• Welcome Letter from the School Nurse
• Medication Policy
• Medication Permission Form (2018-2019)
• Consent to Carry Asthma Inhaler
• Consent to Carry Epi-Pen

External Links

• Head Injuries
• Head Lice

Immunizations

• Diabetes Information
• Immunization Requirements

Tobacco Prevention

A Funded by the Maricopa County Tobacco Use Prevention Program (MACTUPP), this program focuses on 4th-8th grade students. Tobacco has been proven to be a “gateway drug,” which means that use will often lead to use of alcohol and other drugs. Also, early to middle adolescence is the time when youth are mostly likely going to experiment with the product. One hundred percent of Scottsdale schools who meet the age requirement participate in this program.

Emergency Cards

A new card needs to be completed each year for all students and includes emergency contacts, health related conditions, medications, and written permission for emergency medical care. It is important to complete the front and back of the card and don’t forget to include your cell phone numbers.

Please notify your school nurse of any changes in phone numbers, emergency contacts, or medical conditions. In addition, if you are to be out of town or unavailable for some reason, and leave your child in the care of someone else, notify the nurse and office personnel.

Head Injuries

A head injury is any accident that leads to an injury of the scalp, skull, or brain. A head injury can be closed or open. The signs and symptoms of a head injury may occur immediately or develop slowly over several hours. Most head injuries are minor because the skull provides the brain with protection.

Signs and Symptoms of Head Injury

If you see any of the following signs after a head injury, seek immediate medical attention:

• Loss of consciousness, confusion, or drowsiness
• Slow breathing rate or decrease in blood pressure
• Convulsions
• Fracture in the skull or face
• Severe Headache
• Initial Improvement followed by worsening symptoms
• Irritability, personality changes, or unusual behavior
• Restlessness, clumsiness, or lack of coordination
• Slurred speech or blurred vision
• Inability to move one or more limbs
• Stiff neck or vomiting
• Pupil changes 
• Inability to hear, see taste, or smell 
• Bleeding from ears or nose, or fluid drainage from ears or nose

Head Lice

Getting head lice is not a sign of poor health habits or being dirty. It does not happen only to the poor, racial or ethnic groups. It’s best to learn how to recognize, treat and prevent it from happening again. Head lice are tiny insects that live in human hair. They hatch from small eggs, called nits, which are attached to individual hairs.

Head lice can be spread in a number of ways, not only by physical contact. Borrowing a comb or brush from a person who has lice is one way. They can be transmitted from borrowed hats, backpacks, scarves, or other head coverings, or sleeping in the same bed or using the same pillows.

Signs to Look For

1. Persistent itching of the head and back of the neck.
2. Little white eggs, that are called nits, are attached to the individual hairs.
3. Tiny grey-brown bugs crawling in the hair.
4. Scratch marks or a rash on the scalp and back of neck.

Dandruff can be confused with nits. Try removing the specks from the hair. Dandruff or drops of hair spray can be easily removed. Nits, however, are very difficult to remove.

Treating Head Lice

Hair and scalp:
1. Purchase a special lice shampoo at the supermarket or drugstore and follow the directions. Vinegar and other home remedies DO NOT work.
2. Remove dead lice and eggs with a fine tooth lice comb.
3. Repeat in seven to ten days per lice shampoo instructions.

Home Treatment

1. Wash all items that may contain lice or nits, such as clothes, towels, bed sheets, hats, etc. These should be washed in hot water and detergent or dry cleaned.
2. Disinfect combs and brushes by washing in hot water with lice shampoo.
3. Vacuum carpets, upholstered furniture, mattresses, etc.
4. All family members should be checked periodically for one month after an infestation. If any lice or nits are found they should be treated promptly.

School Information

1. Notify the school nurse promptly if one of your children has head lice. This will allow for further screening to prevent further infestation.
2. Your student may return to school once he/she has been shampooed and the nits have been removed from the hair.

Click on the images below to view, download or print the immunization requirements below.

Pink Eye

Signs and Symptoms: Watering, irritation, itching, and redness to the white part of the eye and/or the lining of the eyelids. Swelling of the eyelids, sensitivity to light and a pus-like discharge may occur.

Contagious Period: From the onset of signs and symptoms, and while the eye is still red and draining, or for 24 hours after the initiation of treatment.

Transmission: Direct contact with the discharge from the eyes or items soiled with discharge. Individuals should be counseled not to share towels, wash cloths or eye make-up. Careful handwashing after contact with discharge from the eyes or articles soiled with the discharge is necessary. Discard all tissues immediately after one use.

Treatment: There are 3 types of conjunctivitis. Bacterial conjunctivitis is generally treated with antibiotics. Viral conjunctivitis is usually secondary to a cold and is treated with over-the-counter cold medications or an antihistamine in eye-drop form. Lastly, allergic conjunctivitis like viral conjunctivitis is usually treated with over-the-counter medication and/or antihistamine eye-drops.

School Attendance: Students will be excluded from school and referred to their health care professional for proper diagnosis and treatment. Students may return to school when signs and symptoms are gone or 24 hours after appropriate treatment has been initiated and signs and symptoms are greatly reduced.

Sending an Injured Student Home

It is sometimes necessary to send a student home, or refer to a physician, due to injury. The School Nurse will assess the injured student, and determine if transport to home or medical follow-up is necessary. The following steps will be taken in the case of an injury requiring release of student:

1. Parents/Guardians/Emergency Contacts will be notified of injury and arrangements for treatment options will be made collaboratively with parents.

2. If the School Nurse is unsure if student needs to be taken home or for medical treatment, the parent/guardian should make the decision. If they are unable to transport their student, it is at the discretion of the parent/guardian to assign a responsible designee that is 18 years of age or older. If the parent/guardian requests that the student walk or drive him/herself home, the nurse will make a professional judgment as to the appropriateness of the request (applies to High School students only).

3. If the School Nurse is unable to contact any of the designated emergency contacts, or if the parent/guardian refuses to accept the student, the nurse will use professional judgment in resolving the situation. The Nurse has a responsibility to protect the safety of students. Options include sending the student back to class, keeping the student in the Health Center for the remainder of the day, or calling for an ambulance for transport to an emergency care facility.

4. In the case of serious injury, the School Nurse or other staff member will first call 9-1-1 for an ambulance, and then notify parent/guardian of the situation.

Sore Throat

Most cases of sore throat are caused by viruses and do not need medical treatment. Hoarseness and loss of voice is usually viral and part of a cold, especially if accompanied by a drippy nose. However, some sore throats are part of a serious illness. It would be wise to call your doctor if you or your child have severe throat pain accompanied by any of the following:

• Fever over 100 F
• Difficult or noisy breathing
• Persistent or disruptive cough
• Swollen glands or swelling of the neck 
• Difficulty swallowing food or saliva
• Extremely red (strawberry like) throat and/or tonsils
• Patches or spots of pus on throat or tonsils
• Headache
• Stomachache, nausea or loss of appetite
• Muscle or joint stiffness or pain
• Rash
• Sore throat lasting more than 1-2 weeks