Health Services

Responsibilities

• Provide for every child the most immediate and effective care possible in the event of illness or injury at school.
• Supervise the administration of medication at school according to district policy.
• Maintain current health records, including immunizations, for each student.
• Enforce communicable disease control measures for the protection of each child.
• Conduct a program of vision and hearing screening, referral and follow-up.
• Participate in planning, developing, implementing and assessing the district health curriculum.
• Utilize formal and informal teaching and counseling methods in working with students, faculty, families and groups.
• Serve as a member of a team to identify, evaluate and provide services for exceptional children.
• Monitor the health and safety aspects of the school environment.

Health Admission Requirements

 All students:

• Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP): Five doses required. Four doses acceptable if dose four given on or after the 4th birthday. A booster dose of DTaP required at 7th through 12th grades if no previous history of Tdap vaccination regardless of interval since the last Td vaccine.
• Poliomyelitis (IPV/OPV): Four doses required. One dose required after age 4, regardless of the number of previous doses, with a six-month minimum interval from the previous dose.
• Measles, Mumps, Rubella: Two doses required for kindergarten through 12th grade. First dose administered on or after the 1st birthday.
• Meningococcal (Serogroup A,C,W,Y):  Two doses required. Doses should be given at entry to 7th grade (11-12 years) and 11th grade (16-18 years). For children ages 16-18, only one dose is required
• Hepatitis A:  Two doses required. Doses should be given at 12 months with a minimum interval of six months between the first and second dose.
• Hepatitis B: Three doses required through 12th grade.
• Varicella (chickenpox): Two doses required for kindergarten through 12th grade unless history of varicella disease documented by a licensed physician with date(MM/DD/YYYY). Two doses are currently recommended by the ACIP for all ages.

Early Childhood students:

• Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP) : Five doses required. Doses given at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 12-15 months (six months after dose three) and at age 5.
• Poliomyelitis (IPV/OPV): Four doses required. Doses given at 2 months, 4 months, 6-18 months and ages 4-5.
• Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR): Two doses required. Doses given between 12-15 months and ages 4-5.
• Hepatitis B: Three doses required. Doses given at birth, 2 months, and 6-18 months of age.
• Varicella (Chickenpox): Two doses required unless history of varicella disease documented by a licensed physician. Doses given at 12-15 months and ages 4-6.
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib): Four doses required for children less than 5 years of age. Doses given at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 12-15 months of age. Total doses needed for series completion is dependent on the type of vaccine and the age of the child when doses given.
• Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV): Four doses required for children less than 5 years of age. Doses given at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, and 12-15 months of age. Total doses needed dependent on the age of the child when doses given.
• Hepatitis A: Two doses required for children less than 5 years of age. Dose one is given at 12-23 months, with the second dose given 6-18 months later. Children 24 months and older who have not received any doses must receive two doses spaced six months apart.
   

First time Blue Valley students:

• Provide a birth certificate
• Provide evidence of current immunizations. This is in accordance with Kansas Regulation 28-1-20 and the Blue Valley Board of Education Policy 3113.2.
• Students less than 9 years of age and entering a Kansas school for the first time must present a health assessment (physical). This is in accordance with Kansas Statute 72-6267.
   

Returning or transfer students:

• Current immunizations.
• Additional health records from former school requested.
   

Exemptions: Kansas law requires all students entering school for the first time in Kansas to be completely immunized for communicable diseases. Kansas law provides the following alternatives to immunizations:

• Current Immunization Schedules - based on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations
• Kansas Certificate of Immunization - detailed immunization requirements by age group
• KCI Form B Medical Exemption - An annual written statement (Form B) signed by a licensed physician indicating the physical condition of the child to be such that the test or inoculations would seriously endanger the life or health of the child; or a written statement signed by one parent or guardian indicating that the child is an adherent to a religious denomination whose religious teachings are opposed to such tests or inoculations.
• Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices (ACIP) recommendations

Prescription medications

If students are to take a prescribed medication at school, the school nurse must have a written note from the prescribing physician. In addition, the medication must arrive at school in the proper prescription bottle with the child's name, doctor's name, date, medication and dose.

Over-the-counter medications

For over-the-counter medications, the nurse must have a signed note from a parent and the medication must be in its original container. OTC medications will be given only for what they are intended and within the normal dose.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics. In the community, most MRSA infections are skin infections. As with all regular staph infections, recognizing the signs and receiving treatment for MRSA skin infections in the early stages reduces the chances of the infection becoming severe. Please contact your child's doctor to learn more or if you think your child may have MRSA. If your student is diagnosed with a staph infection, please notify your school nurse as soon as possible.

Hand washing continues to be the number one method of prevention of any disease or illness, including skin infections. Our custodial services department uses a cleaning agent in each of our schools specifically made to kill this strain of bacteria. Be diligent at home as well by encouraging hand-washing and avoiding sharing personal items such as bar soap, towels, razors, clothing and athletic equipment. Prevention guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (DCD) include:

• Consult your doctor if you or a member of your family has a skin infection.
• Wash all cuts and scratches and keep them covered with a bandage until healed.
• Don't share personal items, as referenced above.
• Avoid contact with other people's wounds and bandages.
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Wash gym clothing and uniforms, towels and sheets frequently and dry in a hot dryer.
• Don't squeeze or lance pimples, blisters, insect bites or boils.
• Use a barrier, such as a towel or clothing, between the skin and shared equipment.
• Wipe down shared sports equipment before and after exercise.

Blue Valley Head Lice Attendance Procedure

• If a student has an active case of head lice (which is defined as having live lice or nits within one-quarter inch of the scalp), the parent or guardian will be notified. After proper treatment with an anti-parasitic shampoo, the student may return to school, reporting first to the nurse’s office. 
• The nurse will perform a head check and if the student no longer has an active case of head lice, he/she can return immediately. 
• If the student continues to display an active case, the student must return home for additional treatment.

Treatment & Prevention Information

Contact your health provider before treatment if the person with head lice:

• is pregnant or breast feeding;
• is under the age of two;
• has allergies, asthma or other medical conditions; or
• has received treatment following package instructions without success

Prevention

It is rare to transmit lice other than by direct head-to-head contact; however, we advise that you avoid sharing clothing, headbands, hats, towels, pillows, combs/brushes, scarves, hair ornaments, linens and stuffed toys.

Persistent Head Lice

If head lice persist despite following all of the recommendations, visit with the school nurse or your physician to discuss treatment options.

Four-Step Treatment Process

Step 1: Notification

Call your child’s school nurse and people who have recently been in close contact with your child. Check everyone in your home for head lice and nits.

Step 2: Hair Treatment

There are a variety of pediculocides (lice treatment shampoos) that meet the Kansas law requirement for treatment. Examples include: Rid®, A-200®, Pronto® or Nix®.

• Treat persons with live lice or nits within one-quarter inch or less of the scalp on the same day.
• Follow product directions carefully.
• Read package instructions carefully to know if and when to retreat to kill any hatching lice before they can produce new eggs.
• Do not use lice products more frequently than recommended to avoid health risk.

Off label treatment of lice with products such as kerosene, gasoline or animal pesticides pose a great risk to a child’s health and should not be used.

Step 3: Nit Removal

• Use hair clips for separating hair into one-inch sections.
• Use a good nit comb (typically comes with the lice treatment shampoo).
• Pass the comb from the scalp to the ends of the hair. Comb each section until completely free of lice and nits.
• Look closely for nits and live lice on the comb itself, removing lice or nits as you go.

• Have the treated person put on clean clothing after treatment.

• Frequent rechecks and removal of any nits missed in the initial treatment may decrease the risk of a reemergence of lice. Continue to check for two to three weeks to be sure all lice and nits are gone.

• After each use, soak nit combs in very hot water (130 degrees F) or a solution of lice treatment shampoo for 15 minutes. Wash hands and clean under nails.

Step 4: Household Cleaning

Lice rarely leave the human head for household articles and do not survive long (two days) if they fall off and cannot feed (CDC.gov). However, some household cleaning is recommended to help prevent the return of lice.

• Cleaning is best done the same day as hair treatment.
• Launder bed linens, clothing and towels used in the last two days using hot water (130 degrees F) and the high heat dryer setting for at least 20 minutes.
• Items that cannot be laundered should be placed in a plastic bag and stored for two weeks.
• Soak combs and brushes in hot water (130 degrees F) for 5-10 minutes.
• Vacuuming furniture and floors where the person sat/lay can remove hair that might have nits attached.
• There is no need to clean areas or items that were not used by family members with active head lice. Use of insecticidal sprays is not advised and can be harmful if inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

More About Head Lice

What are head lice?

Head lice are tiny, crawling insects the size of a sesame seed that live only on human heads. They depend on human blood for survival. Head lice cannot fly or jump, but can crawl quickly for short distances. They lay eggs, called nits, which glue firmly to the hair shaft. Nits are the size of the eye of a needle, oval shaped and vary from light gray to dark brown in color. Nits may be found anywhere on hair, but usually are found close to the scalp, often behind the ears and at the nape of the neck.

Symptoms of head lice

• Itching of the head and scalp
• Scratch marks (may look like a rash)

What is the life cycle of lice?

The typical louse will live on a person’s head for up to 30 days and needs to feed on human blood several times a day. Without blood meals, the louse will die within one to two days off the host. Head lice are spread by direct head-to-head contact with an affected person.

Download Head Lice Guide

Exclude until both are true: symptoms are getting better and no fever for 24 hours without aid of medication. Upon return to normal activities, take additional precautions over the next five days.

Exclude until both are true: symptoms are getting better and no fever for 24 hours without aid of medication. Upon return to normal activities, take additional precautions over the next five days.

A Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is caused by a blow or jolt to the head, penetrating head injury or by being violently shaken enough to disrupt the function of the brain. A TBI can change how a person acts, moves, communicates and thinks. An Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) includes harm caused by pressure to the brain from inside the body, such as the result of heart attacks, strokes, illness or near-drowning.

Signs and symptoms of a concussion can occur right after the injury or hours to days after the injury. View District Head Injury Guidelines. 

Learn more about symptoms & what to do 

We ask all parents to choose from this list of brand-specific foods or choose foods clearly labeled as “not containing nuts” when selecting birthday snacks or class snacks. By limiting the type of food entering the school, we will be better able to provide a safer environment for our students with nut food allergies.

Nut-Safer Snack List