School Nurse

Illness

If a child has been ill during the night or became ill upon awakening, please consider not sending the child to school. Students with low-grade fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or other acute symptoms will be sent home. If your child has been ill at home with any of these symptoms, please keep him/her home until these symptoms have subsided for 24 hours. If a child becomes ill after coming to school, the parent will be contacted. If a child has a fever of at least 100 degrees or has vomited, the student will be sent home.

If the parents cannot be reached by phone, the emergency contact person(s) listed in the student file will be called to pick up the child. Please maintain accurate and current information for the emergency file. Any addition or deletion for emergency contact person(s) should be given immediately to the school office. We will make every attempt to contact parents in the event of an emergency. 911 will be called at the nurse’s discretion. If students need medical attention, the DC Fire Department Emergency Unit will transport students to Children’s Hospital or to the nearest hospital providing pediatric care.

Medications

Families are encouraged to administer medications at home. If medications are needed during school hours, please have your medical provider complete the appropriate form and return them to the school nurse. When your child needs to receive medication or treatment, school staff will ensure that your child is released from class to go to the nurse’s office where the school nurse will administer the medication or treatment. Sometimes the school’s nurse is not at the assigned school due to a normal absence or to cover another school. When this occurs, the school will ensure other trained school staff are available to administer your child’s medication. A number of personnel within Shepherd are designated as AOM (Administration of Medication) certified.

Other Nurse Services

In addition to routine care for sick students, our nursing staff provides the following health services:

• Access and/or referrals to medical providers through a systematic process
• Prevention materials and resources for chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes, obesity, asthma, etc.)
• Screening, testing, and/or treatment for chronic diseases
• Vision and hearing screenings