Nurses’ Office: Policies

Reasons for which a child may be sent home or for a parent to keep the child at home from school:

• A fever of 100 degrees or above. The child should remain home until fever free for 24 hours without the use of any fever reducing medication like Tylenol or ibuprofen.
• Conjunctivitis (pink eye), strep throat, ring worm, and impetigo are all infections that must be treated with medication for a minimum of 24 hours before returning to school.
• Diarrhea or vomiting. The child must remain home until symptom free for 24 hours
• Head injury
• Rash of unknown origin
• Severe coughing or difficulty breathing
• Inadequate immunizations with known disease outbreak in the school (chicken pox, pertussis, mumps, etc…). The child should remain home for the duration of the incubation period.

Saint Ann’s School Health Form and Immunization Policy

The Child and Adolescent Health and Examination Form, to be completed by your child’s medical practitioner, is required as part of the enrollment process for school and camp for:

• all new students
• all preschool and all kindergarten students
• all returning 1^st, 6^th, 9^th, and 12th grade students
• all middle and high school students who plan to play sports

An Interval Health History Form is required BEFORE tryouts for all middle and high school students who wish to participate in team sports unless the student has had a physical exam less than 30 days prior to the start of the season’s practices and has submitted the Health and Examination Form at that time.

In accordance with New York State Public Health Law, all students must be immunized. Proof of vaccination or immunity from the following is required for all students: measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), tetanus, diptheria and pertussis (TDAP), varicella (chicken pox) and Hepatitis B. All 12th graders need proof of two meningococcal immunizations prior to the first day of school. Additionally all preschool students need proof of vaccination or immunity from the following: a current annual influenza shot, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and pneumococcal conjugate (PCV).

The School will not offer any exemptions to this policy, except in the case of a New York State licensed physician certifying that such immunization may be detrimental to the student’s health. Such certifications must be submitted to the Head of School. If you are seeking a medical exemption, you must provide a letter from a New York State licensed physician certifying that one or more of the required immunizations are detrimental to your child’s health. The letter should specify which immunizations may be harmful to your child and for how long the immunization(s) would be detrimental.

Injuries

Any injury that requires activity restrictions or has a child using a cane or crutches must be accompanied by a physician’s order describing the restrictions. In order for a child to return to full activity and participate in Recreational Arts a child must have a written medical clearance from their physician.

Concussion Information
Parent Concussion Letter
Information about ImPACT

Student – Parent Concussion Information
Concussion Management Plan
Head Injury Letter

Prescription Medications

Any prescription medication must be accompanied by a current written doctor’s order. The medication must be in a prescription bottle where the label matches the doctor’s written order and states the child’s name, dosage, route and expiration date. All prescription medication is stored in the nurse’s office and may only be given by the nurse as ordered. For short term medications (eg antibiotics) please ask your physician to write the dosage for three times a day or two times a day, as opposed to four times. No employees other than the school nurses may administer any form of medication to a student. It is against NYS Department of Health regulations to do so.

Allergy Aware Policy

In any given school year, Saint Ann’s has several students with severe, potentially life- threatening allergies. As it is impossible to make a school allergen free, Saint Ann’s has adopted an “allergy aware” policy.

Annually, we ask families of children with severe allergies to have their pediatrician complete an allergy action plan. This plan is shared with classroom teachers in the Preschool through third grades; in fourth–twelfth grade, the allergy is noted on every class roster. Division offices, deans, and cafeteria staff are also notified regarding any student with allergies. This process allows any person at school working with a child who has allergies to be aware of necessary precautions and able to safely accommodate them.

Below are some steps that the Saint Ann’s community can take to reduce exposure to food allergens for our affected students. While these precautions are not mandates, we ask for your assistance by following these recommendations to create a safe environment for all students.

• Please teach your children not to share food with other children in school.
• Encourage hand washing and wiping surfaces after meals.
• Avoid sending your child to school with peanuts, tree nuts, or foods made with nuts or prepackaged food with a printed warning label (“may contain peanuts/tree nuts”).
• If making baked goods to be shared at school, please avoid common allergens and label food with all ingredients.
• Contact foodservicehelp@saintannsny.org for help or more information regarding your child’s specific food allergies.

Student Elevator Use

Elevator passes are issued by the nurses for those students who:

• Have a physical disability
• Are injured during the school day
• Have a doctor’s note requiring activity restrictions
• Are experiencing an asthma exacerbation and are unable to participate in activities

Lice

If your child has lice, please alert the nurses’ office at nurses@saintannsny.org and let their close friends know. The nurses’ will email a lice letter to your child’s class notifying them of the case and how to treat lice if detected. If a child is found to have lice at school, we will notify the parents. The child will not be excluded and is allowed to remain in school until they are picked up by their parent or caregiver. However, any student with lice must be treated before returning to school the next day. Please bring the child to the nurse the morning after treatment for a quick check. The nurses can also provide families with resources for lice removal.

The nurses encourage families to make “head checks” part of your weekly routine.

In accordance with the American Academy of Pediatricians, the CDC and The National Association of Nurses, Saint Ann’s is no longer doing class-wide or school-wide head checks for lice.