Health Services

D60 Health Services follows the Infectious Disease Guidelines for Schools and Child Care Settings created by the Communicable Disease Branch of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. School RNs provide guidance to school administration following the How sick is too sick? Document

Colorado law requires all students attending Colorado schools and licensed childcare centers to be vaccinated against certain diseases unless a medical or non-medical exemption is filed.

For information about vaccine requirements, resources and exemptions, visit the Colorado Department of Public Health_School-Required Vaccines page

D60 Immunization Page

Hearing and vision screenings are conducted for students in their schools according to the Colorado Department of Education Vision Screening Guidelines and Hearing Screening Guidelines. These guidelines indicate that students in kindergarten, first, second, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth grades, and students with exceptional needs receive vision and hearing screening.

There is an important connection between a student's academic achievement and their vision and hearing. Parents are encouraged to observe their student and seek a medical evaluation for changing or significant concerns.

2025-26 Hearing & Vision Screening Schedule

Parents have primary responsibility for the health of their children.  This includes administration of medications.  Parents are encouraged to schedule medications to be given before or after school when possible. Medication administration at the school must follow the regulations set by the state of Colorado.

Medications brought to the school are kept in the Health Office for the safety of all students; at the middle and high school level, students may carry certain medications if a contract is completed with the school registered nurse consultant and parent/guardian. 

Medications include all prescription or over the counter medication (all pills, syrups, injections, inhalers, epipens, creams, sprays, eye drops, cough drops, sunscreen, etc.). Medications may not be expired.

Families must provide a Medication Authorization Form, completed and signed by their healthcare provider if their student has a condition that requires the administration of any medication during the school day. This includes over-the-counter and prescription medications. 

Families will provide medication in the original packaged or prescription container that has not expired with the signed Medication Authorization Form below. Non-prescription/over-the-counter medications must be in the original packaging and labeled with the student’s name. Medication must be delivered to the school by the parent/guardian to be logged in with a signature required. Once received, a nurse may delegate administration of a prescription or over-the-counter medication, based on the health care provider's order. Provider orders expire at the end of every school year.

Pueblo D60 Medication Authorization Form 

D60 Medication Policies: JLCD, JLCD-R

Download and print the Medication Authorization form to take to your student's health care provider. Return completed medication authorization form(s) signed by both a parent/guardian AND a health care provider to the health office at your student's school. A separate form is required for each medication.

Allergies are among the most common chronic conditions worldwide. Symptoms of allergies range from a runny nose and itchy eyes to life-threatening reactions. An allergic reaction begins in the immune system. Our immune system protects us from invading organisms that can cause illness. If you have an allergy, your immune system mistakes an otherwise harmless substance, called an allergen, for an invader. 

An allergic reaction typically triggers symptoms in the nose, lungs, throat, sinuses, ears, lining of the stomach or on the skin. For some people, allergies can also trigger symptoms of asthma. In the most serious cases, a life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis can occur.

A number of different allergens are responsible for allergic reactions. The most common include pollen, dust, food, insect stings, animal dander, mold, medications and latex.

For the safety of all students with severe allergies, the health office requests a signed health care plan from your health care provider along with prescribed medication (epinephrine and/or antihistamine) for school use.  In extreme cases, middle and high school students who have proficient knowledge of anaphylaxis may “self-carry” epinephrine with a signed health care plan from the healthcare provider, parent/guardian, and the approval of a school nurse.  A second dose of epinephrine is requested to be stored in the health office. 

Allergy and Anaphylaxis Action Plan and Medication Orders

• Colorado Allergy and Anaphylaxis Emergency Care Plan and Medication Orders - Colorado Approved Plan
• Asthma/Allergy Self Carry Contract - English and Spanish (DOC)

Food Allergies and Special Dietary Needs

With a food allergy, the immune system overreacts to a particular protein found in that food.  Many food allergies are diagnosed in young children, though allergies may also appear in older children and adults. There’s no cure for food allergies. However, many children outgrow food allergies. Allergic reactions usually occur within a few minutes of eating the trigger food, though reactions can sometimes appear a few hours later.  The eight foods responsible for causing most allergic reactions include cow’s milk, eggs, fish, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts and wheat.

Some symptoms of intolerance and allergies are similar, but the differences between the two conditions are important. If you have a food intolerance, eating the food can leave you feeling miserable. With a true food allergy, your body’s reaction to that food could be life-threatening. Common symptoms include stuffy or itchy nose, sneezing, or itchy, teary eyes; vomiting, stomach cramps, or diarrhea; hives or red, itchy skin.  Symptoms of a life-threatening reaction include hives, throat swelling ("closing") and difficulty breathing.

                                      Source: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

The Medical Statement for Meal Modification Form must be completed by a recognized medical authority and returned to your School Nurse at the site your student attends in order for meal substitutions/accommodations to be evaluated and provided.

Medical Statement for Meal Modification

For the safety of all students with asthma, the health office requests a signed asthma medication authorization/health care plan from your student's healthcare provider along with a prescribed inhaler with a pharmacy label for school use. 

Medications brought to the school are kept in the Health Office for the safety of all students; at the middle and high school level, students may carry certain medications if a contract is completed with the school registered nurse consultant and parent/guardian. However, a second inhaler is requested to be stored in the health office.  

Colorado Asthma Action Plan/Medication Authorization

Asthma/Allergy Self Carry Contract - English and Spanish (DOC)

For the safety of all students with Type 1 Diabetes, a health care plan signed by a health care provider is required in order to provide related care at school.  All standards and templates for orders and health care plans related to the care of students with diabetes can be found at:

COLORADO KIDS WITH DIABETES

General Information about Diabetes

When you eat food, the body breaks down all of the sugars and starches into glucose, which is the basic fuel for the cells in the body.  Insulin is necessary to bring glucose into the cells to make energy.  There are two main types of diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes:

• The body does not produce insulin because the cells in the pancreas that make insulin have been destroyed. 
• Requires insulin injections to use the glucose from their food.
• Usually diagnosed in children and young adults and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. Only 5% of people with diabetes have this form of the disease.
• With the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, even young children with type 1 diabetes can learn to manage their condition and live long, healthy, happy lives.

Type 2 diabetes:

• Happens because the body does not produce enough insulin OR the body’s cells ignore the insulin (insulin resistance).

• May be managed with life-style changes, such as diet and exercise

• Some people may also need oral medication or insulin injections to help their bodies use glucose for energy. 

Risks of diabetes:

Diabetes increases the risk for many serious health problems, but with the correct treatment and recommended lifestyle changes, many people with diabetes are able to prevent or delay the onset of complications. Long-term complications of unmanaged diabetes may include problems with the eyes (glaucoma, cataracts), feet (neuropathy, numbness), skin (infections) and increased risk for heart disease (high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke) or kidney disease. 

Source: American Diabetes Association Website  

D60 Meal Menus    ⬇

This is an app that can be downloaded to your phone to provide carb counts for insulin dosing.

Seizure Action Plan (to be completed by physician)

In 2021, the Colorado General Assembly passed HB-21-113 to prioritize school safety for students who have a seizure disorder, including epilepsy. This bill addresses strategic resources for kindergarten through 12th-grade schools to provide a safer environment for these students, including school personnel training, individualized seizure action plans and seizure care guidelines. 

Your School RN will work with you to develop a health plan using the Colorado Seizure Care Plan which you can have your provider complete and return to the school.
 

SEIZURE EMERGENCY CARE PLAN AND MEDICATION ORDERS - Children's Hospital CO

Epilepsy (also called a seizure disorder) is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. Seizures happen when clusters of nerve cells in the brain signal abnormally, which may briefly alter a person's consciousness, movements or actions. Instead of discharging electrical energy in a controlled manner, the brain cells keep firing. The result may be a surge of energy through the brain, causing unconsciousness and contractions of the muscles. If only part of the brain is affected, it may cloud awareness, block normal communication, and/or produce a variety of undirected, uncontrolled, unorganized movements.

• There are many different types of seizures. People may experience just one type or more than one. The kind of seizure a person has depends on which part and how much of the brain is affected by the electrical disturbance that produces seizures. The symptoms of a seizure may affect any part of the body. Most seizures last only a minute or two, although confusion afterwards may last longer. Experts divide seizures into generalized seizures (absence, atonic, tonic-clonic, myoclonic), partial (simple and complex) seizures, gelastic seizures, dacrystic seizures, non-epileptic seizures and status epilepticus. Generally, the most frequent cause of an unexpected seizure is failure to take the medication as prescribed. Other factors include ingesting substances, hormone fluctuations, stress, sleep patterns and photosensitivity.
• While medications and other treatments help many people of all ages who live with epilepsy, more than a million people continue to have seizures that can severely limit their school achievements, employment prospects and participation in all of life's experiences. It strikes most often among the very young and the very old, although anyone can develop epilepsy at any age. In the U.S., it affects more than 300,000 children under the age of 15 - more than 90,000 of whom have seizures that cannot be adequately treated.

Source: Epilepsy Foundation Website