Nurse's Corner
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Susan Hogan
NURSE’S NOTES Welcome back to a new school year! We hope you all are relaxed and ready for an exciting school year. School phone number: Just a note to let parents know that if a call is made from anywhere within CISD the caller ID shows 817-949-5900. Please do not redial to this number, as you will only get answering machines and know one will return your call. Durham Elementary School main number is 817-949-4400. You can call that number to see if anyone is attempting to reach you.
Medications and Inhalers: If your child needs medication during the school day, please be aware of CISD policies. Prescription medications need a parent signature as well as a Physicians orders. All medications must be brought in the original container. We will not accept medications brought in baggies, no matter how obvious it is. You may obtain the medication forms from the Nurses office or you may download them from the school website. Click on the Parent site and go to Health Services, then to Medication Administration.
If your child has asthma --- even if the episodes are very rare, please make sure we have an inhaler in the nurse’s office with Physicians orders. We have too many frightening occasions where a child is struggling to breathe and we have no inhaler to provide them with relief! We can breathe easier when your child does.
Hearing and Vision: In September or the first part of October we will see all children in Kindergarten, First, Third and Fifth grades as well as all new Second, fourth and Sixth graders for Vision and Hearing testing. If the student fails one of these screenings, we will recheck them within two weeks. If they fail the second screening, parents will be notified by the nurse’s office in a letter that will be mailed to the home.
Acanthosis Nigricans: It is mandated by Texas law that we screen for Acanthosis Nigricans (or AN) in all first, third and fifth graders. AN is hyperkeratinazation of the skin that manifests itself on the nape and sides of the neck, but can also be found on the axillae, elbows and groin area. The affected areas become darker and thickened and feel rough to touch. This marker may beassociated with systemic disorders such as hyperinsulinemia, and insulin resistance that might go on to become Type 2 Diabetes. We do this screening by simply examining the back of each student’s neck during the time we are testing for hearing. Again, if we find any evidence of this marker, we will notify you.
Head Lice: We routinely screen all students for head lice prior to the hearing and vision checks. We do not routinely screen the
second and fourth grades unless we hear of an outbreak in a classroom. If your child has any symptoms such as severe itching or white flakes on the hair shaft that cannot be removed, please notify us and we will see your child immediately. We are also asking you to help PREVENT the spread of lice by using these few safety precautions. DO NOT allow your children to share hats, sporting helmets, combs, pillows or hair accessories. Sleepovers are common cause of spreading head lice. If you think you rchild has lice, please notify us so that we can confirm it and we also need to check out the rest of the class. We will also provide you with some information on Lice treatment and prevention. The most effective shampoos that are used to treat lice can be toxic and should only be used as directed. Do not use them unless you have a confirmed case. Since these shampoos can only beused about every 6 months, if your child was to get them later they many not be used when really needed. They are not preventatives hampoos! If your child had immunizations over the summer, please make a copy and send to the nurse’s office so we can keep thei records updated.
*Parent Reminder: Our Nurses office is for students who become sick at school or who are injured during the school day. If your child is sick at home or injured in the evening or over the weekend that needs to be taken care of by your Pediatrician. If your child is not feeling well in the morning and you tell them to go see the nurse if they don’t feel well, guess what, they do! The power of suggestion will always bring them down.
Thank you very much for your assistance with this matter. This year we have a lot more medically fragile students that require nursing care during the school day, so we will be challenged.
Thank you and have a Healthy school year!
Your WGES Nurse, Susan Hogan |
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