Health Room
Information About Student Health and Forms Applicable to Students Requiring Medication
Phone Number
Staff
- Fatima Chughtai, BSN, RN | Public Health Nurse | @email | 571-460-6773
- Stacy Cappellari | School Health Aide | @email
Student Health at Greenbriar West ES
Fairfax County Health Department and FCPS have a rather strict set of expectations for the operation of school health rooms. Please do not send your child to school sick. The Health Department recommends that students be free of fever, vomiting or diarrhea for 24 hours (without medication) before returning to school. These guidelines are in place to ensure that all students remain healthy.
The purpose of the school health room is to assess student injury or illness and determine if a child is well enough to stay in school. In order to preserve instructional time for students, teachers are also empowered to manage minor health-related complaints in the classroom. If a student becomes ill or injured during the school day, the school health aide will contact parents and ask that they come to school as soon as possible to pick up their child.
Health Information Form
The Health Information Form is to be completed by the parent or guardian at the start of each school year. The completed form is to be returned to the school health room.
Prescription Medications
The school is not permitted to administer any medications unless a parent has filled out a Medical Permission Form that may be obtained in the school office/health room or on the FCPS web site. Students who are required to take medication for more than ten days must have the Medical Permission Form signed by their physician. Parents are required to bring any medications to school in the original container labeled by the physician or pharmacy. Any questions about medication should be directed to the school Health Aide at 703-633-6710.
Children who need to take medication during school hours must have a signed Medication Authorization, Release, and Indemnification Form. Prescription medications require the signature of both the parent and the physician. Inhalers and EpiPens require authorization forms.
Over-the-counter Medications
Over-the-counter (OTC) medications are drugs that can be purchased without a doctor's prescription and are used for the relief of symptoms on a temporary basis. With parent and physician authorization, OTC medications may be given on an "as needed" basis throughout the school year. Parents may authorize limited use for 10 consecutive days with a completed Medication Authorization Form. Examples include antihistamines for allergic reactions.
With parent permission using the Medication Authorization Form, certain OTC medications may be given on an "as needed" basis throughout the school year only as a pain reliever for headaches, muscle aches, menstrual cramps, or orthodontic pain. The medication must be supplied by the parent in its original container. Examples include Tylenol, Advil, Pamprin, and aspirin.
Transport of Medications to and from School
Parents must transport medications to and from school. All medications must be kept in the health room and taken under adult supervision. Middle school children are not permitted to carry medications, including OTC medications, except for prescription inhalers or EpiPens with the authorization of their parent(s) and physician.
Scheduling Medical Appointments
Please make every effort to schedule appointments outside of school hours. When this is not possible, please send a note to the school on the morning of the appointment stating the time the child will be picked up. Children should have appointment notes sent to the attendance secretary at the start of the school day. For safety reasons, parents must sign come into the school front office to sign out children in the office.
Release of Student from School
Only those individuals designated on the Emergency Care Information form will be contacted either to excuse or take your student home. If the health room contacts you to excuse your student from school, the health room must have voice contact with the responsible adult to dismiss the student from school grounds. In an emergency, 911 will be called prior to contacting the parent.