Health Services

Greetings from the nurses of District 153. As your child’s school nurse, each of us enjoy the special privilege of caring for your child while they are at school. In this district, there is a nurse in every school building. All the nurses are registered nurses in the State of Illinois, are CPR and AED certified, and also have certification in audiometric and vision screening. Two of the nurses have a Type 73 School Nurse certification.

Please take a few minutes to note some very important information that will help us to provide the best care and service to your family.

Willow School (Pre-school—2nd grade)
Sharita Rush, RN
708-647-5648
Fax: 708-798-4336

Churchill School (3rd and 4th grade)
Pam Lawlor, RN
708-647-2201
Fax: 708-798-0417

Millennium School (5th and 6th grade)
Gail Straney, RN CSN
708-647-2131
Fax: 708-799-8693

James Hart School (7th and 8th grade)
Eileen Nickolau, RN
708-647-2321
Fax: 708-799-8360

We make every effort to provide a safe and healthy environment for you student while they are in school. In the event of a SERIOUS accident or emergency, you will be contacted immediately. In the event that we are unable to contact a parent/guardian and further care and evaluation is needed, the student will be transported by ambulance to an appropriate medical facility and accompanied by either the building nurse or administrator. We will stay with your child until you arrive. This is why it is so important for the school to have on record updated home, cell, and work numbers. If you work more than 30 minutes from the school, it is also important to have at least 2 emergency contacts that are local. To insure that we can provide appropriate care for your child, please inform the nurse of any changes in your child’s health (such as asthma or allergies) or any medications he/she may be taking.

We must provide for the health and well-being of every student and staff member in our school, by preventing the spread of communicable diseases. Contagious illnesses can spread very easily within a school setting. We encourage good hand washing and the covering of sneezes and coughs to help contain some of these diseases. When you call the school to report your child ill, please state what symptoms your child is displaying. It is through this knowledge that we can try to control the spread of various contagious illnesses.

When to Keep Your Child at Home:

• Temperature of 100 or greater
• Acute cold, sore throat, or persistent cough
• Nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain
• Repeated diarrhea
• Red, inflamed, or discharge from eye(s). This could be
• Suspected scabies, impetigo, ringworm, acute rashes, or any skin lesion that is "weeping". With any of these conditions, your child will need to be examined by a physician and appropriate creams or oral medications prescribed. Check with the school nurse to see when your child can return to school.
• Suspected or confirmed head lice. Please do not be embarrassed! We need to know if your child has lice, so we can help prevent the spread within the classroom. There can be various sources of exposure and lack of cleanliness is NOT one of them! So please inform the school nurse, and we will explain the treatment options and when your child can return to school. We also request that you bring in the packaging or empty bottle of the product that you used.

There may be times when it is difficult to tell if you should send your child to school. If this is the case, please call the nurse and she may be able to help direct you. Sometimes there is a worry that he/she will miss important school work or a field trip. Children have different tolerances for discomfort and pain, and you know your child better than anyone else. Even with the common cold, some are able to function fine, while others are miserable. If your child has a continuous cough, he/she will not be able to concentrate and will disrupt and expose the other students in the classroom. Many times it is a more serious condition, such as bronchitis, asthma, or pneumonia, so consult with your child’s pediatrician.