For all BCPS Nursing Information please use this link
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Barb Ratliff, RN
[email protected]
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WELCOME BACK WILDCATS!!!!
Hello, everyone and welcome back to the 2024-2025 school year! My name is Barb Ratliff and this is my 11th year as the school nurse at Stewartsville Elementary. Our clinic is open daily from 7:20 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need to discuss your child’s health concern/medication with me. The school number is (540) 890-2174.
Important items as we move forward in the year:
Sick Children
Please keep your child home from school if he/she has a fever (100.0 and above), vomiting, repeated episodes of diarrhea, persistent cough, or unidentified rash. Children must be fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medications for 24 hours before returning to school. Therefore, if your child is sent home with a fever he/she will not be able to attend school the next day. Anyone picking up your child should have a valid ID to complete the sign out process. Children should be free from vomiting, diarrhea, and severe stomach cramping for 24 hours prior to returning to school. If your child has strep throat or other bacterial infection, he/she should be on antibiotics for 24 hours before returning.
Health Concerns
If your child has a chronic health condition that requires medication or other treatment at school, please be sure that the nurse has an action plan/doctor’s order and all appropriate documentation on file, as well as any medications ordered. Documentation is required for us to be able to care for your child in accordance with his/her doctor’s orders. If you have any questions or need additional copies of forms please contact the school nurse. Lack of an appropriate action plan may result in a 911 call if your child begins to have complications with his/her medical condition while at school.
Medications
If your child needs to take medicine at school, the “Authorization for Medication Administration Form” must be completed and signed by a parent/guardian. Prescription medications must have signature from a physician. All medication (over the counter or prescription) must be transported to school by a parent or guardian in the original container. If it is a prescription medication, it must have the prescription label from the pharmacy with it. All over the counter medications must be in the original, unopened container.
Screenings
Routine speech-language screenings are conducted for new students by the Speech Language Pathologists as mandated by the Virginia Department of Education. Students are screened in the areas of speech, voice, and language. If a child fails the screening, the results of the screening will be provided to the parent.
Per the state requirement, all students in kindergarten, 3rd, 7th and 10th grades will have a vision and hearing screening conducted by the school nurses. Students new to BCPS will also be screened. Screenings will take place by Thanksgiving and you will receive a letter if your student fails the screening and needs further assessment by a healthcare provider.
Clinic Visit Documentation
In past years, we have used SchoolCare (formerly CareDox) as our documentation system for when your child makes a visit to see the school nurse. This year, we have transitioned to a new electronic documentation system that communicates with PowerSchool.
Unlike SchoolCare, the new documentation system does NOT email the parent when a child has visited the clinic. Nurses will continue to call parents/guardians with any significant findings or concerns related to illness or injury. If you have concerns about your child’s visit(s) to the clinic, please contact the school nurse.
Tips to Keep Your Child Healthy & Ready to Learn
- ●Keep them up-to-date with vaccines
- ●Review proper hand washing and how to cough/sneeze into their elbow
- ●Make sure they get a good night's sleep
- ●Give them a healthy breakfast at home or at school
- ●Send them to school with a water bottle daily & encourage them to drink it
- ●Send a change of clothes in their backpack, even for older children- spills, falls in mud, wet slides, and accidents all happen
- ●Send tennis shoes/sneakers for PE
Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
I hope you all are settling into the new school routine and I look forward to helping your children have a safe and healthy 2024-2025 school year.
Nurse Barb
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Hand washing videos for children:
Grades K - 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMbCZfb5k3M
Grades 3 and 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBGsoimPXZg
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Eating Disorders
Please refer to the BCPS information sheet on eating disorders recommended for parents of student grades 5-12 by following this link.
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Please see that attached letter from the VA Department of Health regarding the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series:
HPV letter - English
Spanish version:
HPV letter - Spanish
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