The School District of Springfield Township Health Services

The Health Office is staffed all student days by the Certified School Nurse or Registered Nurse Assistant. The Registered Nurse Assistant contacts parents of sick or injured children, administers prescribed medications, provides first aid in emergencies and assists with health screenings and record keeping. In addition to the aforementioned, the Certified School Nurse provides health assessments, consultation and referral, health counseling and health education, prepares individual health plans, delegates and supervises medication administration, monitors student health status, and assists with health prevention and health promotion activities.

Emergency Contact Information
At the beginning of every school year you will receive Emergency Contact Information to be updated/completed and returned to school. It is important that our information be current and be returned immediately. It is necessary that we have your phone numbers (home and work) as well as the phone numbers of two additional friends, neighbors, or family members that will assume temporary care of your child if you cannot be reached. In case of an emergency when parents cannot be reached, the parent’s signature authorizes the school to call listed health care providers and to make arrangements for emergency medical care if needed.

Please be sure the persons you list as emergency contacts know that the school may contact them and are willing to pick your child up from school when you are unavailable. It also helps if the friends or neighbors are easily reached by phone when you are not.

Please notify the office immediately of any changes or additions that need to be made on your child’s emergency contact information during the school year.

Illness
Students and parents are frequently concerned about possible illness and whether he/she should stay home or attend school. We ask that you follow these guidelines:

1. If a student has a fever of 100 degrees or more, the student should stay home for 24 hours after the temperature has returned to normal.
2. If a student has vomited or has diarrhea, the student should stay home until 24 hours after the last episode.
3. If a student has any rash that may be disease-related or you do not know the cause, check with your family health provider before sending the child to school.

Care of Sick and Injured Children
Health services are offered to students who become ill or injured during the school day. Standing orders for treatment written by the school physician are implemented by the certified school nurse or the registered nurse assistant. If a case appears to require immediate medical attention, parents are notified as quickly as possible.

Parents may be asked to pick up their children from school under the following circumstances:

1. The child has a fever of 100.0 degrees or above.
2. The child is vomiting and/or has diarrhea.
3. The child has a rash that may be disease related.
4. The child does not feel well enough to return to the classroom.

Parents may also be asked to follow-up with a medical professional regarding diagnosis and treatment of illnesses. Parents and/or guardians and the child’s medical provider are responsible for the care of the student. School health service staff provide support to families in their responsibility of caring for their children.

In order for the nursing staff to carry out comprehensive health care for our students, they must depend on your cooperation, particularly in the following areas:

1. Emergency cards must be completed and returned to school.
2. Any health questionnaires brought home should be completed and returned.
3. If your child receives any immunization, has surgery, or is treated for accident/illness outside of school, please notify the school nurse.
4. Inform the school office of any change in address, phone number, or emergency contacts.

Health information given to the school nurse is considered both privileged and confidential. This means that the information will be shared only on a need-to-know basis for the safety and well being of the child.

Medications during the School Day
All medications must be sent to the School Nurse in the original container from the pharmacy. It must be marked with the student’s name, name of medication, time and dosage. A written note with the reason, time and dosage, as well as permission to give the drug to the child must accompany the medication, which will be kept in a locked cabinet in the Nurse’s Office. Please do not send medications into school in unmarked plastic bags, in the child’s lunch box or on his/her person. This is contradictory to the Medication Policy and would be extremely dangerous if the medicine was found and ingested by another student.

Medication will not be given unless written permission comes from the parent and doctor. If the doctor writes a prescription, please ask for a duplicate copy for the School Nurse to keep on file if the medication is to be administered during school hours. This duplicate should be sent to school with the medication in the above-mentioned manner.

This policy applies to all medications, prescription and nonprescription. In addition, cough drops must be stored and used in the health office. Written parent permission must accompany the cough drops.

Health Screenings
Vision and hearing screenings are done at selected grade intervals each year, usually in the early fall. Growth screenings, which include measurement of height, weight, body mass index, and body-mass-index-by-age-percentile, are also done annually. You will be notified of your child’s health screening results. If you have any concerns at any time throughout the school year please contact the school nurse.

Mandated Health Examinations
Students in selected grades are required by law to have a physical and/or dental examination. We encourage parents to have these exams performed by their private health care provider. However, free school exams are available once annually for those desiring to take advantage of this opportunity. Please be advised all male students will be required to briefly remove their underwear for a hernia/testicular check as an essential aspect of a complete physical exam. For any questions, please contact your school nurse.