Health Room

Meet Our School Nurse

Meet Nurse Bridget

Hi, I'm Nurse Bridget! My priority is the health and safety of our students and staff. I appreciate any and all communication as it relates to the health and safety of your child. The health information shared with me about your child helps me know how to better serve your child's health care needs which in turn affects their educational needs.

Please feel free to contact me at any time during the school day at (816) 736-5404 or email at bridget.lester@lps53.org

School Nurses are the leaders who bridge health care and education, provide care coordination, advocate for quality student-centered care, and collaborate to design systems that allow individuals and communities to develop their full potential (National Association of School Nurses [NASN], 2017).

Students come to school to be in class and learn. The School Nurse helps with this by encouraging children to be healthy. When students come to the Health Room, their complaints will be checked out and treated as soon as possible, so they can go back to class. Students will be encouraged to stay in school if they are able. If they are found to be ill, however, parents will be called and the student will be sent home. Please make sure to have current contact information on file with the school office.

The School Nurse also provides health education, health assessments, identification of health problems, referrals for medical follow-up, and vision and hearing screenings. The School Nurse is an excellent resource for the entire school community.

Health Concerns

It is your responsibility as a parent/guardian to tell the school nurse about any health concerns or chronic health issues that your child may have. If your child has asthma, severe/life threatening allergies, diabetes, seizures, other chronic illness, or physical or psychological condition, please talk with the nurse.

Students with chronic conditions of asthma, severe allergies requiring an EpiPen, seizures, and/or diabetes, are required by the school district to have an emergency action plan completed and signed by the student's doctor. These plans need to be on file with the nurse in the Health Room. On the LPS District Health Services Page you will find the Severe Allergy Policy and Procedures Handbook as well as the emergency action plans for severe allergies, asthma, diabetes, and seizure disorders.

Student health concerns must be updated each school year to keep current information available. Parents should also notify the nurse with any changes that occur with students' health at any time.

If you have any questions or concerns about the health needs of your child, please feel free to call me. It is my goal to care for your child's needs in the best way I can. As the parent, you are a most important key to reaching that goal.

If your child will need to be out of PE, a parent note is good for 4 days, after that a physicians note will be required.

Printable Forms

Health Service/ Health Forms

If your child has asthma, severe/life threatening allergies, diabetes, seizures, other chronic illness, or physical or psychological condition, please talk with the nurse.

**Please note that these forms can now be used for consecutive years as long as there are no changes in the medications, dosages, or plan for use as ordered by your student's physician. Parental authorization for continued use of the plan on file and a new medication authorization form will be required to be on file for each new school year. Please check with the building nurse to review the current plan on file to make sure it is still up to date.

Immunizations

Missouri State Law requires that children must have up to date vaccination records on file at school. It is your responsibility as the parent/guardian of your child to give the school the record with the month, day, and year of each vaccine your child has received. If your child is missing the required vaccinations for school, your child WILL NOT be able to come to school until the needed vaccines have been given and the written proof is given to the School Nurse.

There are a two reasons that the state will allow your student to come to school without the required vaccines:

Medical Exemption- there is a medical reason your child cannot receive a vaccine. You can download the medical exemption card from the DHSS website, but it must be completed and signed by your child's doctor.
Religious Exemption- it is your religious belief that your child should not get a vaccine. You can download the religious exemption card from the DHSS website as well, sign it and bring the card to the school nurse.
In Progress- this means that your student is currently undergoing the vaccine series, but have not yet completed the series. The student must have an In Progress card on file signed by the provider and the scheduled date of the next vaccination must be indicated on the card. A new card must be obtained with each visit until the series is complete.

The School Nurse needs the original exemption card for either exemption on file with the school nurse before your child will be considered compliant and allowed to attend school.

****Please check out the updated information from the Clay County Public Health Department related to immunizations. If you have any other questions related to immunizations, please call the health department at 816-595-4355.

****All students that are enrolled to attend school in August, whether they are set up to do Virtual Learning or will attend Face to Face, must be compliant on immunizations before the first day of school on . If a student's immunization record proving compliance is not on file with the school nurse PRIOR to the first day of school, that student is not permitted to attend school on the first day.

Illness Guidelines

School is not the place for a sick child.

Please do not send your student to school if he/she has:

a fever of 100 degrees or higher
vomiting or diarrhea
a deep or uncontrolled cough
a rash
a communicable (contagious) disease such as strep throat, pink eye, chicken pox, influenza, etc.

If you are unsure of your child's symptoms, please call the School Nurse before sending him/her to school.

Your student may return to school if:

he/she has been without fever (100 degrees or higher) for 24 hours without the use of medication
he/she has not vomited or had diarrhea for 24 hours without the use of medication
if your child has been given antibiotics by the doctor for a contagious illness (i.e. strep throat), he/she must be on the antibiotic and symptom/fever free for 24 hours before returning to school.
coughing is under control and your child is able to participate in the regular school day.

You will be notified if your child:

becomes ill enough to be sent home from school
has more than one visit to the Health Room in a day
receives more than a minor injury
for any other reason the School Nurse feels you need to be called.

It is your responsibility to make arrangements to pick up your sick or injured child as quickly as possible. It is very important that current and correct phone numbers (home, cell, and work numbers) are on file with the school office as well as emergency contact information. Per district policy, children are not allowed to walk home when sick or hurt.

Medications at School

Please try to give any medications at home. There may be times when your child will need to take medication at school. Please read the LPS District Medication Administration Policy.

All medications, including cough drops, ointments, etc., must be kept with the School Nurse in the Health Room. The nurse must have the signed district permission form for the school nurse to administer any medications (link below). You can find this form using the link below. The nurse cannot accept a note from you, the parent/guardian, as permission. Please note that cough drops are considered a medication at school and are discouraged from being brought to school. They can also be a choking hazard. The health office does have dissolvable peppermints available if needed for a cough or scratchy throat.

If your child is on a medication that needs to be taken at school, please talk to the School Nurse.

Medication Administration Policy

Special Dietary Needs

If your child needs substitutions or changes made to their school meal because of a dietary problem because of a severe allergy, intolerance, or medical condition requiring a special diet, a medical statement completed and signed by the child's doctor needs to be on file with Nutrition Services and the School Nurse.

This form must be on file with Nutrition Services in order for your child's lunch account to be "flagged" with a health alert and for any changes to be made.

Please contact the Nutrition Services Department with any questions. 816-736-5375.

Special Meal Accommodations

Head Lice

Head lice cases have been on the rise. An estimated 6 to 12 million infestations occur each year in the United States, most commonly among children ages 3 to 11.[1] This letter is to help you learn how to identify lice and provide information on what you can do if lice hit your home.

Head lice are tiny, wingless insects that live close to the human scalp. They feed on blood. The eggs, also called nits, are tiny, tear-drop shaped eggs that attach to the hair shaft. Nits often appear yellowish or white, and can look like dandruff but cannot be removed or brushed off. The nymph, or baby louse, is smaller and grow to adult size in one to two weeks. The adult louse is the size of a sesame seed appears tan to grayish-white. An itchy and inflamed scalp is a common symptom of lice. Although not common, persistent scratching may lead to skin irritation and even infection.1

Head lice are not related to cleanliness.[2],[3] In fact, head lice often infest people with good hygiene and grooming habits.2 Infestations can occur at home, school or in the community. Head lice are mostly spread by direct head-to-head contact—for example, during play at home or school, slumber parties, sports activities, or camp. Less often, lice are spread via objects that have been in recent contact with a person with head lice, such as hats, scarves, hair ribbons, combs, brushes, stuffed animals or bedding.1,3

If you think your child has head lice, it’s important to talk to a healthcare provider to discuss the best treatment approach for your family. Resistance to some over-the-counter head lice treatments has been reported, but the prevalence of resistance is not known.[4],[5] There are new prescription treatment options available that are safe and do not require nit combing.

Liberty Public Schools currently has a “no active infestation” policy. Please contact your school nurse if you think your child might have head lice.

Sincerely,

Liberty Public Schools Health Services

[1] Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Parasites: Lice: Head Lice: Frequently Asked Questions. http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/gen_info/faqs.html. Accessed October 12, 2012.

[2] Meinking T, Taplin D, Vicaria M. Infestations. In: Schachner LA, Hansen RC, eds. Pediatric Dermatology, 4th ed. Mosby Elsevier; 2011:1525-1583.

[3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Head lice: epidemiology and risk factors. http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/epi.html. Accessed June 30, 2012.

[4] Burkhart CG. Relationship of treatmentresistant head lice to the safety and efﬁcacy of pediculicides.Mayo Clin Proc. 2004;79(5):661– 666.

[5] Meinking TL, Serrano L, Hard B, et al. Comparative in vitro pediculicidal efﬁcacy of treatments in a resistant head lice population on the US. Arch Dermatol. 2002;138 (2):220–22

Lice Lessons educational initiative is made possible through collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur.

Information provided by National Assocation of School Nurses.

LPS District Policy - Head Lice

Health Room Tips

Students are better learners when they have had a good night's rest and have had a good breakfast to start the day. A well balanced, healthy lunch will help sustain them throughout the day.

Hand-washing is still the number one preventative measure for spreading germs/illness.

5 Steps = Wet-Soap-Scrub-Rinse-Dry

Bathroom accidents do happen especially in the younger ages. Please keep a seasonally appropriate change of clothes in your child's backpack. Should your child need a change of clothes due to a bathroom accident and he/she does not have his/her own change of clothes, the Health Room does have a limited supply of underwear and clothes to borrow. If borrowed, please launder the items and return to the Health Room promptly.

Please dress your student appropriately for school and for the weather. During the winter weather, please make sure your child has a coat, hat, and gloves. In the warmer weather, please avoid flip flops, sandals, heels, and open toed shoes. These types of shoes do not protect the students' feet from support and potential injury during recess and the school day.

The goal of the health room is to keep students healthy and in the classroom to learn. In doing so, we encourage self care as much as possible and recommend students only visit the health room when they cannot take care of things in the classroom. We have a list of the "6 B's" which provides guidance to staff and students on what concerns are a definite reason to visit the nurse. This is not a all inclusive list, however, a guideline to follow. Please find the list along with a brief explanation of each "B" on the parent resource page.

Parent Resources

Allergy and Asthma Network

Centers of Disease Control

Coughing Etiquette Video

Clay County Public Health Center

Department of Health and Senior Services

Growth and Development Books for Girls and Boys:

Celebrate Your Body: The Ultimate Puberty Book for Girls 8+ ( I have this book in the office if you would like to check it out)
The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Younger Girls
The Care and Keeping of You 2: The Body Book for Older Girls
The Feelings Book: The Care and Keeping of Your Emotions
Is this Normal? More Girls' Questions
The Boys Body Book
Guy Stuff: The Body Book for Boys

Head lice removal services:

The 6 Bs

Many students have learned something amazing about their own independence and abilities. Each classroom was given a Health Care Box. The students have been able to take care of some small self-care issues and not miss a beat in class! The goal after all is to be in the classroom learning.

I have discussed with the teaching staff many reasons to leave class and come to the nurse’s office. The teachers are instructed to review them with their class at the beginning of the year and as needed. The reasons are highlighted in the Big B’s List below. Of course, this list is not all inclusive. It does, however, give the students guidance and reassurance in deciding when to visit the nurse’s office.

Your help in understanding the B’s guidelines will also reflect in your child’s affect in the classroom. The student and teacher together will determine that a visit to the nurse’s office is necessary. Depending on the specific health issue, the student may need to wait until it is an appropriate time to make a visit. Again, the priority for students is to be in the classroom learning. If the student needs immediate care, of course the teacher will send the student immediately. I also have an enormous amount of faith in the fact that Lillian Schumacher’s teaching staff can determine an urgent health concern or injury These are situations that we prepare for. What we don’t prepare for are life’s little disturbances- colds, seasonal allergies, sore throats, and stomachaches. We all know too well that on occasion we have to function at our jobs at less than 100%. (We can still be productive at 70% or 60%). This may be a very hard lesson for a child to learn. Sometimes, it is even harder for a parent to decide to let their child push through mild illness and health disturbances.

Children do have an amazing ability to adapt and respond to nearly any situation. I think the kids can do anything that they put their minds to if given the opportunity to succeed. Often it is difficult to decide when a child should go to school, stay at home, go to the doctor, or just plug along. District policy states that your child should be excluded from school if he/she has a fever of 100 degrees or higher, has been vomiting, or experiences diarrhea. There will always be days that are more difficult than others.

Each day, we have an opportunity to BE healthy, BE aware, BE safe, BE courteous, and BE IN CLASS!