Medication Administration at School

Medication Administration at School Information for Parents

What you need to know.  Medication safety is an absolute priority for us.  Each day at Perkins we administer between 850 and 1000 doses of medication. To do so safely we must pay close attention to details and keep strict safeguards. We ask parents to assist us in maintaining these safeguard.  We are required to comply with a variety of rules and regulations determined by the Massachusetts Departments of Public Health, Elementary and Secondary Education and Early Education and Care. Many of our practices and safeguards are based on the required rules and regulations.

Medication Administration.  Perkins Nursing Staff trains and delegates medication administration to the cottage Coordinators of Residential Living (CRL’S) and the Assistant Coordinators of Residential Living (ACRL’S).  Additional teaching and teaching assistant staff are trained in student specific rescue medications such as Epi-Pens, Diastat, and Inhalers.  All medications, whether new, refills, prescription or over-the-counter are checked by nurse when they arrive on campus.

Parent/Guardian Consents to Administer Medications.  Consents for medication administration are included in the initial and annual registration packets.  Additional specific written consents are requested annually for Diastat and anti-psychotic medications.  The Perkins physicians or nurse practitioner will contact parents anytime a child is sick and new medications are prescribed.

Written Orders from the Health Care Provider.  Perkins must have a written order from the prescribing Health Care Provider in order to administer the medication. This includes over-the-counter and prescription medications whether regular or only given when needed.  All medications orders must be reviewed and resigned by the prescribing health care provider at least annually.  Written orders are also required for medication changes and discontinuation.  The Health Care Providers can be the child’s physician, nurse practitioner, dentist, podiatrist, optometrist, or any other provider with prescriptive authority in Massachusetts.

Medication Packaging.  Prescription medications must be in the original pharmacy bottle or blister pack with the correct label and instructions.  Medications cannot be transferred from bottle to bottle.  We can never administer a medication that is in a bottle without a legible label or a medication in a bottle with a label that belongs to a different medication.  If you need an extra bottle of a medication for school you can ask the pharmacy to package the medication in two bottles, one for home and one for school. Perkins School for the Blind | Health Services Policies 1 Revised 12/20/13  Over-the-counter medications must be in the original box or bottle. When sending in a new over-the-counter medication it should be an unopened box or bottle. Please do not refill empty bottles with medication.  Some examples of medications that require extra security including regular counting are Ativan (lorazepam), Valium (diazepam), Diastat (rectal diazepam), Klonopin, (clonazepam), Onfi (clobazam), Xanax (alprazolam), Ritalin (methylphenidate), Focalin (demethylphenidate), Concerta (methylphenidate sustained release), and Phenobarbital.  Medications that require counting are best packaged by the pharmacy in a blister pack and not a bottle to make the daily counting easier and safer, please ask your pharmacist about this.  If your child only requires a prescription medication on a rare or infrequent occasion it is best to only send in a small amount (6 or less pills); this is especially helpful for the medications that require daily counts.

Sending Medications to and from School.  Medications must be delivered by responsible adult and hand delivered to a medication staff member who is cleared to handle and administer medications.  All medications are sent home with each home visit.  If medications are not sent back to school with the student we will contact the parent and to either bring the medications to school, mail by overnight delivery or arrange for them to be available at a local pharmacy. It is our goal to avoid having a student miss a dose of medication. All related expenses are the parent’s responsibility.

Pharmacy Options for Residential Students.  Parents have a choice of managing medications and sending new prescriptions and refills to Perkins or having Perkins obtain medications from the pharmacy we use.  If medications are obtained by mail order they should be sent to directly to Perkins to the attention of Health Services.  The pharmacy that we have arrangements with and daily deliveries from is Pelham Community Pharmacy.  All costs for medications including co-pays and charges for medications not covered by insurance are the responsibility of the parent.

Medications Kept in Stock.  Health Services keeps a few commonly used over-the-counter medications in stock for student use on an as needed basis. If the student takes one of these medications regularly parents should provide it.  These include Tylenol (acetaminophen), Motrin (ibuprofen), Benadryl (diphenhydramine), Vaseline, and Aquaphor.

Final Comments.  If you have not sent in your child’s medications or if they have been sent in without the proper label and orders we may ask you to either take your child home or to administer the medications yourself until the concerns are resolved.  Safe and correct medication administration requires the attention of many Perkins staff and parents. We hope that you will help us to maintain the safeguards we have in place and appreciate your attention to the details. We appreciate your cooperation and assistance in ensuring medication safety at school for your child.  Please feel free to contact Health Services staff with questions or concerns about medication.

Perkins School for the Blind | Health Services Policies 3 Revised 12/20/13