School Nurse

To best serve our students, Saint Joseph employs a full time school nurse. The nurse is available to students throughout the school day and is able to consult with parents on health-related concerns about their son or daughter. The goal of course is to keep students in class, healthy, and learning to their fullest potential. The nurse serves as the primary point of contact for immunization records and health information, and the care of students requiring special treatment for ongoing conditions, such as food allergies and chronic health conditions. Please reach out to the nurse to discuss any health concerns related to your child.

General Information

The Nurse's Office is open from 8:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. during regular school days and is located in the Fine Arts Wing, near the Main Office.

• Students with non-emergency issues should go to the Nurse's Office during break or lunch so that the class time is not missed, and should check in with their classroom teacher prior to coming to the Nurse's Office to obtain a pass and to avoid being marked absent.
• A student absence related to illness should be reported by 9 a.m. to the Office of Student Life: attendance@saintjoehigh.com or by calling 574-239-7665.
• If a student is absent due to illness, upon returning to school, a note from a parent/guardian must be submitted to the Office of Student Life before the school day begins. If a student is absent for five (5) consecutive days due to illness, a physician's statement is required upon their return.

**Report all confirmed or suspected contagious diseases, acute injuries, or other health related issues to the school nurse: kharshman@saintjoehigh.com or 574-252-1152.

Immunizations 

Please be sure that we have the following required information on file:

• CHIRP Consent Form (accessed and signed during registration)
• Immunization Records (uploaded during registration)

All incoming 9th graders are required to have already received the following immunizations:

• 3 Hepatitis B
• 5 DTaP
• 4 Polio
• 2 Varicella
• 2 MMR 2
• 2 Hepatitis A
• 1 MCV4 (Meningococcal)
• 1 Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria & Pertussis)

On or after your child's 16th birthday, they are required to receive a second MCV 4 Meningococcal booster (Menactra.) This must be completed prior to the beginning of the 12th grade.

2023-2024 Indiana Immunization Requirements for Schools: For your reference 

Objection to Immunization: Please fill out this form and return to the school nurse if you choose not to immunize your child and or/ you do not follow the traditional vaccination schedule, so that your child is considered up to date. This form needs to be renewed each new school year.

Student Medical History

If your child has any chronic medical conditions such as asthma, food allergies, diabetes, seizure disorder, or any other medical condition, it is important that the school is aware so that we can best support your child.

Please schedule a Health Plan meeting with the school nurse so that we can discuss how best to support your child during the school day.

If your child does have any chronic medical conditions, please fill out the Student Health History form, which includes consent forms and additional forms that are needed. Please reach out if you like hard copies of these forms sent to you in the mail. It is helpful if these forms are filled out and sent to the nurse prior to the start of the school year.

Administration of Medication During the School Day

Routine and frequent over-the-counter medications ideally should be administered by parents, at home. If your child may need over-the-counter medication during the school day, from time to time, please review the following procedures and provide the appropriate consent forms:

Any student in grades 9-12 in need of medication during the school day, must have a signed written consent form on file with the nurse, including those students 18 years old or older. A phone call will not count as consent.

The school will not dispense any medication without a:

• Parent Medication Consent for over-the-counter medication and/ or a
• Physician Consent Form for prescription medication

There are four OTC medications that the school will have available as "stock" medications that require a written consent on file. The OTC medications that that the school will not have in stock are the following:

1. Ibuprofen* (Generic) 200mg
2. Acetaminophen* (Generic) 500mg
3. Calcium Carbonate Antacid (Generic/Tums)
4. Cough Drops

*Please specify on the Parent Consent form the preferred dosage for each medication that you are allowing your child to receive.

• If your child begins to require medication on a regular basis and/or the frequency increases, you will be notified of the increase and may be asked to supply the medication and/or to obtain an order from your doctor.

If you would like your child to receive any other type of over-the-counter medication (for example allergy meds, eye drops), you may send the medication to school, along with the signed parent consent form.

• Please leave the medication in the original bottle, with the original label, and the student's name on the bottle. Medications will not be administered if sent to school in bags or bottles that are not the original containers.

Students may not have any type of medicine in their possession at any time while on school premises. All medications must be brought to the nurse or left in the Office of Student Life (in the absence of the nurse.) Failure to adhere to this policy could result in the student being in violation of the school's Drug and Alcohol Policy.

Illness at School

A student who becomes ill during the school day should report to the Nurse's Office. If possible, students should obtain a pass from their teacher to go to the Nurse. The Nurse will contact the parent/guardian to determine if the student is leaving school due to a medical problem. The student must check out at the Office of Student Life with the pass from the Nurse.

**Please discourage your child from contacting you directly when they don't feel well. They must go to the nurse first if they are wanting to leave early due to illness. If you are in contact with them, please tell them to go to the nurse.

Nurse Office Guidelines

• Routinely, students will not be kept in the Nurse's Office longer that 20 minutes. If they do not feel better after 20 minutes, a call home will be made to arrange dismissal due to illness. There are exceptions to this if there is a documented medical history that requires more time spent in the office.
• Students are not allowed to come to the Nurse's Office to catch up on sleep, socialize, or skip class. If students feel they are unable to participate in a class due to an injury/illness, a doctor's note is required.
• Students are not to be on their phone or computer while in the Nurse's Office, except when given permission by the nurse, to communicate with a parent or guardian.

If a student is absent due to illness, upon return to school, a note from a parent/guardian must be submitted to the Office of Student Life before the school day begins. If a student is absent for five (5) consecutive days due to illness, a physician's statement is required.

If a student is ill and leaves school he/she may not return to school that day to participate in any academic, athletic, or co-curricular activities, without prior approval from the nurse or without a doctor's note. Students must be present for the last 2 periods of the school day to be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities. 

When to Return After an Illness

It is very important for parents to keep their children at HOME when they are sick. If you are concerned with your child's attendance, please reach out to their academic counselor and/or the Office of Student Life to discuss rather than send them to school when they are sick, to avoid absences. 

Please keep your child home from school if they have any of the following*:

• Fever of 100.4 or higher (currently or anytime within the past 24 hours)
• Vomiting (currently or anytime with the past 24 hours, unless otherwise explained and previously discussed.)
• Diarrhea, severe stomach cramping (more that 2 times in the last 24 hours)
• Obvious potentially infectious and disruptive symptoms: frequent coughing, congestion/runny nose requiring frequent nose blowing, frequent sniffling
• New skin rash that is bothersome and distracting, and/or unknown origin
• Recent injury that causes pain and/or mobility issues, and has not been assessed by a Health Care Provider

*If your child arrives at school and is displaying any of the above named symptoms, you will be contacted and your child will be send home

Frequently used Forms:

• Parent Medication Consent Form: Required for any medication taken at school
• Physician Medication Consent Form: Required for any prescription medication taken at the school
• Student Health History: Please fill out if your child has any medical concerns
• Inhaler Self-Administration Consent Form: Please fill out if your child has asthma and will carry an inhaler during the school day
• Food Allergy Emergency Health Plan: Please fill out if your child has any documented food allergies
• EpiPen Self-Carry Consent Form: Please fill out if your child has food allergies and will carry an EpiPen during the school day
• Inhaler Release Form: Please fill out if your child has documented food allergies, but will not carry or have their own EpiPen as school
• Diabetic Profile
• Objection to Immunization: Renewal required each new school year

Thank you!

Your cooperation allows our school nurse to provide the best and safest care possible. Please feel free to contact Katie Harshman, RN, BSN if you have any questions or concerns regarding your student’s health care.