Medical Policies
HEALTH REQUIREMENTS AND MEDICATION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Students’ Health: We have invested in a staff that is active, healthy and caring. They are committed to being very active with your children. Students will be engaged in physical activity on a daily basis. As a result, children are expected to be in good health when attending school. Colds, flu, and other childhood illnesses spread from child to child with alarming speed. Students with infectious conditions, such as chicken pox, strep throat, head lice, or ringworm must stay home until the infectious stage has passed. Please inform the office of your child’s diagnosis as soon as possible.
Students with fever, sore throat, eye infection, persistent cough, or severe nasal excretions should remain at home. Also, students with symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea, or undiagnosed skin rash should remain at home.
Children should be fever free, vomit free and diarrhea free (unmedicated) for 24 hours prior to returning to school.
If your child becomes ill at school or exhibits any of the above symptoms, we will contact you to arrange to have him or her picked up right away. We understand how difficult this can be for working parents, yet all of our children become ill from time to time. Please make arrangements in advance for a friend or relative to come when you cannot.
Weather permitting; students go outside to play every day. If you feel your child is too sick to go out to play, he or she is probably too sick to be at school. If your child is ill and will not be coming to school, please call our office by 8:30 to let us know he or she will be absent.
Additionally, if a student misses instructional time during the day because of illness, participation in afterschool activities on that day is prohibited.
Emergency Care
In the event of a medical situation that requires immediate attention, we will want your child to see a doctor right away. Please remember to keep your emergency contact information in the main office up to date.
Contact Information
We must be able to reach you at any time during the school day. For any changes to contact information, please email our Registrar, Mrs. Rosch, Leslie.Rosch@sigsbee.org. This includes changes to your pickup information.
Immunizations
All new students seeking entrance into a public school in Monroe County are required by Florida Statute 1003.22 to present at the time of entry, valid documentation that they have received the required immunizations against the communicable diseases as identified by the State of Florida or to provide a Certificate of Medical Exemption (temporary or permanent) based on medical reason filled out by a medical provider or Certificate of Religious Exemption tenets.
The Florida Certification of Immunization that includes temporary and permanent medical exemption sections is available from either private physicians or the Florida Dept. Of Health-Monroe.
*Documentation of Immunizations
*Documentation of Temporary Medical Exemption per student’s medical provider.
*Documentation of Permanent Medical Exemption per student’s medical provider.
Physical/Health Exam
All new students seeking entrance into a public school in Monroe County are required by Florida Statute 1003.22 and School Board policy to present, at the time of entry, valid documentation that they have received a health examination performed within 1 year prior to enrollment.
Student Use of Medication
Students may not store medication on their person under any circumstance. Please do not send in any medication with your child including Tylenol, topical creams, cough medicine, cough drops, or other over the counter drugs, except under a doctor’s instruction.
The School Board shall not be responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of student illness. The administration of prescribed medication and/or medically -prescribed treatments to a student during school hours will be permitted only when failure to do so would jeopardize the health of the student, the student would not be able to attend school if the medication or treatment were not made available during school hours, or if the child is disabled and requires medication to benefit from his/her educational program.
For the purpose of this policy, “medication” shall include all medicines including those prescribed by a medical provider and any over-the-counter drugs, preparations, and/or remedies. Any/All medication, including over the counter medications must be prescribed by a medical provider.
Before any prescribed medication or treatment may be administered to any student during school hours, the School shall require the written prescription from the child’s medical provider and a labeled prescription bottle accompanied by the written authorization of the parent. The first dosage of any new prescribed medication shall not be administered during school hours due to the possibility of an allergic reaction. When medication is delivered to the School, the designated employees will count the exact quantity of the medication being delivered and log the medication into the Medication Administration Log.
These documents shall be kept in the school clinic, and made available to the persons designated by this policy as authorized to administer medication or treatment. No student is allowed to provide or sell any type of over-the-counter medication to another student.
Only medication in its original container; labeled with the date, the student’s name, medical provider, medication name, strength, dosage, route and scheduling and a list of possible side effects will be administered. The Authorization to Administer Medication form must be filled out and accompany any medication to be given during school hours.
The Principal and school nurse shall determine a location in each building where the medications are to be administered under this policy shall be stored, which shall be a locked storage place, unless the medication requires refrigeration in which case they shall be stored in a locked refrigerator or locked box in a refrigerator not commonly used by students.
However, students may be permitted to carry and use, as necessary, an asthma inhaler, diabetic supplies, Epi-pen, Cystic Fibrosis prescribed medications, in their original containers and labeled with Medical Provider’s orders as described in previous paragraph, provided the student must have prior written permission from his/her parent and treating physician and has submitted the Statement of Permission for Administration Assistance , to the principal and school nurse assigned to the building.
The principal, school administrators and the student’s teaching staff will also be advised of any/all permission to carry, and self administer specific meds/ procedures outlined.
The Principal and the school nurse shall designate at least 2 persons on staff to be clinic designees and administer medication pursuant to this policy and shall submit the names of those so designated to the Principal annually.
Students who may require administration of an emergency medication may have such medication, identified and stored in the school clinic and administered in accordance with this policy.
Our staff members are prohibited from providing or administering any over the counter medications except as authorized in writing by you and the child’s physician.
Please contact the School Nurse with any concerns or questions
Or schedule an appointment with the school nurse: Chanda.wall@sigsbee.org
Use of Assistive Medical Equipment: Crutches, Canes, Walkers, Wheelchairs, Braces, and Splints.
Medical devices such as crutches, canes, walkers and wheelchairs, braces, and splints are prescribed by the medical provider to facilitate mobility or provide support or alignment of an injured or deformed body part. Parents are required to submit any/all orders pertaining to the use of any/all of these devices including activity limitations, mobility assistance, length of time for order, and notify staff of
EPINEPHRINE USE
The student who has experienced or is at risk for life-threatening allergic reactions may carry an epinephrine auto-injector and self administer epinephrine by auto-injector while in school, participating in school-sponsored activities, or in transit to and from school or school -sponsored activities if the school has been provided with parental and physician authorization. A school district, county health department, public-private partner, and their employees and volunteers shall be indemnified by the parent of a student authorized to carry an epinephrine auto-injector for any liability and all liability with respect to the student’s use of an epinephrine auto-injector.
ALLERGIES
It is the parent’s responsibility to notify the school nurse of any allergies. This information will be shared with all staff members who have contact with the student.
FIELD TRIPS
Older students often participate in overnight field trips. Parents are responsible for contacting the school nurse well in advance of the trip in order to make arrangements for any medication (over the counter or prescription) to be distributed. Please do not wait for the day of the trip to make necessary arrangements.
HEALTH SERVICES
MANDATORY HEALTH SCREENINGS
School Health Services Program conducts mandatory health screening activities each school year for KG, 1st, 3rd, and 6th grades. Screenings are mandated by State Statute, occurring on a schedule, dependent on guidelines established by the Florida Department of Health-School Health Program and scheduled by the Florida Department of Health - Monroe, School Health Coordinator. Mandatory Health screenings include the following activities: vision screening, hearing screening, measurement of height and weight, with Body Mass Indexing calculators, scoliosis screening. Parents or guardians must inform the school in writing if they do not wish their child to participate in any portion of this program. Additionally, a health screening is required on all NEW students (grades K-5), entering the school district for the first time.
COMMUNICABLE DISEASE
Students with symptoms indicating the possible presence of a communicable disease shall be isolated from other students. The parent or guardian shall be contacted and asked to take the student home. The student shall be readmitted with a written statement from a licensed physician and/or when in the principal’s or designee’s judgement, the student meets the criteria for readmission. A student must be fever free for 24 hours without taking temperature reducing medication. (Per CDC guidelines). Students with Religious Exemptions , per Florida Department of Health guidelines, may be excluded from school in the evenT of an outbreak.
NO NIT POLICY
The School Board of Monroe County has a “NO Nit” policy. If a child is identified as having head lice, he or she shall be excluded from school and shall not be permitted to return to school until his or her head is free from lice and nits. Nits are white eggs that lice lay which adhere to strands of hair. Parents are responsible to provide the appropriate treatment to eliminate head lice and nits before the child returns to school. A child should miss no more than one or two days of school because of head lice. Excessive absences due to head lice shall be addressed according to the provisions of the compulsory school attendance law.
PRIVACY RIGHTS UNDER THE HEALTH INFORMATION PORTABILITY ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPPAA)
Protected health information includes demographic and medical information that concerns the past, present, or future physical and mental health of your child. Demographic information could include name, address, telephone number, social security number and any other means of identifying you or your child as a specific person. Protected health information contains specific information that identifies a person or can be used to identify a person. Your child’s protected health information may be used or disclosed for purposes of treatment (ex. Emergency care) payments and health care operation. The school district may send medical information to Medicaid, insurance companies, or community agencies to pay for services to your child.
Protected health information can be disclosed without parental written authorization in the following circumstances:
*reporting abuse
*investigations related to missing children
*internal investigations and audits or by government agencies.
*public health purposes, including vital statistics, disease reporting, public health surveillance, investigations, interventions and regulation of health professionals.
* district medical examiner investigations
* research approved by the department of Health or school board.
* court orders, warrants, or subpoenas
* law enforcement purposes.
PARENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO :
*request to restrict the use and disclosure of you or your child’s health information
* be assured that information will be kept confidential
* inspect and receive a copy of you or your child’s protected health information
*correct you or your child’s health information