Nurse's Office

SCHOOL NURSE CONTACT INFORMATION:

Kathleen Mahoney Schoemer, MSN, RN, CPNP-PC

District Lead Nurse

phone number 508-987-6066 #2

fax number 508-987-2364

email [email protected]

SICK DAY GUIDELINES

Please DO NOT send your student to school with the following symptoms of acute illness:

FEVER is an oral temperature of 100.0 or higher and when most are contagious. To return to school you must be fever-free for 24 hours without needing medication such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin) to reduce the fever.
VOMITING is the forceful expulsion of stomach contents through the mouth. To return to school you must not have vomited for 24 hours.
DIARRHEA is a sudden onset of three or more loose stools in a day. To return to school you must be free of diarrhea for 24 hours.
If ANTIBIOTIC TREATMENT is prescribed for any acute illness, then you need to have taken 24 hours of medication before returning to school.
Diagnosed with a communicable/infectious disease (e.g. chicken pox, impetigo, pertussis, or untreated scabies)

Examples of other signs and symptoms of illness that may prevent a student from accessing the curriculum and could result in the school nurse sending them home can include the following:

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
New onset and severe cold symptoms (Please remember that a cough from a recent cold can last for three weeks or more.)
Body aches, chills, earache, and/or headache
Extreme tiredness
Lack of appetite

Nausea, stomach ache
Unusual or undiagnosed rash or other untreated skin condition
Sore throat (Please remember that a strep throat is not necessarily accompanied by a fever but can be associated with a stomach ache and/or headache. If strep throat is suspected, then you need to be seen by a medical provider for diagnosis and treatment.)

SCHOOL ABSENSES

If your child is going to be absent from school for ANY reason, please call to let us know. The absentee line can be reached by calling 508-987-6066 and following the prompts. A message can be left on the absentee line at any time (24/7). For any extended illnesses please be prepared to provide a doctor's note. Please also feel free to reach out to the school nurse with any questions or concerns.

MEDICATIONS IN SCHOOL

All prescription (Rx) medication that must be given in school requires a physician or nurse practitioner order. The student's physician or nurse practitioner can use his or her own order form or the form that appears below called "medication order form". All medication administration (over-the-counter-OTC or Rx) requires parental/guardian consent. This consent is part of our medical data forms that we send out annually. For the safety and welfare of all students, all medication (OTC or Rx) should be brought in by a parent or guardian, labeled with the student's name in the original, unopened packaging.

Please be aware that cough drops are not allowed to be given to any child under the age of 12 years according to the medical orders provided to all district nurses by our school district physician consultant. Therefore, I would ask that no parent send his or her child into school with cough drops.

GUIDELINES FOR VIRAL RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS

As we enter the season when respiratory infections, such as COVID, Flu, and RSV, are most prevalent, many of you may have questions specifically to do with these viruses. The Department of Public Health’s (MDPH)the guidelines for stopping the spread of respiratory viruses has not changed from The complete guidelines can be found at this link, Staying home to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses | Mass.gov

What does this mean for students and staff of the Oxford Public Schools?

The highlights of the updated guidelines, which were taken directly from the Mass.gov website, are as follows:

If an individual, i.e., student or staff, develops symptoms of these respiratory viruses, they are encouraged to contact their primary care provider or visit an urgent care site to be tested. These symptoms can include, but are not limited to, fever, sore throat, and/or the new onset of severe cold symptoms.

If an individual tests positive for any of these respiratory viruses, then they should stay home until all of the following criteria has been met:

Fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications (i.e., Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen).
All other symptoms are improving.

For at least five days after returning to normal activities you are strongly encouraged to wear a mask around others.

If your symptoms, especially fever, return then you should stay home again until you meet the above criteria for resuming regular activities.

FLU vs COMMON COLD