Nurse’s Corner

ILLNESS POLICY

We take strong measures to prevent the spread of illness. Hand washing and sanitizing of toys and surface areas are completed multiple times per day to help prevent the spread of germs. Since no policy manual can cover every situation, SMES will update and implement new protocols whenever necessary. Pkease visit the parent handbookd for the full policy and medication guidelines, SMES Parent Handbook

If your child becomes ill, we follow the regulations as established by the CDC, Texas Health and Human Services Child Care Regulation and the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools in regards to children’s illnesses as listed below:

  1. The illness prevents the child from participating comfortably in child care center activities including outdoor play.
  2. The illness results in a greater need for care than our teachers can provide without compromising the health, safety and supervision of the other children in care.
  3. If the child has any of the following symptoms, unless evaluated by a health-care professional and released to

return or be included in the center’s activities, the child must remain home.

  1. Temporal (forehead) temperature of 100.4 degrees or greater.
  2. Signs and symptoms of illness such as lethargy, abnormal breathing, diarrhea, vomiting, body rash, behavior changes, or other signs that the child may be ill.
  3. A healthcare professional has diagnosed the child with a communicable disease, and the child does not have medical documentation to indicate that he/she is no longer contagious.

Upon the recommendations of the CDC and Texas Health and Human Services Child Care Licensing, a child will be excluded from school when any of the following conditions exist:

  • Fever or temperature of 100.4 or above
  • Cough (persistent)
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Chills
  • Headache
  • Body Aches
  • Sore Throat
  • Vomiting or Diarrhea
  • Common Cold/Runny Nose-from onset through one week.
  • Any unexplained rash
  • Skin infections
  • Conjunctivitis or eye infections
  • Any symptoms of childhood viruses such as Fifth’s Disease, Hand-Foot-Mouth, Roseola, and RSV.

Children must be fever and symptom free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications before returning to the SMES campus. We ask parents to be considerate of other children, families and SMES staff when deciding whether or not to send their child. If your child becomes ill, we will call, email or text you to pick up your child. This policy is to protect your child as well as the staff and other children in the school. If your child becomes ill with a contagious disease after attending a day at school, please let us know so that we can take the proper precautions to prevent the spread of illness.