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Health Services

Our caring staff of health professionals stands ready to serve the immediate and ongoing healthcare requirements of SPCS students. We want every student to have a healthy school experience and invite you to call us with questions or concerns.

Explanation of Health Services

The health of all students is one of our primary concerns. We encourage children to be in regular attendance at school. However, if a child has signs of illness such as vomiting or fever over 100.4 degrees within the last 24 hours, he/she should probably stay home. Parents are required to contact the school office by 9:00 a.m. to report the child’s illness or absence. All children are expected to participate in physical education, recess, and outdoor activities unless they have a signed excuse from their physician.

School health personnel will notify parents when a student needs sent home from school due to illness. Conditions requiring a student be sent home include: Temperature greater than 100.4°F, vomiting, diarrhea, unexplained rashes, live head lice, or on determination by the school nurse that the child’s condition prevents meaningful participation in the educational program, presents a health risk to the child or others, or that medical consultation is warranted unless the condition resolves. Your child will need to be fever, vomiting and/or diarrhea free for 24 hours without the use of medication to return to school.

If a student becomes ill during school, he/she should obtain a pass from the classroom teacher and report directly to the health office. Based on the severity of the illness or injury, we will contact the parents. If we are unable to contact parents, we will notify persons listed on the student's health and accident card.

Please note that it is not proper protocol for students to text parents that they are sick. This leads to parents coming to get students without office verification of an illness. Following the proper protocol is important.

Please include emergency daytime phone numbers through the returning to school registration process so that we may reach you if your child becomes ill or injured while at school. Please also inform your school health office staff of health-related information you feel is important for your student’s success in the classroom and/or safety at school.

Since accidents can occur even though reasonable precautions are taken, we require an immediate and complete report of injury. If a child is injured or becomes ill while at school, the school will make every effort to notify the parent or contact person in case of an emergency. We will send no child home unless contact is made with the parent or guardian. In the case of an accident or illness of a serious nature, we call a rescue unit immediately. Staff in the health office are trained to provide first aid. Due to this, our staff may use triple antibiotic cream or hydrocortisone cream on your child as needed. If you do not want your child to receive these, please contact your health office.

Guidelines for Administering Medication

Whenever possible, you should provide your child medications outside of school hours. In the event it is necessary that your child take or have medication available at school, the parents/guardians must provide a signed written consent for the child to be given medication at school.

For over-the-counter (OTC) medication that is needed at school, please provide a written consent form signed by the parent/guardian for the medication with detailed directions for administering with a start and stop date. All medication must be in the original bottle and properly labeled.

For prescription medications, the district requires a signed physician authorization form. Both the parental and medical provider forms are available on the district website under the Health Services section. The parent/guardian must provide medications to the school in the pharmacy-labeled or manufacturer-labeled bottle. We do not accept repackaged medications. The school nurse may limit medications to those set forth in the Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR). For medications that are controlled, for example medications for ADD/ADHD, the health office will only accept a small supply. If you are not sure if your child’s medication is controlled, please, reach out to the health office for assistance.

Parents must pick up all medications given to the school at the end of the school year. Those medications left in the health office after the last day of school are destroyed if no other arrangements have been made for parental pick up.

If your child has asthma, diabetes, seizures, or any other medical diagnosis that you want to make sure the health office or other staff members are aware of, please contact the health office staff at your child’s school. For those students with asthma or diabetes, there are state required forms for their healthcare needs during school hours. Find these forms on the district web site under the Health Service section.

School Health Screening

We screen children in preschool and kindergarten through fourth grade, as well as children in seventh and tenth grades for vision, hearing, dental defects, height, and weight. Students entering the student assistance process at any grade level, and those about whom health concerns are identified to the school nurse, may also be screened. Parents who do not wish their child to participate in the school screening program must communicate this in writing to the school health office at the start of the school year and on an annual basis. The Nebraska statutes require school-age screening. Parents who remove their child from the screening program must submit findings from an alternate medical provider to the school proving that the child went through screening within the last six months. At times an outside agency, such as Creighton Dental School, may assist with screenings. If this is the case, we send home a letter home with your child. Unless a form is returned to decline services, the outside agency will screen your child.

Physical and Visual Examination

Evidence of a physical examination and a visual evaluation is required within six months prior to entrance into kindergarten and, in the case of transfer from out of state, to any other grade. A physical examination is also required prior to entrance into the seventh grade. A physician, a physician’s assistant, or an advanced practice registered nurse must complete the physical examination. Any of the foregoing or an optometrist must complete the visual evaluation. A parent or guardian who objects to the physical examination and/or visual evaluation may submit a written statement of refusal for his or her child. Waiver forms are available in the school health office. Additional physical examination requirements exist for students participating in athletic participation at the junior high and high school level. Please have sports physicals scheduled on or after May 1 for the upcoming school year.

Immunizations

All students will show evidence of immunizations as stipulated by state school law upon entering school.

  • Three doses of DTaP, DTP, or Td vaccine, one given on or after the fourth birthday, one dose of Tdap (must contain pertussis booster) which can be received any time after ten or eleven years of age, depending on which brand of vaccine is used.
  • Three doses of polio vaccine
  • Two doses of MMR vaccine given on or after twelve months of age and separated by at least one month
  • Three doses of hepatitis B vaccine
  • Two doses of varicella (chickenpox) given on or after twelve months of age. 

We accept written documentation, including the year, of varicella disease from parent/guardian or health care provider if the child has had varicella disease. In this case, they do not need any varicella shots.

We do not permit a student who does not comply with the immunization requirements in school. Students with medical conditions or sincerely held religious beliefs which do not allow immunizations must complete a waiver statement or affidavit. Forms are available in school health offices. Students whose immunizations are not completed or do not have a waiver on file may not be allowed in school until they meet these Nebraska Department of Health standards.

We may exclude unimmunized students from school in the event of a disease outbreak.

Health Services Team

Kelli Haynes
MSN, RN, NCSN
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