Cedar Bluff Nurse


	Leann Peek	NURSE'S NOTES Available health services... If your child needs medication... 19 things you might not know about lice..
	HEALTH SERVICES AVAILABLE TO ALL STUDENTS A full time Nurse is available all day at each school providing the following services: DAILY CARE OF STUDENTS AND STAFF: First aid Nursing assessment for illness Nursing intervention for chronic health problems Referrals to physicians STATE MANDATED SCREENINGS Hearing (required grades) Vision (required grades) Postural (grades 5-9) Students may be screened any time during the school year upon parent/teacher request. COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL In adherence to Alabama State Immunization Laws, students will be excluded from school for incomplete immunization records. Communicable diseases will be monitored and reported to the Board of Health as necessary. Students will be excluded from school for the following communicable diseases: Chickenpox: until all lesions are scabbed over (5-7 days) Strep throat & conjunctivitis: until 24hours after treatment Head Lice & Scabies: must be treated and free of all nits MAINTENANCE OF STUDENTS' HEALTH RECORDS A health record is kept on file for each student throughout his/her school career. This record includes medical history, immunizations, physical exams, and screening results. MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION Our medication policy requires a written physicians' order as well as written parental consent. All medication must be delivered to the nurse by an adult, please DO NOT send any medication to school with a child (this includes cough drops). All medication must come to school in the original pharmacy container. Please contact the school nurse for authorization forms. Administer daily medication as prescribed by private physician NURSING MANAGEMENT FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Act as a medical liaison for children who may have a chronic or temporary disability Provide nursing care plans with goals and interventions unique to these students EDUCATION Provide ongoing, relevant, individual health education to students, parents, and staff Act as a resource for health education in classes as needed Teach puberty program in grades 5 & 6, and eating disorder prevention in the high school IMMUNIZATIONS Ensure that each student's immunizations are completed to Alabama State Requirements ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Identify environmentally sensitive students and staff Collaborate with Administration and Board of Health to provide safe school environment HEALTH AGENCY REFERRALS Refer students and staff to appropriate community health agencies HEALTH COUNSELING Nurses available for individual consultation for students, parents, and staff COLLABORATION Nurses are members of crisis intervention team Nurses participate in Team Evaluation to identify students with special needs GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE A child with vomiting or diarrhea should be kept home for at least 24 hours after symptoms have been resolved. If your child has consistent pain, fever and poor oral intake, they should be seen by your physician. Any child with a fever of 100 o or above should remain at home until 24 hours after fever has resolved. If cold and cough symptoms are persistent and associated with a fever, a physician should see the child. If the white part of your child's eye is red and has a yellow or green discharge, your child may have conjunctivitis, and your physician should be contacted. Children with conjunctivitis may return to school after 24 hours of treatment. Strep throat and impetigo require 24 hours of medication before a student can return to school. Head lice requires treatment and removal of all nits before a student can return to school. Chickenpox cases must stay home until all lesions are scabbed over, approximately 5 - 7 days. All diagnosed cases of Fifths' Disease should be referred to the nurse. Please notify the school nurse, when your child is under medical care for any of the above illnesses.
	DOES YOUR CHILD NEED TO TAKE MEDICATION? Medication Information Cedar Bluff school staff is interested in the safety of all children attending. The term medication refers to any prescription or non-prescription drug, cream, ointments or lozenges. If it is necessary for your child to take medication in school the following rules must be applied: 1. A parent or guardian or adult (not the child) will bring the medication to school and it will be kept in the nurse's office. No child is allowed to have medication in his/her possession. 2. The physician and parent must complete the appropriate forms provided by the nurse. 3. The medication must be in the original bottle with the label from the pharmacist. Administering Medication Cedar Bluff School discourages medication administration during school hours (such as a routine medication, or antibiotic that can be given at home before or after school). However, if you determine that it is necessary for your child to receive medication during the school day, your approval and specific directions must be provided. As well as appropriate forms filled out by parent and nurse. It is important that the parent/guardian know that any medication not picked up before the end of the school year will be destroyed by the nurse.
	19 SURPRISING THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT HEAD LICE 1. Until a few years ago, approaches to head lice were based on old wives tales, misconceptions and marketing departments for the companies who made products for profit from Head Lice Hysteria. Luckily, we now have research upon which to base our practice. Thank you, Harvard ! 2. Head lice are not a sign of uncleanliness; they love clean hair because it is easier to latch on. 3. Lice do not hop, jump or fly; the only way they can get from one person to another is direct touching, head-to-head. 4. Lice are not passed on pets. The only place head lice can survive and thrive is on the human head. 5. When found, most cases of head lice are already more than a month old. One sign is a red itchy rash on the lack of the neck, just below the hair line. 6. Because of use and overuse of head lice shampoos, head lice have become resistant to the products that once would kill them, so no head lice product is 100 % effective, even if you follow the directions to the letter. That is why combing and nit removal is important. 7. Never treat or retreat "just in case" in the absence of live lice. Head lice products are pesticides, which are toxic if overused and can be absorbed through the skin. Follow the directions carefully. 8. Removing the nits (eggs) and live lice with a special metal-tooth comb is time-consuming but the most effective way to get rid of them. They do not wash out. 9. Hats and coats touching in school are not sources of lice and there is no need to separate or bag them. A louse on a hat or coat is a dying louse who will not be capable of reproducing. Healthy ones stay close to the scalp until they sense another human head. They cannot survive without blood, that is why they bite. 10. Head lice are not a source of infection or disease; they are simply a nuisance. 11. Schools are not the most common places where head lice are spread, even though schools have been blamed in the past. Sleep-overs among friends and relatives are thought to be a common way they are passed home to home. 12. The most effective screening occurs when parents check their own children at home, treat if any are found, and make efforts to remove the nits. 13. One of the biggest challenges in eliminating head lice is parents' discomfort in communicating about the problem with other parents when they find head lice, so they are more easily passed back and forth among close friends and relatives. 14. Nit and lice removal is tedious but there are some simple products that may help. Vinegar, real mayonnaise, olive oil and Dawn Dish soap all have their fans, even though none of these have been proven. The way they seem to help is to loosen the "cement" that the nits use to attach to the hair shaft. 15. Shaving the head or cutting the hair will not affect how easily a child catches lice, though these make nit removal easier. Don't do this unless your child wants you to. A child's self-esteem is much more important than a few missed nits. 16. Grandma's old remedy of kerosene for head lice does not work and is dangerous! Children have died from inhaling the vapors, or from being burned because it is highly flammable. Never use kerosene! 17. Most schools want children with head lice treated and back in school right away. 18. School nurses are supportive advocates who will help you obtain lice shampoo and use it properly. School nurses will assist you in checking or rechecking as you work to remove nits and lice from your child's head. Just ask. 19. School nurses will not judge you or report you or tell others if you ask for assistance dealing with head lice. We handle lice in a confidential manner. We know that even the best families can catch them, and most of us who are parents have been through it at least once ourselves.

Leann Peek

NURSE'S NOTES

Available health services...
If your child needs medication...
19 things you might not know about lice..

HEALTH SERVICES AVAILABLE TO ALL STUDENTS

A full time Nurse is available all day at each school providing the following services:

DAILY CARE OF STUDENTS AND STAFF:

First aid
Nursing assessment for illness
Nursing intervention for chronic health problems
Referrals to physicians

STATE MANDATED SCREENINGS

Hearing (required grades)
Vision (required grades)
Postural (grades 5-9)
Students may be screened any time during the school year upon parent/teacher request.

COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL

In adherence to Alabama State Immunization Laws, students will be excluded from school for incomplete immunization records.
Communicable diseases will be monitored and reported to the Board of Health as necessary.
Students will be excluded from school for the following communicable diseases:
Chickenpox: until all lesions are scabbed over (5-7 days)
Strep throat & conjunctivitis: until 24hours after treatment
Head Lice & Scabies: must be treated and free of all nits

MAINTENANCE OF STUDENTS' HEALTH RECORDS

A health record is kept on file for each student throughout his/her school career. This record includes medical history, immunizations, physical exams, and screening results.

MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION

Our medication policy requires a written physicians' order as well as written parental consent. All medication must be delivered to the nurse by an adult, please DO NOT send any medication to school with a child (this includes cough drops). All medication must come to school in the original pharmacy container. Please contact the school nurse for authorization forms.
Administer daily medication as prescribed by private physician

NURSING MANAGEMENT FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

Act as a medical liaison for children who may have a chronic or temporary disability
Provide nursing care plans with goals and interventions unique to these students

EDUCATION

Provide ongoing, relevant, individual health education to students, parents, and staff
Act as a resource for health education in classes as needed
Teach puberty program in grades 5 & 6, and eating disorder prevention in the high school

IMMUNIZATIONS

Ensure that each student's immunizations are completed to Alabama State Requirements

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Identify environmentally sensitive students and staff
Collaborate with Administration and Board of Health to provide safe school environment

HEALTH AGENCY REFERRALS

Refer students and staff to appropriate community health agencies

HEALTH COUNSELING

Nurses available for individual consultation for students, parents, and staff

COLLABORATION

Nurses are members of crisis intervention team
Nurses participate in Team Evaluation to identify students with special needs

GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

A child with vomiting or diarrhea should be kept home for at least 24 hours after symptoms have been resolved. If your child has consistent pain, fever and poor oral intake, they should be seen by your physician.
Any child with a fever of 100 o or above should remain at home until 24 hours after fever has resolved.
If cold and cough symptoms are persistent and associated with a fever, a physician should see the child.
If the white part of your child's eye is red and has a yellow or green discharge, your child may have conjunctivitis, and your physician should be contacted. Children with conjunctivitis may return to school after 24 hours of treatment.
Strep throat and impetigo require 24 hours of medication before a student can return to school.
Head lice requires treatment and removal of all nits before a student can return to school.
Chickenpox cases must stay home until all lesions are scabbed over, approximately 5 - 7 days.
All diagnosed cases of Fifths' Disease should be referred to the nurse.

Please notify the school nurse, when your child is under medical care for any of the above illnesses.

DOES YOUR CHILD NEED TO TAKE MEDICATION?

Medication Information

Cedar Bluff school staff is interested in the safety of all children attending. The term medication refers to any prescription or non-prescription drug, cream, ointments or lozenges. If it is necessary for your child to take medication in school the following rules must be applied:
1. A parent or guardian or adult (not the child) will bring the medication to school and it will be kept in the nurse's office. No child is allowed to have medication in his/her possession.
2. The physician and parent must complete the appropriate forms provided by the nurse.

3. The medication must be in the original bottle with the label from the pharmacist.

Administering Medication
Cedar Bluff School discourages medication administration during school hours (such as a routine medication, or antibiotic that can be given at home before or after school). However, if you determine that it is necessary for your child to receive medication during the school day, your approval and specific directions must be provided. As well as appropriate forms filled out by parent and nurse.

It is important that the parent/guardian know that any medication not picked up before the end of the school year will be destroyed by the nurse.

19 SURPRISING THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT HEAD LICE

1. Until a few years ago, approaches to head lice were based on old wives tales, misconceptions and marketing departments for the companies who made products for profit from Head Lice Hysteria. Luckily, we now have research upon which to base our practice. Thank you, Harvard !

2. Head lice are not a sign of uncleanliness; they love clean hair because it is easier to latch on.

3. Lice do not hop, jump or fly; the only way they can get from one person to another is direct touching, head-to-head.

4. Lice are not passed on pets. The only place head lice can survive and thrive is on the human head.

5. When found, most cases of head lice are already more than a month old. One sign is a red itchy rash on the lack of the neck, just below the hair line.

6. Because of use and overuse of head lice shampoos, head lice have become resistant to the products that once would kill them, so no head lice product is 100 % effective, even if you follow the directions to the letter. That is why combing and nit removal is important.

7. Never treat or retreat "just in case" in the absence of live lice. Head lice products are pesticides, which are toxic if overused and can be absorbed through the skin. Follow the directions carefully.

8. Removing the nits (eggs) and live lice with a special metal-tooth comb is time-consuming but the most effective way to get rid of them. They do not wash out.

9. Hats and coats touching in school are not sources of lice and there is no need to separate or bag them. A louse on a hat or coat is a dying louse who will not be capable of reproducing. Healthy ones stay close to the scalp until they sense another human head. They cannot survive without blood, that is why they bite.

10. Head lice are not a source of infection or disease; they are simply a nuisance.

11. Schools are not the most common places where head lice are spread, even though schools have been blamed in the past. Sleep-overs among friends and relatives are thought to be a common way they are passed home to home.

12. The most effective screening occurs when parents check their own children at home, treat if any are found, and make efforts to remove the nits.

13. One of the biggest challenges in eliminating head lice is parents' discomfort in communicating about the problem with other parents when they find head lice, so they are more easily passed back and forth among close friends and relatives.

14. Nit and lice removal is tedious but there are some simple products that may help. Vinegar, real mayonnaise, olive oil and Dawn Dish soap all have their fans, even though none of these have been proven. The way they seem to help is to loosen the "cement" that the nits use to attach to the hair shaft.

15. Shaving the head or cutting the hair will not affect how easily a child catches lice, though these make nit removal easier. Don't do this unless your child wants you to. A child's self-esteem is much more important than a few missed nits.

16. Grandma's old remedy of kerosene for head lice does not work and is dangerous! Children have died from inhaling the vapors, or from being burned because it is highly flammable. Never use kerosene!

17. Most schools want children with head lice treated and back in school right away.

18. School nurses are supportive advocates who will help you obtain lice shampoo and use it properly. School nurses will assist you in checking or rechecking as you work to remove nits and lice from your child's head. Just ask.

19. School nurses will not judge you or report you or tell others if you ask for assistance dealing with head lice. We handle lice in a confidential manner. We know that even the best families can catch them, and most of us who are parents have been through it at least once ourselves.