The school nurse and health office at DCS work to protect and promote student health, facilitate development, and advance academic success.
The health office is open during normal school hours, and the school nurses are on premises at all times to assist students with any health issues that may arise. Your child’s health and safety is our most valued concern.
Please contact our office via phone or email to notify us of any health concerns or questions so we may provide the best possible care to your child. If we are with a student when you call or it is during non-school hours, we will get back to you soon.
DCS School Nurses
Bonnie Heisey, RN: [email protected]
Patricia O’Brien-Favorite, RN: [email protected]
DCS Health Office
Phone number: 603-463-3107 (or 603-463-7422, ext. 107)
Fax number: 603-463-2839
Absent or Tardy email:
General Paperwork
General paperwork will go home with your student the first week of school. Please fill out the forms and return them ASAP so that we may administer over-the-counter medicines with your written permission.
Please renew All Forms for the New School Year! All MD orders and parental permission forms must be renewed each school year (effective July 1 to June 30). This means that if your child had MD orders and parental permission for the health office to administer an Rx (or OTC) medication when they were in 5th grade, and they will continue to require medicine in 6th grade, then we will need updated forms to continue to administer meds. Forms are available on this page for your convenience.
Over-the-Counter Medications
The health office supplies tablets, liquid and chewable forms of acetaminophen and ibuprofen. If your child requires another OTC medicine (cough or allergy medicine, cough drops or lozenges), please provide the medicine in its original container with written approval by a parent/guardian to the health office so that we may give them as needed.
The same applies for insect repellent or sunscreen. You may bring them in to a teacher or our office with written permission for one of the staff members to apply during the school day.
Prescription Medications
For any prescription medication your child needs to take during the school day, follow the same protocol as outlined for OTC meds, but please also provide primary care physician (PCP) authorization (order and signature) for our office to keep on file.
Please do not send any meds (OTC or Rx) in with your child as they are not allowed to transport medicine of any kind. Bring the medication in and meet with one of the nurses to be sure we have the proper paperwork on file. Once we receive written authorization from a PCP and a parent, students who require Epi pens, inhalers, etc. will be permitted to carry them throughout the day.
All medications need to be in original containers and not yet expired. A parent or guardian may pick them up during the last week of school.
Physical Exams and Immunizations
Please obtain a copy of student’s latest physical examination and any immunizations at each regular visit to PCP office. This information, which includes allergies, physical assessment, restrictions, medications, etc., is helpful to the health office. Any student who plays sports must have a copy of the physical exam on file within the past two years. Please note: A medical or religious notarized exemption form must be on file for those students who opt out of the New Hampshire required immunization schedule.
Annual Screenings
Each year the health office performs the following screenings:
Vision and Hearing, grades K-5 (grades 1/3/5 vision screened by Dr. Susan Fischer).
Dental hygiene (with permission), grades K-5.
Blood pressure, grade 5.
Heights and weights, K-8.
When Should I Keep My Child Home?
Students must remain out of school if they present with any of the following symptoms:
- A temperature of 100°F or higher. Students must stay home for a minimum of 24 hours until their temperature returns to normal without the use of fever-reducing medicines.
- Diarrhea and/or vomiting within the last 24 hours.
- Persistent upset stomach or headache.
- Sore throat with fever and/or swollen glands. Wait for throat culture results before sending the student back to school. Positive results require antibiotic treatment for 24 hours before returning to school.
- Rash of unknown origin.
- Red, itchy, painful eyes.
- Known head lice. Live lice require immediate treatment, after which student may return for the remainder of the treatment regimen.
- Any confirmed communicable disease/condition: influenza, mononucleosis, staph infection, etc.