Health Office
Fax: (908) 402-7014
- When to Keep Your Child Home From School
- Athletics
- Asthma
- Affordable Health Insurance
- COVID-19 Guidelines
- Coxsackievirus
- Epi-Pen
- Flu
- Handwashing
- Head Lice
- HPV
- Immunizations/ Incoming 6th Grade Students
- Immunizations
- Medications
- MRSA
- Physical Exam
- Sports Related Eye Injuries
- Additional Resources
When to Keep Your Child Home From School
In order to prevent the spread of communicable illness, please refrain from sending your student to school if one of the following symptoms are present:
- A fever greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit within the last 24 hours. Students must be fever free without medication for 24 hours before returning.
- Acute diarrhea or vomiting. Students should remain at home for 24 hours after the last episode without medication.
- Red eyes with discharge
- Coughing or respiratory difficulty
- Infected, untreated skin lesions
- Skin rash accompanied by fever
- COVID like symptoms (See COVID Guidelines)
Students who are ill should be kept home. They should not be sent to school for diagnosis of health problems. We want to minimize the possibility of transmitting diseases.
Athletics
Complete the following forms and return them to the Health Office if your child will participate in a VV sport.
Current Sports Physicals
The physical remains valid for 365 days.
Health History Update
Must be completed if your child's sports physical is still valid but was completed more than 90 days ago.
Sign off Form for each of the following: Parents and Students must sign after reviewing information
Asthma
Asthma is a disease that affects your lungs. It causes repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and nighttime or early morning coughing. Asthma can be controlled by taking medicine and avoiding the triggers that can cause an attack. You must also remove the triggers in your environment that can make your asthma worse. --Center for Disease Control and Prevention
If your child requires an inhaler during the school day, have your child's doctor complete the following form and return it to the health office along with your childs medication and chamber. Forms must be completed by the parent/guardian and physician each school year.
School nurses play a vital role in creating asthma-friendly schools. Registered professional school nurses provide professional healthcare services that no other school staff members are equipped to offer.
You can help your child to manage asthma at school by talking with the school nurse at or prior to the beginning of the school year in August. Share your child’s medical history and bring medications such as a rescue inhaler to the school along with a prescription from your healthcare professional.
The school nurse will need to know what your child’s triggers are, as well as your child’s signs and symptoms of asthma. If you know that a particular trigger may be present in the school environment on a permanent or temporary basis (such as wood smoke or cold winter air), the school nurse will work with you to develop a plan to assist your child.
Your school nurse can help you to decide whether your child’s inhaler or emergency medications should be kept and administered by an adult or whether your child is ready to self-carry and self-medicate, in which case, you will receive a form to be signed by you and your healthcare professional.
Always inform the school nurse of any major changes in your child’s condition. The school nurse is available to answer your questions and discuss your concerns.
The registered professional school nurse is also prepared to:
- Identify students in the school with asthma.
- Communicate with the student and family to gather data about the needs of the individual child and their perception of the child’s health status.
- Communicate with the child’s healthcare professional about medications and additional interventions that may be necessary, such as a peak flow meter.
- Create a written Individualized Healthcare Plan (IHP) and Emergency Care Plan (ECP).
- Train unlicensed school staff to respond in the event of an asthma episode.
- Communicate with the teacher and other school staff about classroom needs and expectations.
- Arrange for pre-medication prior to exercise or sports, if indicated.
- Arrange for medication and Emergency Care Plan to be taken on field trips.
- Serve as the healthcare consultant to the Section 504 team.
- Periodically evaluate the student’s use of medication, the effectiveness of the plan, the student’s opportunities to participate in all school activities, the frequency of school absences and the student’s ability to manage his/her asthma at school.
Affordable Health Insurance
Families in need of affordable health insurance, may inquire about NJ Family Care, which is a low-cost health insurance plan associated with a variety of recognized Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). It is the State of New Jersey's way of providing affordable health coverage for kids and certain low-income families.
Visit NJ Family Care
Information regarding the Affordable Care Act and coverage can be found by visiting healthcare.gov
COVID-19 Guidelines
Coxsackievirus
Coxsackieviruses are part of the enterovirus family of viruses (which also includes polioviruses and hepatitis A virus) that can live in the human digestive tract.
The viruses can spread from person to person, usually on unwashed hands and surfaces contaminated by feces,, where they can live for several days.
In most cases, coxsackievirus infections cause mild flu-like symptoms and go away without treatment. But in some cases, they can lead to more serious infections.
Epi-Pen
Anaphylaxis (an-a-fi-LAK-sis) is a serious, life-threatening allergic reaction. The most common anaphylactic reactions are to foods, insect stings, medications and latex.
If you are allergic to a substance, your immune system overreacts to this allergen by releasing chemicals that cause allergy symptoms. Typically, these bothersome symptoms occur in one location of the body. However, some people are susceptible to a much more serious anaphylactic reaction. This reaction typically affects more than one part of the body at the same time.
Anaphylaxis requires immediate medical treatment, including a prompt injection of epinephrine and a trip to a hospital emergency room. If it isn’t treated properly, anaphylaxis can be fatal.
Epi-Pen Medical Provider Orders - Required each school year. Bring this form to your child's doctor and return it to the health office with your child's Epi-Pen.
Flu
The seasonal influenza vaccine is the best and safest protection available against influenza. In addition to obtaining influenza vaccination, help protect yourself and others from influenza (and any other illness), by engaging in the following behaviors:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds
- Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, nose or any mucous membrane with unwashed hands
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces
- Use good respiratory hygiene - cough and sneeze into a tissue or elbow
- Properly dispose of used tissues
- Follow Watchung Borough School District policy for illnesses.
- Stay home when sick and call your healthcare provider.
For more information on the seasonal influenza, as well as other school health issues, please reference:
www.cdc.gov/flu
www.nj.gov/health
Handwashing
Regular handwashing is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs to others. Whether you are at home, at work, traveling, or out in the community, find out how handwashing with soap and water can protect you and your family. --Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Head Lice
If a student is found to have lice during the school day, he/she will be sent home at the end of the day with a note from the nurse. All Students in the grade will be advised of the existence of lice in the grade. The student will not be allowed to return to school without approval of the nurse. In order to be readmitted, the parent must provide a letter to the school that states that treatment has begun and there can be no active lice on the student's head. If there are any nits, the student will be permitted to return to school but will need to be re-examined by the nurse on a weekly basis until all nits are gone or the nits are more than a quarter inch from the scalp of the student. --Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
HPV
Immunizations/ Incoming 6th Grade Students
2024 6th Grade Parents
Students born on or after January 1, 1997 and entering sixth grade will be required to receive both Tdap and Meningococcal vaccine prior to the first day of school.
Students that are 10 years old when entering sixth grade will not be required to receive the preferred Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine, Menactra until they turn 11 years of age. They will have to show documentation of receiving the vaccine within 2 weeks of their 11th birthday. Tdap can be given at the earliest age of 10 depending on the availability of vaccine at a provider’s practice. If the pupil's physician only carries Adacel then the child will not be required to receive it until 11 years of age. If the physician carries Boostrix then we encourage them to use it for their 10 year olds.
Tdap vaccine and meningococcal vaccine requirements, respectively, only apply to children in Grade Six or a higher grade level. The language has been amended for students transferring into a New Jersey school from out-of-state or out-of-country. It now states the following:
Every child born on or after January 1, 1997 attending or transferring into a New Jersey school at Grade Six or a higher grade level from another state or country on or after September 1, 2008 shall have received one dose of meningococcal vaccine. Children born on or after January 1, 1997 attending or transferring into a New Jersey school at Grade Six or a higher grade level from another state or country on or after September 1, 2008 shall have received one dose of Tdap, provided at least five years have elapsed from the last documented Td dose.
Please check with your pediatrician to make sure your child has these immunizations BEFORE the 1st day of school. Please review the attached fact sheet on Meningitis.
New Jersey Department fo Health Meningococcal Invasive Disease
Immunizations
In order to safeguard the school community from the spread of certain communicable diseases and in recognition that prevention is a means of combating the spread of disease, the Board of Education requires the immunization of students against certain diseases in accordance with State statute and rules of the New Jersey State Department of Health and Senior Services.
A student shall not knowingly be admitted or retained in school if the parent has not submitted acceptable evidence of the child’s immunization, according to schedules specified in N.J.A.C. 8:57-4 – Immunization of Pupils in School.
A child may be admitted to school on a provisional basis in accordance with the requirements as outlined in N.J.A.C. 8:57-4.5 and Regulation 5320.
Medical or religious exemptions to immunizations shall be in accordance with the requirements as outlined in N.J.A.C. 8:57-4.3 and 4.4. For students with a medical exemption pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:57-4.3, the school nurse shall annually review student immunization records to confirm the medical condition for the exemption from immunization continues to be applicable in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:16-2.3(b)3.v.
Medications
Parents must bring all medication in their original container with a pharmacy label (check expiration date). Doctor's orders are required for all medication each school year.
Parents are encouraged to administer medications to children at home whenever possible as medication should be administered in school only when necessary for the health and safety of students.
Medication will only be administered to students in school by the school physician, a certified or noncertified school nurse, a substitute school nurse employed by the district, the student’s parent, a student who is approved to self-administer in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:40-12.3 and 12.4, and school employees who have been trained and designated by the certified school nurse to administer epinephrine and hydrocortisone sodium succinate in an emergency pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:40-12.5, 12.6, 12.29, and 12.30.
Self-administration of medication by a student for asthma or other potentially life-threatening illnesses, a life threatening allergic reaction, or adrenal insufficiency is permitted in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:40-12.3.
The school nurse shall have the primary responsibility for the administration of epinephrine and hydrocortisone sodium succinate to the student.
The school nurse may designate, in consultation with the Board or the Superintendent, additional employees of the district who volunteer to be trained in the administration of epinephrine via a pre-filled auto-injector mechanism and the administration of hydrocortisone sodium succinate using standardized training protocols established by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) in consultation with the Department of Health when the school nurse is not physically present at the scene. In accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:40-12.6.d
MRSA
MRSA is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a potentially dangerous type of staph bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics and may cause skin and other infections. As with all regular staph infections, recognizing the signs and receiving treatment for MRSA skin infections in the early stages reduces the chances of the infection becoming severe. MRSA is spread by:
- Having direct contact with another person’s infection
- Sharing personal items, such as towels or razors, that have touched infected skin
- Touching surfaces or items, such as used bandages, contaminated with MRSA
Most staph skin infections, including MRSA, appear as a bump or infected area on the skin that may be red, swollen, painful, warm to the touch, full of pus or other drainage and may be accompanied by a fever.
If you suspect an MRSA skin infection, cover the area with a bandage and contact your healthcare professional.
It is especially important to contact your healthcare professional if signs and symptoms of an MRSA skin infection are accompanied by a fever.
Treatment for MRSA skin infections may include having a healthcare professional drain the infection and, in some cases, prescribe an antibiotic. Do not attempt to drain the infection yourself – doing so could worsen or spread it to others.
If you are given an antibiotic, be sure to take all of the doses (even if the infection is getting better), unless your healthcare professional tells you to stop taking it.
Protect your family by knowing the signs of MRSA skin infections and getting treated early . Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered and encourage good hygiene such as cleaning hands regularly. Discourage sharing of personal items such as towels and razors
Physical Exam
Universal Physical Form
Physical for Students NOT Participating in a Sport.
Sports Related Eye Injuries
Additional Resources
New Jersey Dental Association Resources:
New Jersey Immunization Requirements:
-
http://www.state.nj.us/education/students/safety/health/cdpr/immune/
- Vaccine Information
-
Somerset County Health Department
The State Of New Jersey Department of Health Communicable Disease:
New Jersey Dept. of Health and Human Services:
Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network:
Epilepsy Foundation:
Nutrition Information:
The National Child Traumatic and Stress Network:
Center for Disease Control/Concussion
Centers for Disease Control/Bedbugs:
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