From the School Nurse

Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year! I am Jennifer Robinson, and I serve as your child's School Nurse. I have been a Richland One School Nurse for nearly 13 years and I really love what I do. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions you have regarding school safety or your child's health. I look forward to partnering with you to ensure that your child has a successful year. Please take time to review the important information outlined below.

Your child will bring home a Confidential Health Questionnaire on the first day of school (printed on pink paper). Please complete both sides of the form and return it the next day. It is very important that I receive this as soon as possible so I can keep your child safe while he or she is in our care.

Please remember to let me know if your contact information changes throughout the year, as I MUST be able to reach you during the school day in case of an emergency. This is very important!

In an effort to help protect well individuals from unnecessary exposure to contagious or infectious diseases, the South Carolina Department of Public Health (SC DPH) requires that students and staff with certain illnesses and conditions be excluded from school or childcare while contagious. SC DPH publishes and regularly updates a School and Childcare Exclusion List. This list explains how long ill students and staff must stay out of school or childcare, as well as what documentation needs to be provided when they return.

On the first day of school, your child will bring home a parent brochure that summarizes the important information from this list. Please keep it handy throughout the year and refer to it as necessary. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

To attend school in South Carolina, children must be up-to-date on required immunizations. Non-compliance will result in exclusion from school. Please be sure your child's immunization records have been submitted. If you need help getting your child vaccinated, let me know.

Medical and Religious exemptions are the only available immunization exemptions in South Carolina. Please note:

• Only an individual licensed to practice medicine, surgery, or osteopathy or his/her representative may issue a certificate of medical exemption to immunization.
• A certificate of religious exemption must be obtained in person, directly from SC DPH. Copies of certificates found online are not valid and will not be accepted. Certificates of religious exemption must be notarized.
• If there is an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease (such as measles or chicken pox) and your child has not been vaccinated against that disease, he or she may have to be excluded from school until it is determined that it is safe to return. SC DPH exclusion guidelines will be followed.

Vision and hearing screening will be offered to all students this Fall. Screening requires a signed consent form that will come home with your child on the first day of school. Please sign and return it as soon as possible! Once screening is complete, I will contact you if further examination is required.

Please allow your child to participate in school health screenings. This is when we usually discover issues that may be keeping students from doing their best in the classroom, both academically and behaviorally. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Please contact me if your child requires medication at school. All medication must be provided in its original, properly-labeled container. Emergency medications (such as asthma inhalers, EpiPens, and seizure medication) should be brought in on the first day of school.

Students may not transport any medication to or from school; this must be done by an adult.

Medication permission forms can be found by clicking on the links below. Each medication requires a separate permission form. Likewise, each student requires his or her own form. The forms below are the only ones that will be accepted; I am not able to follow medication orders written on forms created by health care providers or other school districts.

Prescription medications are prescribed by a licensed health care provider to a specific patient for a specific reason. Prescription medication forms must be filled out completely. The prescribing provider must complete and sign the form before the parent signs it.

Non-prescription (over-the-counter) medications can be purchased at most stores or pharmacies; they require parental permission to be administered in the school setting. Non-prescription medication will be administered by the School Nurse according to package instructions only; parents requesting any modification to package instructions must obtain a prescription medication form signed by their child's health care provider. All non-prescription medications must be provided by a parent or guardian; the school does not stock medication for general use.

Throughout the school year, I work intently with Healthy Learners. This organization was created to address fixable health care challenges, and its mission aligns perfectly with the role of a School Nurse. Healthy Learners addresses identified barriers to learning head-on and serves as a catalyst to ensure each child receives the health care needed to thrive in school. A healthier school community benefits every student in the classroom!

Students are referred to Healthy Learners for various reasons, including:

• Assistance with the Medicaid application process
• Transportation to and from appointments
• Access to health care, vision care, dental care, hearing care, asthma care, mental health, and behavioral health

Healthy Learners employees serve in love and act as strong advocates for our students. Each embodies the core values of the organization: compassion, courage, respect, justice, and collaboration.

If you think Healthy Learners can help your family, please let me know!

** Spanish-speaking employees are available

I often have parents, grandparents, community members, former staff, etc. ask me what I need in the health room. Our Bobcat community is so great!

Here are some items I could use at this time:

• Kleenex
• Cleaning wipes (Lysol, Clorox, etc.)
• Baby wipes (sensitive skin/fragrance-free)

Please visit the "News from the Nurse" page on the A.C. Moore website for additional information throughout the school year. From there, you can download and print important forms. You will also find many other helpful links and tools!

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. I am here for you!

Jennifer Robinson, MBA, BSN, RN

Phone: 803-929-3886

Email: jennifer.robinson2@richlandone.org

Fax: 803-929-3882