Bette Carr, MSN, RN, NCSN School Nursing and Health Services Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

 The speaker has no disclosures or conflicts of interest.

 Participants will be able to identify potential barriers, as well as resources, for implementation of seizure procedures.

What do you feel was the biggest barrier this past year in providing appropriate health services to students with seizures or epilepsy?

Prohibits discrimination based solely on a disability No financial assistance All individuals with a disability Reasonable accommodations Provides for special education and related services Provides financial assistance Infants, toddlers, youth with disabilities Evaluation and specially designed instruction Prohibits discrimination based on a disability No financial assistance Person with a disability substantially limiting one or more major life activities Education comparable to that provided to students without disabilities ADA IDEA Section 504

Scope of Practice Student’s Health Care Needs

 Lack of certainty on: ◦ What seizures look like for this child ◦ Medications, doses, routes, and side effects ◦ Timeliness of EMS services ◦ Whether I have the knowledge to train others ◦ Delegating seizure monitoring and medication administration to others

 Professional development that includes research-based information  Network with other school nurses  Refresh your assessment skills  Spend time with the student and family  Preparation of seizure curriculum for others  Preparation of individualized health care plans for students

 Communicate with the health care provider (HCP) any concerns that you might have regarding the student or plans  Use resources that you have available to you: ◦ Medical advisor ◦ Webcast training ◦ Other districts or nurses in your area ◦ Epilepsy Foundation ◦ WASN/NASN

 Health care provider requests: ◦ Orders that are outside your comfort zone ◦ Non-FDA-approved medication routes  Parents request: ◦ That 911 not be called ◦ That the child remain in school after emergency medication has been given ◦ That they will not sign a release of information

 Plan ahead! o Request a meeting and develop a care plan o Encourage the health care provider to be part of the planning o Involve your medical advisor if needed o Encourage the family to sign a release and explain that the release can be very specific to the seizure disorder care

 Plan ahead! o Let the family and health care provider know that the school wants to be prepared to provide the safest care possible for their child o Is a 504 Plan needed? o Involve your supervisor or director if needed

 Leadership skills  Preparation of a curriculum and protocol  Preparing an individualized care plan  Deciding who to train-developing a team of responders  Obtaining time to train  Documenting those who have been trained  Periodically reviewing the plan

 Curriculum: ◦ Recognize when urgent care is needed ◦ How to access that care ◦ How to handle an emergency ◦ Know how to respond to the child ◦ CPR, seizure recognition  NASN program  Epilepsy Foundation information

 Protocols from other districts  Protocols from health care providers  Discussing specific situations with your medical advisor  WI Department of Public Instruction website  WISHeS website

 Protection of the student’s privacy  Health information sharing  Classroom or school setting event management  Prevention of bullying

 Be prepared and share a plan with the teachers on how to provide for a student’s privacy during a seizure:  If allowed by the family, discuss the child’s condition with the class ahead of time and let the students know what is expected of them  Remove the other students from the area  If giving rectal medications have a packet made up with a sheet or other physical barrier for privacy  Use other adults as a barrier if needed

 Concern for child’s safety  Fear of doing something wrong  Recognizing postictal somnolence vs. medication sedation  Sufficiently trained staff  EMS services readily available

 Planning and reviewing  Practice plan  Check with local health care provider for changes in care plan  Have parents video record what the child’s postictal and post-medication behavior looks like

2006 Healthy Learner Model: Special School District #1, Minneapolis Public Schools Related Services

 Mary  Marc

 Student: Wyatt, 13-year-old  Health condition: epilepsy, tonic-clonic seizures  Treatment: taking Valproic Acid 15ml b.i.d.  Emergency medication: Diazepam 10 mg rectal gel  Order states: ◦ Administer Diazepam 10mg rectally for seizures lasting greater than 2 minutes, call parent, and stay with student until the parent arrives to pick up the child.

 Questions: ◦ What do Wyatt’s seizures look like? ◦ Has Wyatt ever received emergency medication?  What was his reaction to the medication?  Is he fearful of getting it at school in front of his peers? ◦ Is the nurse in the building and available to assess? ◦ Is the Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP) capable of monitoring the student? ◦ How long will it take for the parent to arrive? ◦ How long will it take for EMS services to arrive if there are problems?

 Resolution: ◦ Draft a care plan that takes into account the answers to the questions ◦ Have parent sign release and communicate with the HCP ◦ Train the staff that work with the student ◦ Prepare an emergency kit that includes all necessary items and a barrier ◦ Make decisions on whether care can safely be given without EMS services being called

 Student: Anna, 5-year-old  Health condition: autism, complex-partial seizures  Med at school: taking Carbamazepine 100mg 2 chewable tablets at noon  Emergency medication: Midazolam 1ml intranasal MAD (mucosal atomization device)  Order states: ◦ Administer Midazolam 0.5ml in each nostril for seizures greater than 5 minutes or for 3 or more seizures in 24 hrs lasting less than 5 minutes. Call 911after use.

 Questions: ◦ What do Anna’s seizures look like? ◦ Has Anna ever received emergency medication?  What was her reaction to the medication? ◦ Is the nurse in the building and available to assess the seizures? ◦ Is the Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP) capable of monitoring the student’s repeated seizures? ◦ How long will it take for EMS services to arrive once called?

 Resolution ◦ Draft a care plan that takes into account the answers to the questions ◦ Have parent sign a release and communicate with the HCP ◦ Train the staff that work with the student in recognizing seizures and in timing of the seizures

 Perceived barriers: ◦ School nurse knowledge and confidence ◦ Difficult requests ◦ Training of others ◦ Privacy ◦ Safety  Overcoming these barriers: ◦ Increase knowledge and skills which increases confidence ◦ Improve communication between student-family- health care provider-school nurse-staff