health and Safety

Village Christian Academy is very pleased to let parents know that we have a full-time Health Specialist on campus who is additionally both CPR certified and has taken numerous in-service classes on diabetes.

Some of Health Specialist's responsibilities include:

Dispensing daily prescribed medications

Dispensing parent approved over-the-counter medications for headache, cold & cough

Handling emergency medical situations that arise

In case of an injury, the teacher will contact the school’s health specialist who will notify the parent.  For the protection of the other students and to facilitate the prompt recovery of a sick student, parents of sick students are not to permit them to attend school because the school is not equipped to care for them.  A student who becomes ill at school and is too ill to remain in class is to report to the school’s health specialist who will assist the student and contact parents if the student is too ill to remain in school.  If you are called by the office about a sick child, you must come at once to pick him/her up.  Please check in through the school office and do not go to the classroom. Students must be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school.

          Medications administered during school hours should be kept to minimum.  When medication is necessary to sustain a student’s attendance in school, the health specialist or designated school employee may administer medications.  In such a situation, the health specialist or designated personnel may administer prescribed medications for which there is a Physician’s Statement of Need completed by the prescribing physician, a signed Parental Request for Prescription Medication Administration; and when the medication is brought to school in an original pharmacy/manufacturer labeled container that has administering instructions.  All school personnel will exercise precaution and continuous control to ensure that the health care provider’s instructions are followed, that the medications are securely stored, and that the Administrative Regulations for administering prescribed medicines are followed.

          The school nurse, health specialist, or designated school employee may administer Over the Counter medications for which there is a completed Consent for Administration of Over-the-counter Medications. This parental consent is to be updated yearly or with any change of the child’s medical condition/history. All over-the-counter medications will be securely stored in the Health room.  The stored over-the-counter medications will be checked monthly for expiration and recorded in a log maintained in the Health Room. Any expired medications will be disposed of and witnessed by a second staff member.

          Students requiring emergency and/or regularly administered medications will have them administered and/or have access to their medicines while on field trips and while participating in other school sponsored activities. The school nurse/health advisor will designate a school employee to administer the medication during such times. These students must have authorization in writing as stated above and follow the policy and regulations.

School Insurance is required by every student but is included in the Academy fees. Claim forms are processed through the Academy.

VCA also employs a full-time counselor to assist with both college guidance information as well as emotional and family issues.

          The school system assumes no liability for students who self-medicate without physician and parental permission, or those who fail to follow school policy in taking medications at school.

SELF-ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION

When students have significant health conditions that may require emergency medications (asthma, allergic reactions, diabetes) it is sometimes necessary for the student to be able to carry and self-administer the medication.   When students are able to demonstrate the level of maturity required for self-administration of medicines in a safe, controlled manner, the physician and parent may consent for this on the Physician’s statement of Need and a Parental Request for Prescription Medication Administration forms.  The health advisor must verify the student’s ability to manage the medication in a safe and responsible manner and approve this. The health advisor in conjunction with the physician and parents will develop a health plan for the student and monitor the situation. 

• The medication authorization with physician and parent signature is required.
• The authorization must indicate that the student may self-medicate.
• All previously stated requirements must be met for a student to take medications at school.
• The student must act in a mature and responsible manner and safe guard the medication to prevent other students’ use of the medication.
• The principal/school staff/school nurse/health advisor has the right to intervene and discontinue self-medication when the policy or health plan is not followed.

Medication administration policy/guidelines

SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITIES

1. The Health specialist will be responsible for security and administration of medications.
2. The Health specialist will identify locked, secure locations for storing medications in order to prevent tampering, misplacing, for damaging.
3. School personnel will inform parents/guardians of the medication policy and provide the necessary authorization form.
4. The principal and Health specialist may reject a request for medication administration that does not adhere to this policy and administrative regulations.
5. The Health specialist will designate an individual to administer prescribed medications to students when students are away from campus for field trips or school supported activities.
6. The Health specialist will require the following:
1. Written authorization from a licensed health care provider with specific instructions on dose, time, and route of administering the medication.
2. Written Parental Request for Prescription Medication Administration from the parent/guardian.
3. The medication be brought to school by a parent/responsible adult or given directly to school personnel in the current original container with administering instructions.
4. The medicine container to hold only the prescribed medicine.
5. The student to report to Heath Room at the proper time for administering of medication.
6. The Health specialist will maintain all medication authorization forms and documentation forms as part of the student’s health records.
7. The Health specialist will:
   1. Keep a written record of medication administration, including omissions, errors and other pertinent information.
   2. All medications or treatments will be given following the 5 rights of medication administration (right patient/student, right medication, right dosage, right route, and right time.) Any variation from the 5 rights requires the school nurse/health advisor to complete a Medication Administration Incident Report. A copy of this report is to be given to the principal, school administrator, the child’s parent and the original should be maintained in the student’s medical record.
   3. Comply with the physician instructions on the Physician’s statement of Need forwarded to school by the parent/guardian.
   4. Comply with parental instructions on the Parental Request for Administration of Over the Counter Medications form forwarded to the school by the parent/guardian.
   5. Inform appropriate school personnel of the student’s medication when needed for continuity and safety.
   6. Keep medications in a secure, locked location, including refrigerated medicine. 
   7. Keep emergency medications secure, but accessible to responsible staff members and/or student as appropriate.
   8. Make two documented contacts to the parent/guardian to remove medications that have been discontinued.  Two weeks after such contact, if the medicines have not been retrieved they will be destroyed with a second witness, and documented.
   9. Maintain the written authorization forms, medication administration documentation, and other information pertinent to medication administration, during the school year.
   10. Ensure there is a designated individual to administer medication to students while on field trips or school sponsored activities. Ensure the medicine is transported for the activity in an individual container (Ziploc bag or envelope), identified by the following information: a) Student’s name, b) name of medication, dosage, and route of administration, and c) time to be administered. The actual administration will be reported to the school nurse/health advisor upon return to school including time of administration, and the health specialist will document the administration of the medication.

PARENT RESPONSIBILITIES

When a parent/guardian requests that medication be administered to a student or that a student be allowed to take medicine at school, they must assume responsibility for:

1. Providing the health specialist with written physician authorization (Physician’s statement of Need) and specific administering instructions for the medicine.
2. Providing the health specialist with a signed Parental Request for Prescription Medication Administration.
3. Delivering the medication directly to school personnel in the current, original container, labeled by the pharmacy or manufacturer.
4. Ensuring the label on the medicine includes the student’s name, the name of the medication, administering instructions, expiration date, etc.
5. Removing unused medication from the school premises when treatment is complete, discontinued, or at the end of the school year. Medications must be removed within two weeks of the termination of the Physicians order or within one week of the end of the current school year/term. Medications left beyond this time period will be destroyed.

OVER THE COUNTER MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION

1. Over the counter (OTC) medications may be administered by the Health specialist/designated school employee when there is a completed Parental Consent for Over the Counter Medication Administration on file.
2. The health specialist will:

• Keep a record of over the counter medication administration, including omissions, errors and other pertinent information (including: symptoms and response to treatment.
• Ensure that students have a Parental Consent for OTC Medication Administration is on file in the health room prior to administering medication.
• All medications or treatments will be given following the 5 rights of medication administration (right patient/student, right medication, right dosage, right route, and right time.) Any variation from the 5 rights requires the school nurse/health advisor to complete a medication administration incident report. A copy of this report is to be given to the principal, school administrator, the child’s parent and the original should be maintained in the student’s medical record.
• Inform each parent when their child presents to the health room and the corresponding treatment/medication given during the same school day.
• This information may come in written form or as an email via the RENWEB system.
• Inform appropriate school personnel of the student’s request for medication and subsequent administration when needed for continuity and safety.
• Keep medications in a secure, locked location. 
• Maintain the written authorization forms, medication administration documentation, and other information pertinent to medication administration, during the school year.
• Maintain a log of OTC medications kept in the health room, including date acquired, and expiration dates. The health specialist will check the expiration date on all OTC medications monthly. Expired medications will be destroyed in the presence of a second school employee. This requires signatures on the log, by both the health specialist and the employee that witnessed the disposal of the medication.

1.  The parent will:

• Provide the health specialist with a signed Parental Consent for Administration of OTC Medications, including a current health history, allergies, with specific instructions for administration (if specific instructions are desired by the parent).
• Provide an updated request for administration of OTC medications, yearly or as the child’s condition or health information changes.

Parents/guardians, who object to this policy of medication administration at school, may choose to come to school and administer the medication or ensure that all doses are given at home or outside school hours.

MEDICAL FORMS

Doctor's Statement/Parental Request for Prescription Medication     OTC Consent   

  Self carried Medications