Health Services

Goal 1: To promote the health of students through prevention, case finding, early intervention, and remediation of specific health problems

Objectives:

1. Provide comprehensive health education
2. Promote health screenings and maintenance activities
3. Provide students an effective health curriculum in accordance with their mental ability
   • Enable students to assume responsibility for maintaining their own health through comprehensive health education by:
     • Teaching designated health curriculum
     • Reinforcing health education through individual instruction
     • Promoting health maintenance activities
     • Serving as resource person for health matters and information
4. Decrease absenteeism by identification and exclusion of students and staff who are in the early stages of a communicable disease
5. Decrease incidence of illness and disability from communicable disease through immunization and health education
   • Reduce absenteeism from school due to communicable disease by:
     • Enforcing state immunization requirements
     • Teaching programs (such as proper hand washing, dental care)
     • Excluding students when sick in accordance with written school district policy and in compliance with guidelines from Missouri Department of Health
     • Training school personnel to follow the written procedure for “Universal Precautions in Dealing with Blood and Body Fluids”
     • Investigating causes of school absenteeism
     • Serving as resource person in health matters for students, parents, teachers, administrators, etc.
     • Keeping accurate records
     • Inspecting school grounds and buildings to insure healthy conditions
6. Provide a safe and healthy physical and psychological environment in which to learn and work
   • Decrease the number of accidents and injuries which occur as school, on the way to and from school or at school functions by:
     • Documenting (clinic logs, accident reports, etc.) in order to evaluate needs for changes in environment policy or procedures within the school
     • Communicate with parents, teachers, administrators, etc.
     • Make recommendations to principals
     • Writing, distributing, and interpreting health care plans
7. Identify factors in health and developmental history which may be potential barriers to educational process
8. Assess health status for deficits which may interfere with ability to learn (screenings)
   • Identify students having conditions which may affect their ability to learn, safety or future health by:
     • Obtaining health histories
     • Weighing & measuring students
     • Vision screenings
     • Hearing screenings
     • Dental screenings
     • Absenteeism monitoring
     • Maintaining current health status of students
     • Maintaining clinic logs in order to identify patterns of illness
     • Educate staff to increase awareness of health issues and encourage them to report changes in students’ mood, appearance or behavior
9. Develop and implement individual health care plans to assist school personnel to consistently meet special care needs
10. Assist in appropriate educational placement of children with special needs
11. Facilitate adaptation needed for safety of handicapped children
    • School personnel having sustained contact with students having a health concern, should be informed of the situation and of any preventative or remedial measures by the school nurse
    • Inform designated school personnel of students with health concerns and of preventative or remedial measures needed to meet their needs by:
      • Securing health histories o Verifying concern (obtaining consent for release of information, contacting doctors, etc.)
      • Educating/training teachers through individual conferences, inservices, etc.
12. Communicate findings (from health assessments and screenings) to parents and students, assisting as needed in seeking remediation of situation
    • Inform parents promptly of:
      • Deviations from normal o Illnesses or injuries occurring at school
      • Changes in mood, behavior, or appearance of student
    • Refer to appropriate sources for assistance
    • Make observations available to physician
    • Follow-up on referrals by conferring with parents, students, physician, etc.
13. Continue remedial efforts until the best possible outcome is obtained for each student having an existing health problem or whose condition predisposes them to health problems
    • Maintain close contact with student and parents through phone calls, conferences, home visits, etc.
    • Dispense medications during school hours according to written policy/procedure
    • Administer treatments according to instructions from physician and in accordance with “Guidelines for Special Health Care Procedures in Missouri Schools”
    • Plan and implement modifications needed at school for specific health concerns (Individual Education Plans, Health Care Plans, etc.)
    • Participate in individual and group counseling
    • Facilitate support groups
    • Document remedial plans and the results of attempted interventions
    • Evaluate success of remedial interventions

Goal 2: To assure students becoming ill or injured while under the supervision of school personnel receive prompt and appropriate care

Objectives:

1. Provide competent support personnel with the ability to take appropriate action in case of emergency or injury
   •  Each school shall have a designated clinic area and the supplies/equipment necessary to accommodate normal school health situations by:
     • Ordering necessary supplies
     • Maintaining clinic properly
     • Distributing first aid kits to appropriate personnel in building
   • A Registered Nurse, with current knowledge and skills, shall be in charge of Health Services in individual buildings, in the event there is no nurse in the building, there will be a designated staff member providing care for ill or injured students
   • The Registered Nurse will maintain current knowledge and skills by:
     • Reading educational materials
     • Belonging to professional organizations
     • Attending workshops, recertifying CPR/AED/First Aid
     • Developing written instructions for dealing with specific health problems
     • Participating in in-service education for school staff as needed to clarify health policies/procedures
   • Nurse and other school personnel caring for ill or injured students shall have available and follow written guidelines including the following:
     • St. Joseph School District Policies for dealing with illnesses and injuries
     • “Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases” from Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
     • “Recommended Procedures for Emergency Care of Illness and Injuries” – displayed prominently
   • Information for every student shall be on file to secure help needed in case of injury or illness, including the following: o Maintaining accurate records o Updating records as changes occur
     • Providing easily accessible records to those caring for ill or injured students when nurse is not in building
   • Each school shall have a mass disaster emergency plan and shall have periodic drills for fire and tornado, with the school nurse assisting in plan preparing for mass emergencies

Goal 3: To promote staff wellness through prevention, case finding, and referral to appropriate sources of assistance for specific health problems

Objectives:

1. Promote healthy activities/programs
   • Encourage participation in exercise programs or other healthy activities
2. Identify existing or potential health issues
   • Provide screenings in individual schools for blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels through Employee Wellness Program
3. Refer staff members showing significant deviations from normal to appropriate sources of health
   • Nurse serves as resource person

School health programs are often described as a triad of health education, healthy school environment, and health services. Health Education often rests with the teaching staff, however the school nurse is a valuable resource to the teacher and reinforces material presented in the classroom. The common goal of administrator, teacher, and nurse is to provide students with the resources to take responsibility for their own personal health.

The school nurse assists in providing a healthy school environment by being knowledgeable about all aspects of the school facility and monitoring its physical, social, and emotional components.

School nurses are urged to view their position from a management perspective, taking responsibility for planning and implementing a preventive health program in an effective and efficient manner.

After assessing the needs of the school community and developing a plan with written goals and objectives, the school nurse is primarily responsible for the delivery of health services. Management of health services requires the coordination and utilization of all available resources to meet those objectives. The school nurse must cooperate with school personnel and other health care providers to meet the needs of the school-age child and family, and there must be a community-wide, multidisciplinary approach in order to accomplish this goal.

The overall goal of the St. Joseph School District Health Services is to insure the prevention of disease and promotion of healthy living for students and staff. Children must be healthy to be educated and educated to be healthy.

The past two years have posed some challenges with COVID-19 and now with the sub-variants increasing, we want to assure you we will remain vigilant to keep our students and staff healthy and safe in their building environments. Please know that we will keep you informed and just like last year, flexibility is extremely important. To prevent the spread:

• Staff or students exhibiting a fever of 100 degrees fahrenheit or above must stay home.
• Students who are sent home from school with a fever may not return for at least 24 hours

Any student testing positive for COVID-19 will need to stay out of school for a total of 5 days from onset of symptoms, or positive test. They may return on day 6 if they have been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications, and have significant improvement of symptoms. We recommend the student wear a mask for days 6-10 to prevent the spread of illness per CDC guidelines.  Proof of a positive test will be required to record attendance appropriately.  

Students may complete their learning tasks and/or assignments at home. Attendance will be determined by the completion of assigned lessons and activities. COVID-19 positive students who complete assignments within 5 school days (of the assigned date), will be counted present for school attendance.

SJSD is not currently contact tracing or quarantining students for exposure to COVID-19. However, we will do our best to notify close contacts. 

 We ask that you monitor your student for symptoms including: 

• Sore Throat 
• Fever 
• Body aches
• Headache 
• Cough 
• Nausea 
• Vomiting 
• Diarrhea 
• Loss of Taste and Smell 

If you develop 2 or more of these symptoms you should consult your health care provider. 

The health and safety of our students is of vital importance to their education.  Please do your best to prevent illness by covering your cough, washing your hands, and staying home when sick. 

 CDC Guidelines for for K-12 Schools and Early Care and Education Programs

Isolation and Precautions for People with COVID-19

Asthma Action Plan

Asthma Medication: Self Administration

Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan

Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan (Spanish)

Medical Statement for Special Meals Form

Medical Statement for Special Meals Form (Spanish)

2023-24 Immunization Requirements

2023-24 Immunization Requirements Spanish

Find Immunization Records by State

Immunizations Required Chuukese

Immunizations Required Spanish  

Patee Hall Immunizations

Missouri Revisor of Statutes

Apply for MO HealthNet (Medicaid)
 

Administration of Medication to Students Board Policy JHCD

Administration of Medication to Students Board Policy JHCD-AP(1)

Medication Authorization Form

Permission for Non-Prescription Medicine Middle and High School Students

Permission for Long Term Medication During School Hours

Permission for Long Term Medication During School Hours Spanish

MSHSAA Preparticipation Forms/Prodecure