your child.  

    Physical Education Excuses
    Students requesting to be excused from PE must bring a note signed by their parents, guardians or doctor to the Nurse.  The Nurse will then make a copy of the note or letter for the student to take to PE and share with the PE teacher.  Any request for three or more consecutive PE excuses must be accompanied by a Physician's written order.   PE teachers will be informed of the length of excuse, and any accommodations that need to be made for your child.  If your child has a health condition that causes him/her to miss PE class frequently, a doctor's note will be required.  If a doctor has excused a student from PE, the student will not be released back to class without written clearance from the doctor.  You can also email PE excuses to both the PE teacher and myself. 

    All injuries requiring any type of orthopedic support or device on campus must be reported with a medical excuse and cleared through the Health Office. If your child sustains a fracture and has a splint or a cast, or has been authorized by a physician to use crutches or a wheelchair while on campus, please check in with the nurse prior to the child returning to class.  I will need a doctor's note to authorize use of the elevator in the academic building and crutches or a wheelchair on campus.  A written PE/activity restriction notice is also required, as well as a release to return to physical education when the student's injury has healed.