WELCOME TO THE HEALTH ROOM!
NEW HEALTH ROOM TELEPHONE NUMBER
410-867-0457
NEWS FROM THE HEALTH ROOM
Vision and Hearing Screenings
Vision and hearing screenings will take place on Wednesday, February 27 and Thursday, February 28, 2008. All students in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and third grade will be tested along with any students new to Anne Arundel County.
If you have concerns, please write a note to the health room indicating the problem (squints, complaints of blurring, etc.). Vision screening includes acuity, color (for third grade), and muscle balance. If your child wears glasses, please be sure they are brought to school on the testing days. Thank you for your attention to this. If you have any questions, contact Mrs Alvarez, RN, School Nurse.
REMINDER: NO MEDICATIONS OF ANY KIND CAN BE ADMINISTERED BY THE SCHOOL STAFF UNLESS YOUR DOCTOR HAS FILLED OUT THE DOCTOR’S ORDER FORM ISSUED BY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. Only an adult may bring medication to the Health Room. Students are NOT to have ANY medications with them in school, i.e., Tylenol, cough drops, calamine lotion or any other over-the-counter medicine. Permission forms can be obtained from the health room. Many physicians have these forms available in their offices, as well.
Your School Health Services Team at Lothian Elementary School is here each day to provide care to all students and staff with medical needs. It is our pleasure to assist your children with any health situation. The link to Anne Arundel County Department of Health provides a wealth of health information. Please visit the site by clicking on the link. We have also included answers to many frequently asked questions here on this site. If you have any other concerns, or if you need information on Maryland Childrens Health Insurance Program, please give us a call.
Click here to visit the Anne Arundel County Department of Health website. www.aahealth.org
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
My child needs to take Medication at School
What procedures do I need to follow?
Students are permitted to take medication at school ONLY when it is deemed absolutely necessary and only under the supervision of school health staff. A form titled, "Parent's Request to Administer Medication At School" must be on file for each medication. No medication can be accepted by health services personnel or allowed to be self-administered under the supervision of health staff without the receipt of the appropriate medication authorization form completed by the student's parent(s)/guardian(s) and authorized prescriber in its entirety without deletion or alteration. For the safety of students, school health services reserves the right to refuse to accept, administer, or supervise self-administration of any medication if these procedures are not followed.
Download the Parent's Request to Administer Medication at School (in Adobe PDF format)
How do I know when to keep my child home from school because of illness?
Parents should keep their child home from school because of a serious illness, injury or a condition that can be passed on to other children. Although no comprehensive list is possible, the following conditions may be considered appropriate reasons to keep a student home from school:
Examples of serious illness or injury
• Vomiting
• Temperature 101 o or greater
• Abdominal pain
• Earache
• Head injury
• Adverse medication effect
• Suspected fracture
• Chest pain
• Severe pain
• Severe shortness of breath or wheezing
Examples of possibly communicable conditions
• Vomiting
• Loose runny stools/diarrhea
• Suspected communicable disease
• Nuisance condition not currently being treated; e.g., ringworm, scabies, head lice
• Red, draining eyes
• Persistent runny nose with yellow/green discharge, accompanied by fever
• Productive cough, accompanied by fever
• Undiagnosed rash
Parents should consult with their doctor for advice and/or treatment of the conditions or symptoms listed here.
Head Lice Fact Sheet
Head Lice (pediculosis) is a widespread nuisance condition that is prevalent in school age children. An average of 1,300 cases of head lice are found among Anne Arundel County students each year. Children can pick-up head lice anywhere: at home, at camp, at school, on the playground; anywhere children freely interact. Lice are spread directly by close personal contact, such as touching heads, or indirectly through contact with an item worn or used by someone with head lice such as combs, brushes and hats and scarves. Head lice can also spread by using the same bedding and pillows or head rests on fabric chairs, sofas and car seats as someone with head lice.
Facts About Head Lice and Nits:
• Head lice are blood-sucking, six-legged insects that live on the human scalp and hair.
• Nits are the tiny, grayish white eggs of the lice and are a sign of head lice. Nits attach to the hair close to the scalp and will not brush out like dandruff.
• Lice that have fallen or been brushed off their human host will die in 48 to 55 hours.
• Female lice lay 4 to 6 eggs per day or 100 to 150 eggs over the life of the louse.
• Lice will die when exposed to extremes in temperatures.
• Head lice do not jump, fly or live on pets but they do crawl and move quickly.
How To Treat Head Lice and Nits:
It is important that all those with lice, close contacts and household and personal items be treated at the same time.
• Check all members of the household and close contacts for head lice and nits. Very close contacts such as those sharing the same bed should be treated even if no lice or nits are found . Call your doctor if you need to treat a child under the age of two.
• Over-the-counter as well as prescription shampoo treatments can be effective. You may wish to talk to your doctor or pharmacist about which is best for your family. These shampoos will kill the lice but may not kill all of the nits. You may need to treat again in 7 to 10 days.
• Remove and wash all clothing right away. The medication should be applied while the person is in the bath or shower. Closely follow the directions on the medication. After treatment, dry with a clean towel and put on clean clothing. If you are shampooing several people, rubber gloves should be worn.
Getting rid of the nits is the hardest part of the treatment:
• Use a fine toothed, metal comb.
• A hot hair dryer or, if there are no scratches on the scalp, warm white vinegar combed through the hair will help loosen the nits.
• Pick the nits off the hair shaft with fingers or tweezers.
Clean all household items that may harbor lice and nits:
• Combs and brushes can be washed with the shampoo, soaked in a 2% Lysol solution for one hour or washed with hot (125 degree) soapy water for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Stuffed toys or other non-washable items may either be dry-cleaned or placed in tightly sealed plastic bags in a cool place (below 70 degrees) for 10 days.
• Towels, bed linens, pillows and clothing should be washed in hot soapy water and dried in a hot dryer for at least 20 minutes. Ironing with a hot iron will also destroy nits.
• Vacuum rugs, car seats, chairs, sofas and beds, then throw away the vacuum bag.
How To Prevent Getting Head Lice Again (or how to keep lice from getting ahead)
• It may be necessary to repeat treatment in one week. Call your doctor, if after two tries treatment isn't successful.
• Call the parents of your child's closest friends, your child's school and those in charge of activities that may involve direct contact such as dancing classes or sports. Others may need to be treated to eliminate head lice and nits.
• TELL YOUR CHILDREN NOT TO SHARE CAPS, COMBS, BRUSHES AND OTHER PERSONAL ITEMS WITH THEIR FRIENDS.
How To Get Your Child Back To School:
• Your child MUST be free of lice and nits.
• Your child must be checked by school health staff before returning to school. Call your school (click here for the School Nursing Staff and phone numbers) and ask for the School Nurse or Health Assistant.
Mission Statement
Anne Arundel County School Health Services Program exists to preserve, protect and promote the health of chool children. To that end, the school health nurse and health assistant's activities are directed so each student develops his/her potential for physical, mental and emotional well-being.
The School Health Services Team Consists of:
School Health Supervisors
School Community Health Nurses
Health Assistants
Physically Disabled Student Aides
Shared Aides
• School Nurses are Registered Nurses (RN) who have the education and expertise to function successfully within the complex systems of education and health.
• Health Assistants are trained to be Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA) and some are Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN). They perform duties in the health room under the supervision and delegation of the school nurse.
• Physically Disabled Student Aides (PDSA) provide health assistance to individual students or groups of students with special needs. They are also trained to be CNAs.
• Shared Aides provide health and educational assistance to individual students with special needs.
THE SCHOOL HEALTH TEAM MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Helpful Hints For Parents:
Upon arrival to the health room, your child will be assessed for injury or illness. The school nurse or the health assistant will evaluate the needs and provide care based on the School Health Services First Aid Manual.
If the student's injury is severe enough that the health room staff feel that the student is too ill to stay in school or should be seen by a physician, the parent or designee listed on the emergency card will be contacted to pick up the student.
If emergency transportation to a hospital is needed, 911 will be called and the parents notified.
The majority of health room visits are minor in nature and are handled with basic first aid and comfort measures.
The goal of the school health services team is to return students to class as quickly as possible so the students can continue with their education.
Health room staff will contact parents whenever students request that their parents be called because of a health concern.
Check your child in the morning for any signs of illness. Sick children are best cared for at home if they had fever, vomiting, diarrhea, rash or trouble breathing in the last 12 hours.
Keep emergency cards current for your child's safety. Your emergency contacts should be available to pick up your sick child from school if you are unavailable during the school day.
Keep the school nurse informed and updated about your child's medical condition and health needs.
The name and number of your school nurse can be found at the Department of Health's Web site, www.aahealth.org , (Select Clinic and School Health, then School Health Services, link is found under School Nursing Program.) or call your school office.
The School Nurse serves as the health professional for the school community and provides these services:
• Illness and Injury Assessment, Treatment and Prevention
• Identification, Assessment, Planning and Case Management of student health concerns
• Chronic Disease Management and Education
• Crisis Team Member
• School/Community/Health Care Provider Liaison
• Member of the IEP/504 School Teams
• Monitors Communicable Disease and Immunization Status
• Makes Home Visits
• Asthma Case Management and Education
• Nursing Procedures; Gastrostomy Tube Feedings, Catheterizations, Diabetes Care, Medication Administration
• Health Screenings for Vision, Hearing and Scoliosis
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