Important Health Notes
Important Health Notes from the Nurse
The Health Center provides first aide and medical care primarily for illness or injuries that occur during the school day. The nurse is, however qualified to collaborate with you and your child's physician to provide an educational environment in which your child can learn and thrive.
ILLNESS
The control of communicable ("catching") disease during the school year is a difficult problem. The first responsibility must fall upon the home as parents know the normal appearance of their children and should be the first to detect signs of illness.
The symptoms of a cold are also the symptoms of communicable diseases. The following rules will help control communicable diseases in the community. Please keep this sheet at a convenient location for reference.
1. Do not send your child if he/she shows signs of illness.
2. Do not send a sick child to school for the nurse to decide whether he/she should be in school. If in any doubt, call the family physician.
3. If your child is sick, keep other children away from him/her.
4. Some of the signs and symptoms of acute illness are:
Restless at night Fever (oral temp 100.0 or more) Nausea or vomiting Headache
Running nose Diarrhea Swelling neck or face
Sneezing and coughing Red, watering eyes Earache
Rash Flush face or paleness
5. If your child shows any of the above signs, he should be put in a room by himself. If there is any doubt, call the family physician.
6. Keep him/her home until the temperature has been normal for one whole day, without the aid of medicine. Normal temperature is about 98.6 F. Take temperature at mid-afternoon each day if you suspect it is above normal. Continue this process until the temperature is normal the whole day, then child can return to school if no other symptoms of illness are present.
Any child with an undiagnosed rash should remain out of school until all symptoms are gone or a physician verifies the child is not contagious and is well enough to return to school. If every parent follows these procedures, it will save much suffering and the spread of contagious diseases, some of which may be life-threatening. Please do not hesitate to call your physician if you have any questions regarding your child.
Chronic Health Condition
If your child has been diagnosed with a chronic health condition, please contact the nurse immediately. (623-445-8410) He or she will inform you of the DVUSD protocols /procedures necessary to ensure a healthy and safe environment for your child during the school day.
PE Excuse
Students requesting to be excused from PE must bring a note signed by their parent to the the Nurse. The Nurse will then write an "excuse from PE " pass for the student to take to PE. Any request for an excuse for three or more PE classes must be accompanied by a Physician's written order. All injuries requiring any type of orthopedic support or device on campus must be reported with a medical excuse and cleared through the Health Center.
Vision and Hearing
Students that are new to the school or have an IEP's or that are in Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th will be tested yearly. This is typically done in the first semester of school, please contact the nurse to let me know if you would like to have your child NOT be tested.
