Martin Luther King Leadership Academy
GRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
KENT County
645 logan
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503-5520
Enrollment: 530
Public School
Success Story Contact:
kathleen hansen
registered nurse
Phone: 616-819-7665
Email: hansenk@grps.k12.mi.us
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Success Story Information:
Reach:
Duration: 1 to 3 months
Costs:
Factors for Success: - Coordinated School Health Team
- Completing an assessment (such as Healthy School Action Tool Assessment, School Health Index, Changing the Scene)
- Administrative support
- persistant work of the health office to keep kids healthy and safe
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WE INCORPORATE ALL THE ABOVE AND MAKE SURE THAT ASTHMA STUDENTS HAVE INHALERS AT SCHOOL.
SUCCESS STORY
Asthma is a life threatening condition that parents often overlook because it is not always evident. We have many students at Martin Luther King Leadership Academy that have asthma. We follow the State Board of Education Asthma Policy. Each student has an individual asthma care plan that has been signed by the parent as well as the Dr. Many families do not understand the seriousness of asthma. This is when the importance of the nurse and the health aide becomes evident. We need to educate parents about the etiology, the triggers that can provoke it, the symptoms to look for, and how to treat it. It is very important for us to stress that maintenance meds taken daily are a vital part of the overall treatment as well as emergency inhalers. Parents often stop both of these because symptoms disappear, and they don't feel like they need them any more.
Our job does not end here. If we have a student that has asthma, we go on a mission to get the inhaler at school. We call the parent, and ask them to bring it to school. We will call the Dr. or take them to the pharmacy if they need a ride. We have a hanging file that we keep our inhalers in. They are in alphabetical order, so that we can get to them easily. We have our emergency orders readily available for students that do not have care plans. We teach kids to be aware of their symptoms, and how to treat them so that they can tell someone before it gets worse. The last thing that we do is educate staff.
Teachers have been educated about the signs and symptoms of asthma as well as how to use inhalers. We have stressed the importance of environmental factors that can induce asthma. We always send inhalers out on field trips. We have had numerous asthma attacks at school this year, some of which have been serious. These have been handled successfully because of our rigid attention to having these guidelines in place. Because of all these steps that are taken, we are able to keep our students safe and healthy with minimal episodes of asthma.
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Other Relevant School Information
Our Coordinated School Health Team/Committee has the following active members: School Administration (Principal, Assistant Principal, Superintendent);Nutrition Services (Food Service Director or Manager);Health Education (Health teacher, educator or school health coordinator);Health Services Provider or School Nurse;Family Involvement (Parent/Guardian);Community Involvement (Health Department, MSU Extension, Heart Association, Cancer Society, Asthma or Tobacco or Other Health Coalition, Safe and Drug-Free School Coordinator, Law Enforcement Representative);Other, please describe:;school social worker
Our Team/Committee met 1 time during the past 12 months.
Assessments* Completed: Healthy School Action Tools (HSAT)*
This School Success Story was submitted on 1/11/2010
*Since 2004, The Healthy School Action Tool Assessment is Michigan’s preferred assessment tool that is a combination of the School Health Index and Changing the Scene.
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The Michigan Healthy School Success Story website is brought to you by the American Cancer Society, Michigan Action for Healthy Kids,
Michigan Department of Community Health, Michigan State University Extension, and United Dairy Industry of Michigan
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