Health Services
Brief Summary of Health Policies
GENERAL HEALTH INFORMATION:
Please notify the school if your child has any health condition that could potentially affect his or her school day. You will fill out a health history form during your child’s initial enrollment, then each year a shorter update will need to be completed. If something changes with your child’s health status, please call us to let us know. If your child has a serious health concern, such as asthma, seizures or diabetes, a classroom health care plan will be completed.
We keep a complete health record for each student in the district. This record consists of the following (*denotes these records are required by law):
• Birth certificate *
• Immunization records *
• Physical *
• Complete Health History
• Annual health updates
• Annual vision and hearing information
• Other miscellaneous documents including medication forms and dental cards
BIRTH CERTIFICATE:
It is federal law that we have a copy of your child’s STATE ISSUED birth certificate (the one provided by the hospital will NOT work) on file. If we do not receive this within 30 days of enrollment, we are required to notify law enforcement. This is in compliance with the Missing and Exploited Person’s Act. An application form can be obtained here:
IMMUNIZATIONS
Please bring written documentation from a physician or nurse if your child receives any immunizations so we can update our records!
WebIZ is a new program to USD 407. The state has created a database of all immunizations for every resident of Kansas. This database is continually updated by the office of Vital Statistics, health departments, physician clinics, schools, and other vaccine providers. All of clinics in the city of Russell, as well as the Russell County Health Department currently add immunizations to the database. Furthermore, 95-98% of parents authorize that their child’s immunization information be added to the database when applying for a birth certificate. So, the information is already there, we just can’t access it without your permission. WebIZ is a terrific resource for school nurses because it allows us access to immunization information immediately following administration, and we are able to see a complete history of what the child receives. It also allows us instant access to immunization history if a new child moves into the school district (if that child is from Kansas, or has ever lived in Kansas before). Please click on the link below or talk to your school nurse for more information.
PHYSICALS:
Physicals are required at kindergarten, and for all new students up to the age of nine (9) entering Kansas schools. We must have a physical on file for each student. The physical must be done within 12 months prior to school entry, or within 90 days after school entry. The form for this health assessment is available at the link below, at the school office, or at the County Health Department. Physicals can be completed by your medical provider or at the County Health Department. The County Health Department requires scheduled appointments. All students participating in sports are required to have a Kansas School Activities Association Physical. Those who do not participate in sports are encouraged to have physicals at grades 3, 6, and 9.
**MEDICATION**
To administer medication, we MUST have written permission given by parent or guardian. Forms are available in all schools.
The decision to administer aspirin or any other non-prescribed medication is not practiced by any school personnel, including the school nurse. Only the parent has the right to authorize medication administration while at school. However, if the nurse feels a medication is unsafe, he or she has the right to refuse to administer the medication.
In circumstances where medication is necessary for the pupil to remain in school, the following guidelines must be followed:
ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADES (K - 8)
1. A signed and dated note by the parent giving permission to administer medication (prescription or non-prescription) must be brought to the office by the parent or student;
2. If a note is not on file, the parent must come to the school and give the medication to the child at the designated time;
3. All medications must be in a container with the dosage clearly indicated and all prescription medication must bear a label naming the person to whom it is to be administered;
4. Students are NOT to carry any medications except emergency medications (i.e. rescue inhalers and emergency anaphylactic medications such an EpiPen) on their person (prescription or non-prescription).
HIGH SCHOOL GRADES (9-12)
1. A signed and dated note by the parent giving permission to take medication must be carried by the student.
2. All medications must be in the original container with the dosage clearly indicated and all prescription medication must bear a label naming the person to whom it is to be administered.
3. No medications are to be given by one student to another.
FOOD ALLERGIES:
Federal regulations require the school to receive written instructions from an appropriate medical authority before the school can modify your student’s meals. Each school year, a recognized medical authority must complete the following form to document your student’s current special dietary needs.
• Medical Statement for Student with Special Dietary Needs Due to Food Allergy or Intolerance:
The medical authority must list on the form all foods that are to be eliminated from the diet and foods that may be substituted.
The appropriate medical statement should be dated no earlier than July 1 of the current year. To ensure you student’s special dietary needs are met on the first day of school, return the completed medical statement during enrollment.
**ILLNESS CONTROL**
Your child MUST stay home from school for any of the following:
(K.S.A. 65-122)
| ➢ | Suspicious Rashes—until identified by a physician and treated |
| ➢ | Chicken Pox—for five days from onset of rash, or until all lesions have formed crusts |
| ➢ | Head Lice—until treated with medicated shampoo and totally nit (egg) free |
| ➢ | Ringworm—until 24 hours after treatment is started, but must be excluded from sports that require skin to skin contact until all lesions are healed |
| ➢ | Pink eye—until 24 hours after treatment begins |
| ➢ | Staph and Strep infections—until treated and released by physician and free from fever |
ALL CHILDREN WITH A TEMPERATURE OVER 100 DEGREES MUST STAY HOME FOR A MINIMUM OF 24 HOURS FOLLOWING THE RETURN OF A NORMAL TEMPERATURE WITHOUT MEDICATION
Please Note: Following an elevated temperature illness, your child must have a normal temperature (below 100 degrees) for 24 hours before returning to school. Following a stomach illness, your child must stay home until 24 hours free of vomiting and diarrhea. Also, please note: when you call in to inform us of your child’s illness, we will want to know what symptoms the child has. This is to allow us to provide an anonymous illness report to the county health department on a weekly basis. Your child’s name is not shared, only symptoms.
SCREENINGS:
Vision and hearing screenings are done every year on every child who is in grade K-5, 10th grade, and/or in Special Education. Only vision is screened in 6th and 8th grade, and only hearing is screened in 7th grade.