Mission: To enhance learning by promoting health, wellness and safety through advocacy, collaboration and education.

Health Services serves the health needs of all students and staff for Douglas County School District. Health Services consists of nurses who cover assigned schools and various sub-areas.

Assignments include the elementary and secondary schools, charter schools, preschools, Before and After Care Programs, Intercession Programs, summer sessions, Child Find and Homebound Education. Health Services is also responsible for the Medicaid Reimbursement Program and the Health Education Grant. Health Services coordinates the vision and hearing screenings along with the District Audiology department. The coordinator of Health Services coordinates the District Crisis Response Team.

Nurse Consultants Role

Nurses in Douglas County function as Nurse Consultants. Nurses are responsible for the safety of all students so they are available for optimal learning. The nurse trains school personnel in each building to implement a plan of action to insure the safety of the students. At least one person in each building is Red Cross CPR and First Aid trained and carries a current certificate. Some students come to school with already identified health issues. These health issues are reported to the school on a form completed by the parents at the time of student registration. For more complex medical issues there may be an Individual Health Plan written specifically for a student and school personnel would be instructed by the nurse to implement the Health Care Plan.

Special Education/Plans

The nurse is also an integral part of the Special Education Team and is responsible for a portion of the IEP that pertains to the student's health. She attends school Special Education Team meetings as often as possible and also attends the Individual Education Plan meetings of students with complex health issues to insure the implementation of necessary accommodations for students with health needs. The nurse also works individually with personnel trained to work with students identified as having complex medical needs and delegates certain nursing functions to school personnel in accordance with the Colorado Nurse Practice Act.

The nurse also is responsible for students who need a plan written in accordance with Section 504 or the Americans with Disabilities Act for a medical reason and also for students needing Home/Hospital education.

Health Assistants Role At Individual Schools

As there is not a nurse present in every school building, nurses provide general safety plans involving first aid training and the care of sick children who come to the classroom teacher or office staff with a health need. The office staff is supplied with a Health Guidelines Manual that specifies actions in the instance of various medical situations. Schools have an identified person who is called the Health Assistant who carries out the medical duties for a limited time during the day.

The rest of the day the office staff fills this role. The health assistants and office staff are trained directly by the nurse responsible for the individual school. In addition Health Services provides an all day training session in the Spring and the Fall for Health Assistants at which various topics are covered. A Health Assistant may or may not have a background in medical issues. Most do not.