HEALTH SERVICES
District Nurse: Kristie Barber - kbarber@gisu.org
The School Nurse Leader and Health Assistants are responsible for planning and implementing health services within each school. The School Nurse Leader is the supervising Registered Nurse in the District and is responsible for supervising each Health Office in all five schools throughout the Islands.
There are a wide variety of tasks that staff in the Health Office performs throughout the school year. Vision and hearing screenings are performed once per year for students in grades Pre-K, Kindergarten, First, Third, and Fifth with a final vision screening performed for all Seventh grade students. Health Office staff are also responsible for maintaining immunization and health records, treating ill and injured students and staff, dispensing medications to students as prescribed, and helping students ad their parents manage chronic illnesses or significant medical conditions at school. In the middle of the year, the Health Office team is also responsible for reporting immunization and asthma data to the State of Vermont as required.
It is our goal in each Health Office to maintain a safe and nurturing environment for all students and staff! Thank you in advance to the families in our community for your cooperation in helping us achieve this goal.
This district and school board support the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommendations for an annual comprehensive well care visit to the medical home (primary care provider).
Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT or Children’s Medicaid) is a comprehensive and preventive healthcare program for children and youth (up to 21 years of age) receiving Medicaid benefits [link below]. Through EPSDT, children receive health screenings, as well as medically necessary diagnostic and treatment services for identified conditions. One of the EPSDT program objectives is to ensure that children receive appropriate health services and that their full learning potential is not threatened by poor health. • Recommend that all children have a dental home. Primary care physicians or health providers recommend, based on oral health risk assessments, refer to the dentist, as early as six months of age and no later than 12 months of age. (AAPD, 2018)