| School and Youth Health |
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Philosophy Statement:
Your School Nurse Team says "WELCOME to our Site!"
School nurses, as public health nurses, share in the day to day responsibility of protecting the
health of individuals in the community, and more specifically in the Manchester Schools. They
are committed to determining client health status; identifying unmet health needs, assessing
those needs and taking action to see that those needs are met.
The services provided by school nurses meet the objectives of the public health department for disease prevention, health promotion and community health planning activities. They provide ongoing health supervision for all public and parochial school children in kindergarten through
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The Manchester's school health team:
- Believe that each child in our schools has the right of access to school health services, wherever needed.
- View the family as most important in assisting us to plan, implementing and evaluating each child's school health plan.
- Believe that a solid partnership must be maintained with familes on behalf of the child. Parents or guardians will be informed of health services availabe to them. In addition, they will be advised of state regulations for such things as immunizations and physical exams.
- Believe the nurse is a caring professional and will respect the confidentiality of the student/client while functioning as a student advocate within the school, family and community setting.
- Believe that the nurses are health teachers by virtue of their experience/education and as defined by the New Hampshire Nurse Practice Act. Health teaching or health counseling is carried out in various settings such as individual encounters with students in the health office, contact with their families, and in classrooms.
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School Policy on School Entry Requirements
All children entering school for the first time or as a transfer student from another school district (in state or out of state) are required to provide the school nurse and school administration with the following health information:
- Physical Exam: a complete and thorough physical assessment of your child is required for school entry. You may download the form required from our forms section (at left) and bring this to your provider. A copy must be made for the school nurse. Annual health visits to your health provider for a physical exam is recommended, especially during school age, to maintain your child’s health and to learn more about your child’s growth and development.
- Immunization: Proof of immunization against childhood communicable disease is necessary for school entry Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis: (DTP) Polio; Mumps/ Measles / Rubella (MMR); Hepatitis B; Hib by 2 years of age and before school entry. Second dose MMR is also offered in the spring to all sixth graders in the City of Manchester schools through the School Health Program. Clinics are held on at the Manchester Health Department on Monday afternoons from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. No appointment is necessary; childhood immunizations are provided at no cost to parents. A parent or guardian must accompany children under 18 years of age to the clinic. Immunizations are also provided on the Neighborhood Public Health Van (for more information on dates, times and sites, please see links to Community Health Division and Immunizations via Home page).
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School Health Services
School nurses work in partnership with you; your child’s teacher and the heath care providers in our community – helping to assure your sons or daughter’s optimal growth and development. So, for your information all the services and programs provided by the school health team are outlined here. If you have any questions about these services or anything regarding your child’s health or well-being, please feel free to call your nurse today! (see link to left menu for school nurse listing).
- First Aid and Illness Care: see our section on Illness and Injury Management and our section on Healthy Children at left.
- Health Records: Health records are maintained on each student. These records are confidential and kept throughout your child’s school stay. Health records include information on immunizations (see requirements below), physical exam (see link to forms at left Child Health Profile), and individualized health condition plans (see link to forms at left and below)
- Screening Program: Screening includes vision-testing, hearing testing with a pure tone audiometer, height, weight, scoliosis (curvature of the spine), dental or oral exam (see dental program link via Home page) and general health assessment and history information. If you wish that your child be exempt from any or all screenings please call your school nurse (see school nurse listing to left).
- Health Education and Health Counseling: Individual and classroom health education is provided in each school on various topics. Among these are nutrition, heart health, growth, development, and general health maintenance. Counseling for health concerns is provided for students and their parents as needs occur. The School Nurse follows up on health problems and will make referrals to appropriate agencies as needed. With the parent’s permission, the school nurse will consult with the child’s primary health care provider (or outside agency) when it is in the interest of the child. For more information see our link on the left side of this page that refers to Health Education and Healthy Children.
- Care of Children with Special Health Care Concerns and the Individual Student School Health Plan: Enrollment of students with health care needs in the school setting presents a challenge to students, families, and school staff. The school nurse acts a partner with families and providers to help create a plan when some children require special health care during the school day. A school health plan is developed to meet the individual health needs of students with special health concerns. If your child has a chronic illness (such as asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or diabetes) please call the schools nurse to arrange the best plan to care for your child during the school day. For more information on keeping your child healthy at school visit AANMA (Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics) or visit and CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficity Hyperactivity Disorder).
- Medication Administration Policy: (Summarized) Sometimes children need to take medication during the school day. All medications (with the exception of acetaminophen for middle / high schools and bacitracin all levels) require parental permission and a physician/healthcare provider prescription. Please contact your school nurse for the required forms or see our link to forms at the left of this page.
- Adolescent Resource Guide: Click here to view a copy of the Adolescent Resource Guide.
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