What do you do when you can't get ahold of parents?

[100kids, BSN, RN]

Just curious-what is your school's protocol if you can't reach anyone to come pick up a sick child? Not go to the hospital sick but ill enough that they are not productive in class and are a disturbance?

[mycsm]

we have emergency cards that give me permission to call two other people, in case I cannot get in touch with the parents.

oh its great when the parents FINALLY callback and I say..I sent your child home with a high fever and vomiting with so and so..they lose their mind and say who gave you permission??? I say, well you did, when you signed this card......next time I call you might want to answer one of the 3 different #'s you gave me to reach you.

[SassyTachyRN]

Our policy is that they stay in the clinic and yep I've had kids in there ALL day long...

[Stitchy's mom]

We start with mom, all her numbers (usually 2 or 3) then dad (2 or 3) then emails to both, then repeat. Wait an hour, call again then go to the emergency cards and hope that the person they put on the emergency cards are listed as an authorized pick up person. If not, the whole thing starts all over again.

[Wave Watcher]

We have the right to call the non emergency number of the police to do a "welfare" check on the parents at their address. In our district we do have parents who will not answer their phone if they know it is the school. The police (if they have time) can run by address, knock on door and "pass the message" on to the parents that we are trying to contact them. Many schools will give the parents an hour to come and pick sick child up. Now, these are children running high fevers, vomiting, chronic illnesses. We also have the right to call DCS if the problem persists.

My clinic is not centrally located close to the front office. I can not leave a child in my clinic unattended. It is not safe and is a liability for me and the school. I let the parent know (if they ask) that the child can not lay down and stay in my office for any length of time. They will have to sit up front outside the front office and wait where they can be observed. Normally, the parents will find a way to come get the child.

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

I had a kid that had persistent vomitting. I didnt feel comfortable sending him hom that way. We couldnt reach anyone on the emergency card so we ended calling 911 to take the child to the hospital. The priciple stayed with the child until mom finally showed up.

[RNlove17]

I'm at the high school so it's different than at the elementary level.

I call the emergency contacts too. if they are truly really sick/injured they stay here, but that honestly doesn't happen often. If it's for a cold, cramps, or something minor (which is usually the case) they lay down till the end of the period and then go on to their next class when the bell rings. They can't just hang out in the nurses office all day missing classes.

[IchoricaSN]

If contact with parent is hard we will let them rest in a health room..sometimes all day (we have private rooms). My two schools (primary and middle) has health room assistants so someone is there to alert me with something serious.

[Nurse ABC]

I cry just a little...on the inside. :down:I have to babysit if we can't reach them. At least when they are sick they are pretty quiet but when they need sent home for lice the kids get bored and won't sit still. So annoying!! Some principals or counselors will offer to take kids home or go to parents house and find them. I'm not comfortable with putting someone else's kid in my car that I don't know well, esp for lice!!

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

i had a student with a high fever that was getting higher and higher this week. Of course none of the contact numbers were working so i made the decision to send to ER. also had the police physically go to the parents house to try and find someone. luckily mom was home and returned to the school with the police just as EMS was getting to the school. Mom did agree to EMS taking the student to the ER as the fever was 103.9 by that point.

[fetch, BSN, RN]

Ugh just had this now - a kid was SPEWING everywhere, and on his emergency card there are 4 people all with the same phone number! Does anyone answer that number, no they do not! Finally my principal was able to look up an old number I guess? She reached a non-custodial parent who isn't on the card and so can't pick the kid up, but was able to reach the right parent. Meanwhile the child is sitting in my clinic for over an hour.

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

Had this happen with a poor kid with a fever of 102. Her throat was raw, but I could reach no one. Tried three different numbers. Student takes a carpool home, so tried the number of the carpooling parent to see if she could help me reach the student's parents. An hour and several texts later, finally got a returned call from mom (from a number I did not have) who told me to send her home in the carpool. Kid spent the the remainder of the day with me, her head down.