• COMMON HEALTH CARE PROCEDURES

    Accident or Head Trauma: Parents will be notified regarding any incident that necessitates an accident report. In addition, any student who suffers trauma to the head at school will be assessed in the health room and parents will be notified.

    Allergy Accommodations: Latex Allergy - Yelm Community Schools prohibits the use of all latex products, including latex balloons, due to severe allergies. Peanut Allergy - Please refrain from sending any peanut products due to severe allergies.

    Diarrhea: Any student who has been having diarrhea will be sent home and may return to school when they have been free of diarrhea for 24 hours.

    Fever: Any student with a fever of 100.4 or higher will be sent home and may return to school once the child has been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication.

    Injury: If any child has an injury that prohibits them from participating in PE or other school activities, a note from the physician is needed to excuse participation.  Please be sure the doctor includes when student can return to normal activity or provide a separate note.

    Lice: The Infectious Disease Control Guide no longer recommends long-term exclusion for pediculosis/head lice.  Head lice is a nuisance condition and is not known to transmit infection from person to person. Any student who presents with live lice will be sent home for treatment. Students may return to school when no live lice are present.

    Rash: Any student with an undiagnosed rash will be sent home from school in order to be evaluated by a healthcare provider. The parent/guardian will be asked to provide a note from a healthcare provider upon return to school.

    Vomiting: Any student who has been vomiting will be sent home and may return to school when they have not vomited in 24 hours.

    HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS (HPV) INFORMATION
    The following information is being provided to you at the direction of the Washington State Legislature to help reduce cervical cancer rates in Washington by protecting youth from HPV.

    What is Human Papillomavirus (HPV)?
    HPV is a very common virus that is spread through genital contact. At least 50 percent of sexually active people will get HPV at some time in their lives. There are many types of HPV. Some types can cause cervical cancer or genital warts. Both women and men can get HPV and easily spread it to others without knowing they have it.

    What are the symptoms of HPV?
    Most people with HPV have no signs or symptoms. Some people know they have HPV because they have a symptom like genital warts. Women may find out they have HPV through cervical cancer screening (Pap tests) and HPV testing. Health care providers do not usually test for HPV unless abnormal cervical cell changes are detected by a Pap test.

    How can HPV infection be prevented?
    The best way to prevent HPV infection is to abstain from all sexual activity. People with only one lifetime partner can get HPV if their partner had previous sexual partners. It is uncertain how well condoms protect against HPV infection. However, condom users do have lower cervical cancer rates. The HPV vaccine is a very effective way to prevent four types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer and genital warts.

    What is the HPV vaccine?
    The HPV vaccine, Gardasil, ® protects against four types of HPV which cause 70 percent of cervical cancers and 90 percent of genital warts. The vaccine does not protect against all types of HPV or other sexually transmitted infections. The vaccine also does not protect against any type of HPV that someone already has. Current studies show that HPV vaccine protection lasts up to 5 years. Research will continue to determine the length of the HPV vaccine’s protection.

    Who should get the vaccine and when should they get it?
    The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends the HPV vaccine for all girls age 11-12 years. The vaccine can also be given to females as young as nine and up to 26 years, if their doctor recommends it.  HPV vaccine is given as a series of three shots over a six month period. The vaccine is not currently recommended for boys or men. The HPV vaccine is a preventive vaccine and will offer the best protection if given before sexual activity starts. HPV vaccine is not required for school entry in Washington.

    Are Pap tests still recommended for females that get the HPV vaccine?
    Yes. The HPV vaccine does not protect against all of the types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer, so females will still need Pap tests.

    Where can I find the HPV vaccine?
    Ask your doctor, nurse, or local health clinic to find out whether your daughter needs the HPV vaccine and where you can get it. Most providers in Washington will have state-supplied HPV vaccine and there will be no cost to parents (of girls under 19 years) for the vaccine. Providers may charge an office visit and/or administration fee. The HPV vaccine is available to providers at no cost through Washington State’s Universal Childhood Vaccine Program.

    For more information on HPV, the Vaccine, and Cervical Cancer:
    Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

    Washington State Department of Health

    American Cancer Society

    IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS

    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 requires a student to present evidence of them having been immunized against diseases as required by 28A.210 RCW and the Washington State Board of Health 246-105 WAC. 

    Exemptions from Immunization
    The district will allow for exemptions from immunization requirements only as allowed for by RCW 28A.210.090 and WAC 246-105-050.

    INFECTIOUS DISEASE

    In order to safeguard the school community from the spread of certain communicable diseases, YCS will comply with the State Board of Health rules and regulations within the most current Infectious Disease Control Guide, provided by the State Department of Health and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. (District Policy No. 3414)

    LIFE-THREATENING HEALTH CONDITIONS

    Prior to attendance at school, each child with a life-threatening health condition will present a medication and treatment order from a Licensed Healthcare Provider (LHP) addressing the condition.  A life-threatening health condition means a condition that will put the child in danger of death during the school day if the medication and treatment order, providing authority to a registered nurse, and a nursing care plan are not in place.  Following submission of the medication and treatment order, the registered nurse will develop the nursing care plan. 

    Students who have a life-threatening health condition and no medication or treatment order presented to the school will be excluded from school, to the extent that the district can do so consistent with federal requirements for students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and according to the due process requirements in School District Procedure 3413P.

    Exclusion from School
    Following proper notification, the school will exclude the student for noncompliance with the immunization laws, subject to the appeal procedures for student expulsions, consistent with 3241 – Student Discipline. Parents have a right to a hearing provided they notify the school within three (3) days after receiving the exclusion order from the school principal. If the parent requests a hearing, the district will notify in writing the parent or guardian and school principal of the time and place for the hearing and will present the case to a hearing officer appointed by the superintendent.


    MEDICATIONS
    YCS requires signed authorization forms for the dispensing of any prescription or non-prescription medicines to students.  Forms must be signed by the physician as well as the parent/guardian and are available from the school office.  All medications must be delivered to and picked up from the school by the parent/guardian in the original container. Most medications can be dispensed by the parent/guardian before or after school. Please ask your healthcare provider for guidance on medication delivery times. (RCW 28A.210.260 & 270, District Policy No. 3416)

    MENINGOCOCCAL INFORMATION
    As of July 1, 2005, schools are required to provide meningococcal information beginning with sixth grade entry to students and parents in our community.

    Meningococcal disease, commonly known as meningococcal meningitis, strikes up to 3,000 adolescents and adults in the U.S. each year. Adolescents and young adults have an increased rate of contracting meningococcal disease compared to the general population, accounting for nearly 30 percent of all U.S. cases annually. According to one study, as many as one out of every four adolescents infected with the disease may die. Of those that survive, up to 20 percent suffer long-term disabilities, including brain damage, hearing loss, kidney disease and limb amputations.

    The department of health wants you to be aware of meningococcal meningitis and the availability of a vaccine to protect against the disease. Vaccination can help protect against up to 83 percent of the meningococcal disease cases occurring among adolescents and young adults. Vaccination is not required for school attendance.

    We encourage you to learn more about meningococcal meningitis and prevention and speak to your child’s physician about immunization. In addition, we urge you to speak to your children about good hygiene and not sharing personal items that may transmit the disease.

    Additional information is available on the following web sites:

    Washington State Department of Health Immunization Program Meningococcal disease information

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

    NON-EMERGENCY PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
    District staff will not conduct any invasive physical examination or screening (defined as “any medical examination that involves the exposure of private body parts, or any act during such examination that includes incision, insertion or injection into the body”) without prior parental approval. The school district may schedule and conduct screenings for hearing, vision, and scoliosis. Also examinations necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of the student, or of other students may be conducted without prior parental notice and consent.