Nurse's Notes

Sheila Eisenstadt, BSN, RN, MSW
Mitchell Elementary School Nurse
1-781-455-0870
fax 1-781-453-5606
Sheila_Eisenstadt@needham.k12.ma.us

Dear Mitchell Elementary School Families,

It has been my pleasure to serve as the School Nurse for the William Mitchell Elementary School since 2015.  I am not only an employee of Needham but also a proud resident.  My children have all attended Needham Public Schools.  I come to Nursing later in life, following a career in Social Work and as a stay at home mom so I bring skills from a variety of different experiences.  Please come visit me in the (new and improved) Mitchell Health Office. I would very much like to meet you and introduce myself to you and your children. 

For more information regarding NPS Health Services please visit:
Needham Public School Health Services

For more information regarding Forms and Policies please visit: 
Needham Public School Health Forms and Policies

New School Year  Reminders might be helpful:

The School Nurse provides the following services:

• Individualized health care planning and case management for students with special health care needs, Health and wellness promotion, Illness and injury prevention, assessment, and intervention
• Medication administration and nursing procedures
• Communicable disease prevention and control
• Mandated health screenings: Hearing and vision, Postural, Height, Weight and BMI
• Environmental health and safety
• Access to health care services and insurance
• Management of confidential student health records
• Emergency preparedness and medical response
• Communication and collaboration with students, parents/guardians, school faculty/staff, and community providers of health care and support services 
  
  

Your child must stay home from school when he/she is experiencing:

• A diagnosis of a communicable disease
• Fever greater than 100ºF within the last 24 hours and without medication
• Vomiting/diarrhea within the last 24 hours
• Acute pain that requires relief by narcotic medications
• An upper respiratory illness with persistent coughing and/or unmanageable nasal discharge 

Please contact the school nurse when:

• There’s a new medical diagnosis or change in your child’s physical, behavioral, or emotional health status including:A new allergy
• A newly prescribed medication or a change in dose of a current medication
• A serious injury, illness, condition requiring emergency treatment, hospitalization, or surgery
• A head injury or concussion
• An injury requiring sutures, casting, splints, or mobility assistance of crutches or wheelchair
• Contagious conditions such as, chicken pox, flu, strep throat, whooping cough, pneumonia, conjunctivitis, or head lice.Your child is absent for >3 days due to physical illness, injury, or mental health condition
• There’s a transitional change in your family or traumatic event that may affect your child (the birth of sibling, death of a family member or friend, family medical or mental health issues, employment, housing, move to new community, military deployment, marital or relationship status of parent, or situation of abuse or violence)
  
  

Medication Policy

The Needham Public Schools Medication Policy complies with the regulations of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

• Health Services requests that medication be administered by a parent/guardian before and after school hours, if possible.
• The school nurse is responsible for medication administered to students.
• All medications, prescriptions and over-the-counter medications, require documentation of an order by a licensed prescriber and consent by parent/guardian
• Medications must be delivered by the parent/guardian or designated adult, to the School Nurse in a pharmacy or manufacture’s labeled medication container
• Medications are not accepted in pill boxes, envelopes, or plastic bags.
• Students are not permitted to bring medication to school except for those medications that they are approved to carry and self administer.
• New medication orders are required at the start of each school year.
• All medication orders expire at the end of each school year and medications must be picked up by a parent/guardian by time of dismissal at the close of the school year.
• All medications that are not picked up by dismissal at the end of school year will be destroyed.

Sincerely,
Sheila Eisenstadt, BSN, RN, MSW
Mitchell Elementary School Nurse
1-781-455-0870 and fax 1-781-453-5606