School Nurse
A registered nurse is on duty every school day from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The nurse is available for first aid, health screening, and to promote the health and safety of the entire Murch school community. Confidentiality on all health matters is respected. The school nurse can be reached at the Health Suite phone (202) 282-0354.
Health Forms and Immunizations
The DC School Health Services Program requires that all students present certification that they are up-to-date on Immunization Requirements for the 2019-20 School Year before the first day of school.
Please submit a Universal Health Certificate and an Oral Health Assessment Form in order to complete enrollment.
A listing of free immunization clinics is available in the nurse's office. We highly recommend you keep a copy of your completed health forms for your own records.
Required Health Screenings
Children's School Services provides the following in-school screenings:
- Vision screening in the following grades: Pre-K, K (vision/muscle balance), 1, 2, 3 and 5
- Hearing screening in the following grades: K, 1, 2, 3 and 5
For a full list of the School Health Service Program’s data required per grade, click here.
Medications at School
D.C. policy requires that a DC Medication Plan Form be completed by both parent and physician before any prescription or over-the-counter medication can be administered to a child.
The District of Columbia enacted The Student Access to Treatment Act of 2007 (SATA). This law permits students enrolled to self-administer inhaled asthma medication and auto-injectable epinephrine at school, in transit to, and from school on school- sponsored transportation, and at school- sponsored activities provided they have a written authorization from their healthcare provider, have a medication action plan on file with the school, and are capable of self- administration.
If your child needs to take medication or receive a medical treatment during school hours, please have your medical provider complete the DC Medication Plan Form and submit it to the school nurse.
Chronic Illness
Parents of children with a history of any chronic illness (food allergy, asthma, etc.) that may affect school performance should contact the school nurse to develop an individual health plan.
Communicable Diseases
Parents are requested to report immediately any child's communicable illness (e.g. strep throat, chicken pox, lice, etc.) to the nurse. Children with fever, sore throat, or nausea should not come to school. Students with possible contagious eye infections, undiagnosed skin eruptions, head lice, or illness that interferes with classroom performance will be excluded from class. Parents will be notified to pick up the child. Children should be fever-free for 24 hours before returning to school. Children being treated for communicable illnesses should not return unless their healthcare providers have given written medical clearance to return. This form should be submitted to the nurse to be kept on file at the school.
Accident or Sudden Illness at School
The school nurse will contact parents to advise them in case of illness or accident. Please keep work numbers current. The school must have the number of a relative, friend, or neighbor in case parents cannot be reached. If emergency transportation is required, a student will be accompanied by a staff member if the parent is not present. If your child should develop any symptoms of the flu, such as feeling tired, cough, runny nose, sore throat and a temperature of 100 degrees or higher it is important that you keep him/her at home and contact your healthcare provider to obtain a medical evaluation.
School Health Profile Form
Following DCPS policy, Murch has completed and made publicly available the 2018-19 School Health Profile Form.
Lice Procedures
There is a new policy (implemented in 2014-15) as it relates to lice. The DC Department of Health has revised the DC Municipal Regulations, updating the requirements concerning Communicable Diseases Contracted by Students. The revisions were needed to update and align some of the treatment and school exclusion practices with current medical guidelines.
If a child is known to have head lice, and this is discovered in school, the following will happen:
- School nurse will contact the parents, so treatment can begin that afternoon/evening.
- School nurse will communicate this information to the teacher of the student.
- School designee will send home an email/letter to the rest of the students in that class.
- Students diagnosed with lice may now remain in class for the remainder of that day, and treatment should commence at the conclusion of that school day.
- The child may return to school upon submitting to the school nurse a parent or guardian note attesting to the fact that the student is undergoing treatment.
- A student with only Nits (eggs) shall not be excluded from school, however, the school nurse, principal or designee shall send a note to the parents or guardians advising them to monitor the child for re-infestation.
If a child is known to have head lice, and this is discovered outside of school, the following should happen:
- Parents, upon arrival at school after treatment is given, will submit a note to the school nurse attesting to the fact that the student is undergoing treatment. In the note, parents should specify the type of treatment being administered. This allows the school nurse to track the effectiveness of various treatment methods.
- Once this note is received, the student will be given approval by the school nurse to re-enter class.
- School nurse will communicate this information to the teacher of the student.
- School designee will send home an email/letter to the rest of the students in that class.
This chart more clearly lays out the responsibilities of all parties involved.
More Lice Information
In addition, here are some brief facts about lice. Head lice is an unfortunate fact of life in schools today, and Murch is no different. This year, the school is already aware of multiple cases of lice in multiple grades. Therefore, we want to make families aware of a few lice facts:
- Anyone can get head lice, irregardless of their gender, race, or nationality.
- Lice is not a sign of poor hygiene and are not a health hazard, but it is a common community nuisance.
- They cannot jump or fly, they crawl.
- Lice spread most easily by close contact.
- There are millions of lice infestations per year in United States.
- They are prevalent in elementary school, especially early childhood due to close head to head contact for example, slumber parties, during play at home and school, sports activities or camp.
- They live close to the scalp.
- Some people don’t experience symptoms. But those who do can experience:
- Tickling feeling on the scalp or in the hair
- Itching that is cause by the bites
- Sores on the head caused by scratching
- Irritability and difficulty sleeping as they are more at night
We ask that each Murch family do four things to help prevent the spread of lice:
- Learn about lice, treatment protocols, and the DCPS policy on lice.
- Check your child's hair regularly -- preferably daily -- so that any new cases can be caught early.
- If your child has lice, please treat it immediately and notify the school nurse immediately so that other families in your child's class can be alerted to watch for lice. (Only families in your child's class are notified, and your child is not named. Please alert families of close friends of your child and your child's siblings. Lice isn't anything to be embarrassed about, and notification can help others catch cases early.)
- Continue to treat for lice through established protocols until your child is free of nits.
These basic steps can't stop lice from coming to Murch, but they can help limit the spread of lice. That allows students and teachers to focus on learning and other families to avoid the often time-consuming process of eliminating lice.
How to Treat Lice?
If head lice are suspected, please ensure all household members and other close contacts are checked and treated, if needed!
- Try OTC medications (please follow direction) or prescribe medicine from physician (please follow orders). Treatment may have to be repeated.
- Please vacuum floor and furniture where the infested person sit and lay
- Wash bed linen and recently used clothes, hats, towels, combs, brushes, hair clips in very hot water or seal in a plastic bag for two weeks……LICE DO NOT SURVIVE VERY LONG WITHOUT A PLACE TO LIVE.
Here are some links with more information:
