Health Office

The function of the Health Office is to promote the health and safety of the Lincoln School community by:

• providing first aid, emergency and nursing care;
• maintaining health records to ensure individualized health care and health promotion;
• prevention and control of infectious diseases;
• administration of medications and supervision of medication use by students;
• assisting in the management of health conditions such as asthma, allergies, diabetes and seizures;
• providing health education to students, staff and parents;
• providing parents and staff with referral information regarding local health care providers and services;
• supporting the management of a safe school environment; and
• promoting and supporting emergency preparedness at school and in the community.

Health services are provided by the school nurse in the Health Office between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday. The nurse remains on campus until 4:00 PM attending to administrative work, which is supported by the health office assistant.

Student Health Requirements and Records

New and returning students must comply with school health requirements, which include:

• a Student Health Examination on admission and when advancing to grades 6 and 9;
• age-appropriate immunization against tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella and hepatitis B;
• screening for tuberculosis every two years; and
• submission of student health information and medical consents.

Student health information and medical consents are updated every year by parents or guardians on the Student Health Information form. The school nurse provides care to students based on this information and consents. It is the parent’s or guardian’s responsibility to inform the Health Office if there is a change in the student’s health condition at any time.

During the year parents may be asked to update their student’s health information for SAISA events or other class trips. We realize that this may be inconvenient, but it is important for coaches, advisors and chaperones to have the most recent emergency contact and health information, as some information may have changed since you last submitted a form. Follow this link for more information about sports eligibility health requirements and forms.

Students’ health records are reviewed by the nurse and kept in the Health Office. In order to provide a safe and healthy environment for all students, a student’s health information will be shared with appropriate school staff as needed.

All student health forms are available from the Health Office. Parents are asked to contact the Health Office should they have any concerns about the student health requirements or their student’s health needs. Please email us at School Nurse or Health Office Assistant.

Health Care Plans for Health Conditions

Please contact the school nurse immediately – on or before the first day that your student attends school – for chronic health conditions, whether ongoing or periodic. Such conditions include asthma, allergies, seizure disorders, diabetes and other conditions that require daily or emergency care during school and after school activities. You will be asked to provide the school with a physician prescribed plan of care, which is to be updated every year. Please ask your physician to complete the relevant form, and return it to the Health Office.

• Asthma Care Plan form
• Allergy Care Plan form
• Diabetes Care Plan form
• Seizure Care Plan form
• Individual Health Care Plan form for other chronic health conditions requiring health care at school.

Medication Use at School

When it is necessary for a student to receive medication at school, it must be given by, or its use must be supervised by, the nurse. This includes both over-the-counter medicines and medicines prescribed by a doctor. If parents would like their student to receive or take medication at school, they must provide the Health Office with the medication in its original container, labeled with the student’s name, and a completed Use of Medication at School form. Students given authorization for taking medication at school must have a complete understanding of this responsibility. The student must not leave the medication where other students may have access to it.

The Health Office has a limited supply of over-the-counter medications that can be given to the student without calling parents first, if parents have signed and submitted the medication consent section on the Student Health Information form.

Dismissal for Illness or Injury

Students are dismissed from school if they develop the following symptoms or injuries while at school:

• A fever of 100.0° F (37.8° C) or more
• Sore throat, especially with fever or swollen glands in the neck
• Rash and/or symptoms suspected to be chickenpox or measles
• Headache, earache, toothache, abdominal pain or cramps unrelieved by one dose of paracetamol (Tylenol, Niko) or ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, Brufen)
• Diarrhea 3 or more times in past 24 hours
• Diarrhea with vomiting, abdominal pains or cramps
• Nausea and vomiting
• Coughing and sneezing with greenish discharge from the nose
• Symptoms of pink eye (conjunctivitis) including pain, redness and/or discharge
• Suspected sprain or strain with pain, swelling and restricted mobility
• Suspected fracture
• Sustained a head or neck injury
• Cut or laceration requiring stitching
• Broken tooth
• Visit to the Health Office 2 times in one day for the same complaint
• Need to rest in the Health Office more than 30 minutes
• Need to be seen by a doctor or dentist

If a student has an injury or illness and needs to go home, a parent or guardian will be contacted. The student must be picked up from the Health Office by a parent or other adult designated by the parent. If the student requires outside medical assistance during school hours, the nurse will contact the parent or guardian in order to get medical help. The nurse will attend to the student until the parent arrives.

In the case of a life-threatening situation or urgent situation and the parent cannot be reached, the student will be transported to an appropriate hospital by school vehicle or ambulance. In that case, the parents will be notified to meet the child at the hospital.