9-year-old girl denied inhaler during coughing fit at school, per Jordan District policy

[jnelsoninjax]

WEST JORDAN, Utah -- A 9-year-old girl was denied her inhaler during a coughing fit at school in West Jordan because staff were not notified of the child’s prescription, Jordan School District officials said Monday.

Emma Gonzales obtained an inhaler over the weekend after a coughing fit landed her in the emergency room. On Monday, the fourth grader was hit with another coughing spell in class at Columbia Elementary.

When Emma took her inhaler out to use it, her teacher sent her to the office, where staff took the inhaler.

Emma said she started coughing so hard she threw up on her pants.

“When I get into the coughing fit, I kind of hurtle up on the ground, can't breathe and then I start to kind of feel a little nauseous,” Emma said.

District officials say the staff did everything right by taking the medication to make sure it was for that specific student.

The inhaler doesn’t have Emma’s name on it and the school had not been notified that she was taking the medication.

“There could be all sorts of problems if children were just allowed to take any medication and we didn't have that verification. Again, this is for the student's safety,” said district spokeswoman Sandy Riesgraf.

District policy is that parents must fill out paperwork regarding what their child is taking for medication so school administrators know about it. If proper paperwork is filled out, district policy allows children to administer medications to themselves.

Her parents say they understand the policy and will fill out the proper paperwork to make sure Emma can get her inhaler in the future. But her mother, Britney Badger said at the point her daughter started throwing up, she thinks the school needed to do more.

“When a child is puking all over themselves and they can't breathe, you know you kind of have to take action right then and there,” Badger said.

Emma never got her inhaler at school, but her coughing fit did end.

District officials say Emma was monitored the entire time and if they felt she was in serious danger, they would have called 911.

Emma’s father was contacted during the coughing fit. After Monday’s incident, he plans to keep his daughter out of school for the time being.
http://fox13now.com/2015/09/28/9-year-old-girl-denied-inhaler-during-coughing-fit-at-school-per-jordan-district-policy/

[DocM]

There's wrongs on both sides. The parents should have notified the school in both writing and by letter, also putting her name on the inhaler. The school also needs to be more flexible with asthmatics since thousands of people a year die from asthma attacks

[+primortal Subscriber²]

OK granted there's paperwork that needs to be filled out, but what parent remembers to do this?

If the school nurse (if there is one) had any brains that a. girl is coughing uncontrollably and b. she has an inhaler; gee the inhaler does have a purpose other than recreational.  The inhaler would have the name of the medicine is on it, so how about take a few seconds a look up the symptoms it treats?  Then send the kid home with a note and/or call the parents and remind them of the paperwork that needs to be filled out.

I guess that school has been known to have 9 year olds sharing prescription drugs at recess.

[FloatingFatMan]

^ Sadly, common sense is the rarest commodity in the universe.

[fdruid]

Crazily overzealous, in my opinion. They're covering themselves legally but putting the well being of the child in the last place. I don't think that's very humane. I personally would take my kid out of that school if that were to happen, because it shows that in the end, they care more for themselves than for the kids in their custody. My 2 cents.

[techbeck]

OK granted there's paperwork that needs to be filled out, but what parent remembers to do this?

What is odd is that all the prescription inhalers I have seen, come labeled from the pharmacy.

[DocM]

What is odd is that all the prescription inhalers I have seen, come labeled from the pharmacy.

 

On the box, sales ticket and instruction sheet, but not usually on the dispenser. At least not on mine, being asthmatic.

[adrynalyne]

OK granted there's paperwork that needs to be filled out, but what parent remembers to do this?

If the school nurse (if there is one) had any brains that a. girl is coughing uncontrollably and b. she has an inhaler; gee the inhaler does have a purpose other than recreational.  The inhaler would have the name of the medicine is on it, so how about take a few seconds a look up the symptoms it treats?  Then send the kid home with a note and/or call the parents and remind them of the paperwork that needs to be filled out.

I guess that school has been known to have 9 year olds sharing prescription drugs at recess.

We did with my daughter. I doubt we are an exception.

[Xilo]

What is odd is that all the prescription inhalers I have seen, come labeled from the pharmacy.

As said above, the inhaler usually doesn't have the prescription info. It could also have been a freebie from the hospital. I have lots of prescription inhalers that I got for free from my doctor.

[Gone]

My inhaler doesn't have my name on it, never has. Not even inhalers from the VA have my name anywhere on it and they are overly bureaucratic.

[President Devil]

^ Sadly, common sense is the rarest commodity in the universe.

Can't deny that.

[Memphis]

Interesting to note, as a nurse I need an order to give albuterol and to place oxygen. That said, if I assess someone is having trouble breathing we are given the authority to do it now and get retroactive permission later. If I denied a patient an inhaler or albuterol due to not having a preacription, I would loose  my license.

Edited October 4, 2015 by sidroc

[Gotenks98]

I hope the parents sue that school into the ground.

[link6155]

The parents should have told the school about their daughter's prescription, but at the same time the school should have allowed the inhaler in such times. It sounds like the school much rather have the child die of an asthma attack then to bend the rules, that's not very humane at all.

[DocM]

Interesting to note, as a nurse I need an order to give albuterol and to place oxygen. That said, if I assess someone is having trouble breathing we are given the authority to do it now and get retroactive permission later. If I denied a patient an inhaler or albuterol due to not having a preacription, I would loose  my license.

Absolutely! And there's no reason states couldn't indemnify selected school personnel for such circumstances. None. Zip. No excuse.

[Memphis]

 

Absolutely! And there's no reason states couldn't indemnify selected school personnel for such circumstances. None. Zip. No excuse.

th school nuse has this authority. This was some seriously incompetent officials. It wasn't even 3 years ago a girl died in a pharmacy in a asthma attack when an inhaler was denied.

[DocM]

th school nuse has this authority. This was some seriously incompetent officials. It wasn't even 3 years ago a girl died in a pharmacy in a asthma attack when an inhaler was denied.

 

Unfortunately, in many districts the full time RN or PN is a thing of the past. Too often the district may have one or a few rotating nurses who handle scheduled events and checkups while also serving as 'remote supervision' for those who do their former hands-on duties. Now first aid & dispensing meds sent in by parents (sometimes with a required physicians note) are usually handled by office or administrative staff, a UAP* or a "Health Clerk" with at most a training class. Some are reassigned lunch ladies or aides. For anything else they call 911.

* unlicensed assistive personnel (who makes these up?)

[adrynalyne]

Interesting to note, as a nurse I need an order to give albuterol and to place oxygen. That said, if I assess someone is having trouble breathing we are given the authority to do it now and get retroactive permission later. If I denied a patient an inhaler or albuterol due to not having a preacription, I would loose  my license.

Unless things have changed since I was a kid, the school nurse isn't a real nurse.

th school nuse has this authority. This was some seriously incompetent officials. It wasn't even 3 years ago a girl died in a pharmacy in a asthma attack when an inhaler was denied.

Seriously incompetent parents too.

[Memphis]

 

Unfortunately, in many districts the full time RN or PN is a thing of the past. Too often the district may have one or a few rotating nurses who handle scheduled events and checkups while also serving as 'remote supervision' for those who do their former hands-on duties. Now first aid & dispensing meds sent in by parents (sometimes with a required physicians note) are usually handled by office or administrative staff, a UAP* or a "Health Clerk" with at most a training class. Some are reassigned lunch ladies or aides. For anything else they call 911.

* unlicensed assistive personnel (who makes these up?)

I just read up on this, kind of surprised the ANA is not fighting to change this.

[DocM]

I just read up on this, kind of surprised the ANA is not fighting to change this.

 

I'm as upset as you are, for many reasons. Locally this started in the early 1990's, but I'm certain it goes back at least another decade. 

[Anibal P]

Glad all of my kids are done with public miseducation, we needed to sign waivers just to let the useless nurse give a kid an aspirin forget about my son's anticonvulsants, it took 2 Dr notes and a waiver from the district to allow the school mandated emergency treatment , then the morons would do nothing and call the ambulance instead