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Health Office

514 Mount Laurel Rd.
Mount Laurel, NJ 08054
Phone: 856-234-1610

Health Office

Absence Line: 856-234-1610, press 1 at the prompt

Welcome to the Harrington Middle School Nurse's Office Web Page

Nursing Office:  856-234-1610, press 5 at the prompt
Fax:  856-222-9754
 
Virginia Kueny, RN, CSN-NJ
[email protected]
Phone ext. 22019
Full Time Certified School Nurse
 
Mary Gallagher, RN, CSN-NJ
[email protected]
Phone ext. 22023
Full Time Certified School Nurse  
 
Anna Tawil, Health Office Aide

[email protected]
Phone ext. 22034  
 

Absence

Should your child be absent or late we ask you to call the school at 856-234-1610, Press 1 at the prompt to leave a message for the attendance secretary stating the name of your child, grade level, homeroom teacher and reason for absence.  This line is available 24 hours a day.  Please let us know the type of illness your child is experiencing, as this information helps us monitor trends at school and for the county.  If you wish to further discuss your child’s illness, please contact the school nurse directly at 856-234-1610, ext. 2019 or press 5 at the prompt.

Illness

Should I Send my Child to School?
It is not always easy to decide if your child is sick enough to stay home or well enough to be in school.  When a child’s illness prevents them from participating in a school activity or when their illness poses a risk of spreading a harmful disease to others, they should stay home.
To keep our school safe for everyone, please remember to follow district policy regarding illness.

  • Do not send your child to school with a fever (temperature of 100.00 F or over).
  • Your child must be fever-free, without the use of fever-reducing medication, for 24 hours before returning to school.
  • A child with vomiting and diarrhea should be kept home until symptoms have resolved for 24 hours and the child is able to tolerate food and drink.
  • If your MD prescribed antibiotics, your child must be on antibiotics for at least 24 hours before returning to school.
  • Please consult your healthcare provider if your child’s symptoms do not improve or seem to be getting worse.

Check out the below CDC link for current information on “Keeping Children Healthy While School’s Out”
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/children.html

Medications

Medications:
If your child will need to take ANY medication (prescription or “over-the counter”) during school hours, please have your Health Care Provider complete the required district Permission for Dispensing of Medication in School Form.  The label on the prescription bottle is NOT accepted as a physician’s order.

All medication must be in the original container labeled with your child’s name.

For the safety of students, ALL medications (with the exception of self-carry medications such as inhalers) must be brought to and from school by a parent or guardian.

All prescription and “over-the-counter” medications are to be administered by the school nurse.  No student is allowed to carry medication on their person.  If your child will be receiving medication for Asthma or Epinephrine, please see notes below specific to those medications.

Medication orders must be obtained each school year.

Tylenol, Cough Drops and Tums can be administered with signed parental permission.  This form will be sent home with your child as part of the “First Day Packet”.
 
Asthma Medications:

Every child who will be using an inhaler or nebulizer in school will be required to have a completed Asthma Treatment Plan Form on file in the nursing office.
Students at the middle school level are permitted to self-administer and carry their prescribed inhalers provided there is a physician’s order on file.  The Self-Administration of Medication in School Form needs to be provided as well, and signed by both the parent and physician.
 
Epinephrine:

If your child has a life-threatening allergy and may require the administration of an Epinephrine auto injector and/or Benadryl at school, your physician must complete the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan Form.

Have your Health Care Provider complete the Administration of Epinephrine to a Student by a Delegate Form to give permission to a trained school delegate to administer epinephrine via an auto-injector to your child when the school nurse is not available. Your child’s Epinephrine Auto-Injector will be stored in a secure unlocked location, easily accessible to school delegates while school is in session and during school sponsored functions.

If you would like to authorize your child to carry his/her Epinephrine auto-injector please complete the Self-Administration of Medication Form.  Both parent and physician signature are required on this form.  It is also necessary for parents/guardians to provide the school with an Epinephrine auto-injector.  This is in addition to the auto-injector that the child may carry with them.  The medication should be supplied to the Nursing Office and labeled with the original pharmacy label.  

Sport Physicals

A reminder due to new laws, there is a "lag" between the time you turn in your student's Sports Physicals paperwork to the time they can actually try-out or practice on teams, or in any physical activity club. All of the forms have to be reviewed and approved by the School Physician first. Please schedule your doctors appointments now.
 
 
Important Facts About Sports Physicals:
 
1.) Sports physicals will not be offered in our schools.  Physicals must be completed either by your family physician, or at the medical facility of your choice.  Some local Urgent Care Facilities offer these services.
 
2.) All health forms must be submitted as a hard copy.  We recommend you keep a copy for your records.
 
3.) Sports Physicals are valid for 365 days.  Example: If your child got a physical on September 1, 2021, the physical is valid until August 31, 2022.
 
4.) Please carefully review ALL pages of the Sports Physical Packet for completion and signatures where needed.  Incomplete physicals will be returned and delay your child's participation.
 
5.) The laws governing sports physicals are extremely stringent. All sports physical forms must undergo an additional level of review by our district physician.  Therefore, we ask you to adhere to the following deadlines to help ensure your child's physical will be cleared in time for them to try-out and participate in a sport or intramural activity.

The deadline for submission of sports physicals is:
August 15th (Fall Sports)
October 15th (Winter Sports)
February 15th(Spring Sports)
 
Physical Forms turned in after the posted due dates are not guaranteed to be reviewed in time for the first tryout of the season.

Parent Resources

For accurate information about the Corona Virus (COVID-19), please refer to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website.
 
How to Talk to Your Child About the Corona Virus
 
Food Banks of South Jersey Pantry Locator
 
Recognizing Depression & Anxiety in Children
 
Relaxation & Meditation to Calm