Health Services

The decision to immunize your child is a critical one, because vaccines are the single most effective protection against diseases that threaten our children. If you choose not to immunize your child, it’s not only a risk for your child, but for other children in the community. By maintaining our current level of immunity we are still able to hinder infectious diseases. When there are children in the community who are not immunized they are able to pass on viruses and bacteria from person to person, school to school, and from home to home.

Because of the effectiveness of modern vaccines and the increase of “community immunity,” we as a society have become complacent of the fact that diseases like polio, diphtheria, and mumps still exist in the world today. But in fact they do – and thousands of children suffer needlessly every year because they of these diseases. Because immunization efforts in the United States have been enormously successful, we have been able to prevent deadly epidemics that have plagued us in the past. However, we must keep in mind that most of these deadly diseases are only a plane ride away, and are being brought into this country on a daily basis by world travelers and immigrants.

Regular checkups with your child’s physician are an important way to keep your child healthy and to learn about new vaccines that are increasingly becoming available.  If you don’t have a family physician or pediatrician, call Carver County Public Health (952) 361-1329. Public health has immunizations available for low or no cost.

District 112 participates in No Shots, No School initiative.  What this means is that students who are not up to date on their immunizations will not be allowed to start school until they receive the proper booster shots and provide the school with documentation of these vaccines. Parents may choose to decline immunizations for their child by getting a legal exemption from Minnesota school law for medical reasons or conscientiously held beliefs.  A form must be on file at the school.

The district also participates in MIIC (Minnesota Immunization Information Connection), a statewide registry for immunizations. This secured system allows clinics, physician’s offices and schools to share immunization data. Please call your school nurse if you have any questions.

• Early Childhood: All early child care and early childhood programs require children to be immunized with DTaP, polio, MMR, varicella (or physician documentation of chickenpox disease), pneumococcal, Hib, Hepatitis A, and Hepatitis B shots. A child care or early childhood program provider can refuse to admit your child if he or she does not have documentation of either the shots or legal exemption.

• Kindergarten: Minnesota law requires all children entering into kindergarten to show proof of completed vaccination series for DTaP, MMR, Polio, Hepatitis B, and Varicella vaccine (or physician documentation of the chickenpox disease).

• 7th grade: All students must show proof of completion of previous immunizations. State law also requires proof of the Tdap (tetanus-diphtheria- acellular pertussis) booster vaccine and meningococcal (Meningitis).
• 12th grade: All students must show proof of Meningococcal ACWY (or MCV-4) at/after age 16.

Students in all other grades must follow the same immunization laws for kindergarten and 7th grades.

Immunization Record

Immunization Record (Spanish)

Early Childhood Immunization Record

Non-Prescription Medication (over the counter)Any student that will take a non-prescription medication during school hours must have a medication authorization form filled out and signed by the parent/guardian prior to medication dispension. Be sure to include child’s name, name of medication, amount to be taken, and time to be given.  Non-prescription medications must be in the original manufacturer’s container.

Prescription MedicationPrescription medications need a physician’s signature and parent signature prior to medication dispension. All medications must be sent to school in the original pharmacy container with the student’s name printed on the label as well as the medication and dosage to be administered.

Self-Carry Medications

If your child carries an asthma inhaler or Epi-pen with him/her (in backpack, pocket, desk, or locker), a written permission form, including student, parent, and physician signature, must be kept on file in the health office.  The ability to self-carry is a privilege, and may be revoked if the student cannot safely self-carry or self-administer the medication

All medications must be brought to the health office before school begins in the morning.

The district follows the Hennepin County Infectious Diseases in Childcare Settings and Schools guidelines when determining if a student is able to attend school. If your child has a fever, with a cough and/or sore throat, please call or email your school's attendance line.

• Oral temperature of 100° F or higher. The student should not return to school until fever free (without medication) for 24 hours.
• Vomiting or diarrhea. Child has vomited two or more times in the previous 24 hours. Exclude for 24 hours after last episode of vomiting, unless it is determined to be caused by a noncommunicable condition and the child is not in danger of dehydration. Diarrhea is defined as an increased number of stools compared with a child's normal pattern, along with decreased stool form and/or stools that are watery, bloody, or contain mucus. Exclude until 24 hours after diarrhea stops or follow specific disease exclusion if the pathogen is known; or until a medical exam indicates that it is not due to a communicable disease. 

• Rashes may be caused by many different conditions including illness, allergies or specific skin conditions. The student should not return to school until a medical evaluation indicates the symptoms are not communicable.

• Signs/Symptoms of Possible Severe Illness: Uncontrolled coughing, difficulty breathing, wheezing, unusually tired, persisted crying, unusual color (e.g. jaundice). The student may return after symptoms dissipate and/or medical evaluation determines the student is healthy and/or not communicable.

Specific Disease ExcluSion Criteria
(Hennepin County Infectious Diseases in Childcare settings and schools

Asthma is a disease that affects your lungs.  It causes repeated episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and nighttime or early morning coughing.  Asthma can be controlled by taking medicine and avoiding triggers that cause an attack.  You must also remove the triggers in your environment that can make your asthma worse.

• One in 16 children (6.4%) and one in 13 adults (7.4%) currently have asthma, adding up to around 393,000 Minnesotans who have asthma.
• An estimated one in 10 middle and high school students (grades 6-12) (10.6%) in Minnesota currently have asthma.
• In 2014, there were 21,800 emergency department visits and 3,400 hospitalizations for asthma across Minnesota.
• American Indian and African American middle/high school students are more likely than other students to have been diagnosed with asthma.
• In 2014, asthma cost an estimated $669.3 million, including $614.9 million in direct medical expenses and $54.3 million in lost work days.

Asthma Action Plan

Prescription Medication Consent Form

Videos: How to use your inhaler (including with spacer)  Spanish version available

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose levels are above normal.  Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy.  The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies.  When you have diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t sue its own insulin as well as it should.  This causes sugar to build up in our blood.  Diabetes can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations.

Diabetes is a growing problem in Minnesota.  In 2015, 7.6% of Minnesota adults (about 320,000) had been diagnosed with diabetes (type 1 or 2).  Type 1 often starts in childhood, but adults can develop it when the pancreas stops making insulin.  Type 2 develops when the pancreas slows down its production of insulin or the body cannot use the insulin. About 95 percent of all diabetes cases are type 2, most cases among adults.

Diabetes Action Plan

What is Epilepsy?

Epilepsy, which may be called a seizure disorder, is a neurological disorder that causes people to have recurrent seizures. A seizure is a brief disruption of electrical activity in the brain.

• Epilepsy is not contagious.
• Epilepsy is not mental illness.
• Epilepsy is not a mental impairment.

Who has Epilepsy?

Approximately 3 million Americans have epilepsy, and over 150,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year. Over 60,000 Minnesotans have epilepsy. Approximately, 1 in 26 people will develop epilepsy at some point in their lives. Epilepsy doesn’t discriminate. It affects children and adults, men and women, and people of all races, religions, ethnic backgrounds, and social classes. While epilepsy is most often diagnosed either in childhood or after the age of 65, it can occur at any age.

How is Epilepsy Diagnosed?

 Patient history, neurological examination, blood work and other clinical tests are all important in diagnosing epilepsy. Eyewitness accounts of a patient’s seizures may also be important in helping the physician determine the type of seizures involved. The electroencephalograph (EEG) is the most commonly used test in the diagnosing epilepsy. An EEG provides a continuous recording of electrical activity in the brain during the test. Some patterns of activity are unique to particular forms of seizures. In some situations, physicians may also use CT scans, MRIs and PET scans to look at the internal structure and function of the brain. These tests may help pinpoint causes of seizures.

What Causes Epilepsy?

 In 70% of epilepsy cases, the cause is unknown. Potential causes of epilepsy include:

• Infections and maternal injury
• Stroke
• Brain malformation
• Head trauma

How to Handle a Seizure

• Stay calm.
• Track the time.
• Direct the person away from hazards or remove objects that may present a danger.
• If the person is having a convulsive seizure, turn them on their side and cushion their head.
• Remove glasses and loosen tight clothing.
• Do NOT put anything in the mouth. Do NOT restrain.
• Remain present until the person regains conscious awareness of their surroundings.
• Follow the individual’s seizure action plan, if available.

When to Call 911
Most seizures are not medical emergencies, but an ambulance should be called if:

• The seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes or a second seizure starts shortly after the first ended.
• The person does not resume normal breathing after the seizure ends.
• There is no medical ID and no known history of seizures.
• There is an obvious injury.
• The person is pregnant or has diabetes.
• The seizure happens in water.
• The person requests an ambulance.
• When these medical conditions exist: brain infection, heat exhaustion, poisoning, hypoglycemia, high fever and head injury.

How Is Epilepsy Treated?

• Medication: Most people achieve good seizure control on one or more of the variety of medications currently approved for the treatment of epilepsy.
• Surgery: Several types of surgery may be used for patients whose seizures do not respond to medication. The most common are lobectomy and cortical resection. These may be used when a seizure focus can be determined and removal of all or part of the affected lobe of the brain can be performed without damage to vital functions.
• Vagus Nerve Stimulation: A small pacemaker-like device is implanted in the left chest wall with a lead attached to the vagus nerve. The device is then programmed to deliver electrical stimulation to the brain at regular intervals. Up to two-thirds of patients whose seizures do not respond adequately to medication see improvement with this method.
• Ketogenic Diet: Used primarily in children, this medically-supervised high fat, low carbohydrate, low protein diet has been shown to benefit as many as two-thirds of the children who can maintain it.

Types of Seizures

Seizures can take many different forms, often not resembling the convulsions that most people associate with epilepsy. Common types of seizures include:

• Generalized Tonic Clonic (Grand Mal): Convulsions, muscle rigidity, jerking.
• Absence (Petit Mal): Blank stare lasting only a few seconds, sometimes accompanied by blinking or chewing motions.
• Complex Partial (Psychomotor/Temporal Lobe): Random activity where the person is out of touch with their surroundings.
• Simple Partial: Jerking in one or more parts of the body or sensory distortions that may or may not be obvious to onlookers.
• Atonic (Drop Attacks): Sudden collapse with recovery within a minute.
• Myoclonic: Sudden, brief, massive jerks involving all or part of the body.

For more information and resources please visit efmn.org

Seizure Action Plan

A food allergy occurs when the body has a specific and reproducible immune response to certain foods.  The body’s immune response can be severe and life threatening, such as anaphylaxis.  Although the immune system normally protects people from germs, in people with food allergies, the immune system mistakenly responds to food as if it were harmful.

Eight foods or food groups account for 90% of serious allergic reactions in the United States: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts.  Food allergies affect an estimated 4%-6% of children in the United States.

Allergy Action Plan

Life Threatening Allergies Policy #551

Special Dietary Statement for Children with a Disability

USDA Smart Snacks Guidelines

Safe Snack Guide

In accordance with FERPA and Minnesota Data Practices, when illness or health issues arise, a general notification will occur.  Our schools may not release specific names or details (including affected classrooms) about the situation unless it is a reportable disease according to the MN Disease Reporting Rules 4605.7000 to 4605.7900. We will provide, in cooperation and collaboration with Carver County Public Health and the Minnesota Department of Health, health information about general health and conditions to prevent and promote health in our schools.

Click on the name of the illness to view the parent fact sheet:

Bronchitis

Chickenpox       (Hmong)     (Somali)     (Spanish)

Croup

Fifth Disease

Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

Head Lice     (Somali)     (Spanish)

Impetigo     (Hmong)     (Somali)     (Spanish)

Molluscum

Mononucleosis

Norovirus     (Somali)     (Spanish)

Pertussis     (Somali)     (Spanish)

Pink Eye     (Hmong)     (Somali)     (Spanish)

Pinworms

Pneumonia

Ringworm     (Somali)     (Spanish)

Shingles (Zoster)

Strep Throat/Scarlet Fever     (Hmong)     (Somali)     (Spanish)