Health Services
Welcome to the Waterville Public Schools Health Services page!
Each of our 4 school buildings has a Health Services Office with a Registered Professional Nurse available to assist you during school hours with questions or concerns you may have regarding health and safety for your student. The High School shares the Health Services Office with MMTC.
WPS Nursing Team:
Melanie Veilleux RN
Team Leader
Albert S. Hall School
Jean Cote RN
Waterville High School/MMTC
Jessica Maquire RN
Waterville Jr. High
Donna Jordan RN
George J. Mitchel School
State of Maine Immunization Requirements for School
Maine law requires students to be fully immunized for their age/grade to attend school. The only exception is with a healthcare provider’s letter stating the student is exempt for medical reasons. The healthcare provider may be a Medical or Osteopathic Doctor, Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant, licensed to practice in the State of Maine. This information must be given to the Registered Nurse in the building your student is enrolled in. Students attending MMTC provide this information to their primary high school. Click on the heading for the Immunization guidelines.
Yearly Health Updates
Each school year parents are asked to fill out health information forms to ensure the needs of your student can be met. If there are changes during the school year please notify the Nurse in your student’s building as soon as possible. The request for health information also includes a permission to treat form that allows the nurse to assess and treat your student with certain medications/treatments that have been approved by the district physician. For parents that do not give permission, medication will not be given at school and the nurse will contact you regarding the illness and for dismissal plans. In the near future the health forms will be online.
Severe or Life Threatening Conditions or Allergies
If your student has a life threatening illness/condition or allergy please set up a time to meet with the Nurse. A health/safety plan from your provider is required annually that includes rescue measures and medication. A new health/safety plan needs to be implemented each school year. Summer is a great time to get a new plan to give to the Nurse when school resumes after the break. It is the parents/guardians responsibility to make sure the Nurse receives the plan and rescue medication. If no rescue medication or plan is brought in the Nurse will call 911 for transport if an emergency occurs.
Illness/Absences
WPS procedure for illness includes the following: students are excluded from school if they have vomiting, diarrhea, or fever >100 F. They must be free of these conditions for 24 hours without medication before returning to school. Please contact the school office to have your student excused if any one of these are present. If your student is not feeling well and is not able to participate in school please contact the school office to have them excused.
Dental
We work closely with a mobile dental provider to be able to offer a dental clinic for those students in need in the fall and spring. The forms must be completed, including Mainecare or private insurance information, and returned at the beginning of the school year. This Is not a substitute for dental care but a helpful service if you are struggling to find a dentist for your student. The provider is an advanced practice hygienist.
Respiratory Illnesses
WPS follows CDC guidance and asks that you follow those guidelines for a safe return to school after respiratory illness. For more information, please see the “School Health Plan” link.
We encourage students/staff and visitors to practice good hygiene methods to prevent the spread of germs. These include washing hands with soap and water, using hand sanitizer, covering coughs and sneezes, and never sharing water bottles or cups.
We wish you a very happy and healthy school year!
-WPS Nursing Team
Updated Heath Information from WPS:
Because mitigation strategies like masking and social distancing are no longer required, we depend greatly on the cooperation of our staff, students, and families to minimize the spread of respiratory viruses and other illnesses in our school communities. Please see our revised school health plan for more info.
Key Takeaways
As the threat from COVID-19 becomes more similar to that of other common respiratory viruses, CDC is issuing Respiratory Virus Guidance, rather than additional virus-specific guidance.
Students, teachers, and staff should stay home when they have signs of any infectious illness. If a fever of 100 degrees or more was present, the person must be fever free without the use of fever-reducing medications for at least 24 hours before returning.
While testing for Covid-19 is no longer required, it is recommended that persistent and/or severe symptoms be referred to a healthcare provider for diagnosis and care.