January 13, 2003 Hello! "Several years ago,
Phillip Hernandez had an asthma attack at school. He did his best
to get to the office where his lifesaving medication was kept, but
by the time he got there and the secretary located his nebulizer,
which opens airways more effectively than an inhaler, it was too late.
He collapsed. Efforts to treat him and revive him failed. Phillip,
who was 11, would probably have lived if he had been carrying an inhaler,
or bronchodilator, a court later said. But the school had a zero-tolerance
drug policy forbidding children to carry drugs. What the school did
not write in its policy or tell Phillip's mother was that it made
exceptions for inhalers and other medications that doctors deemed
necessary." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/19/health/children/19ASTH.html "Asthma also accounts
for 14 million missed days of school each year. In many cases, says
Dr. Howard L. Taras, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Committee on School Health, parents keep their children who are suffering
from asthma home largely because they fear the schools will not manage
their children's disorders. Experts agree that the nation's 89,000
public schools vary widely in how they handle children with asthma." Students have health problems.
Parents have concerns about sending their children to schools where
no one knows how do help their children if there is a health problem.
What can schools do? What should schools be expected Different states have different
requirements with regards to what health services districts and schools
are required to provide. To see what your state requires, the CDC
has a table that shows "States That Require Districts or Schools
to Provide Health Services, by Type of Service" Services include: The CDC has created a plan
to help individuals and organizations work together in communities
across the country: "A coordinated school
health model consists of eight interactive components. Schools by
themselves cannot, and should not be expected to, address the nation‚s
most serious health and social problems. Families, health care workers,
the media, religious organizations, community organizations that serve
youth, and young people themselves also must be systematically involved.
However, schools could provide a critical facility in which many agencies
might work together to maintain the well-being of young people. The
following are working descriptions of the Please, take the time to
look at the answer the CDC has found. Question of the Week: Please email me with any ideas or suggestions. I look forward to reading what you have to say. Cindy |
|||
