McAllister Health Center

Medical Clinic

The medical clinic located in the McAllister Health Center is staffed by registered nurses and has a full-time physician available to provide clinical consultation and care. Students are always welcome to be seen in the clinic on a walk-in and or appointment basis. Students desiring medical attention must report in person to the medical clinic directly, or alert an advisor, dorm parent, or faculty member about their desire to seek medical attention.

The nurse on duty will triage each student according to the level of care needed and will make a determination about the students needs. Included in this are determinations about need for physician consultation in the clinic, need for subspecialty consultation outside of the health center, need for emergency care, need for follow up care, need for class or athletic excuse, etc. The nurse on duty will provide class excuse if he/she feels the student’s illness warrants absence from class. The status of a student requiring absence from class will be posted on the Daily Report available for viewing by faculty, staff, and coaches on the School’s website. Students will not be allowed to miss class for appointments or walk-in visits to the Health Center during class hours unless deemed appropriate by the nurse on duty.

Services available at the clinic include first aid, over-the-counter symptom care, routine primary care for common illnesses, and various other services including but not limited to blood draws, urine testing, asthma treatment, strep throat and mono testing, wound care, health counseling, and vaccinations/ immunizations.  In addition, Influenza vaccine is offered to all members of the EHS community during the fall of each session. The flu vaccine is strongly recommended to mitigate the risk of epidemic that comes with a residential community such as ours.

While there is no charge for routine evaluation by the nurse or doctor in the medical clinic, a fee is charged for all vaccines and for some non-routine items. A fee schedule is available at the clinic and provided upon request. Charges are processed through the student’s account, unless otherwise requested by the student or parent.

The clinic also provides several common over-the-counter health related products for sale directly to students in an area adjacent to the reception desk at the McAllister Health Center. This area is known as the “Medicine Cabinet.” Items purchased are charged to the student’s account.

Infirmary

The McAllister Health Center houses a 12-bed observation unit and overnight infirmary for students requiring extended medical care, isolation, post-operative nursing, etc. Admission to the Infirmary is at the discretion of the health center staff and medical director. Care plan, visiting hours, and other details pertaining to infirmary admissions vary for each student admitted. Information is available at the time of admission from the health center staff.

Medication Dispensary

The McAllister Health Center houses a mediation dispensary whereby various prescription medications, especially those classified as controlled substances, are distributed to the students by licensed health center staff. The Health Center and EHS abide by an extensive and strict medication policy dictated by the medical director, state licensing boards, and federal drug laws. The medication policy applies to all students, with particular emphasis on those students taking medications for depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, or other controlled substances.

This policy includes the requirement that students have a prescribing physician outside of the School diagnoses the student and prescribe the appropriate medication. Parents and guardians are responsible for procuring prescriptions according to the medication policy with a notable emphasis on the fact that the dispensary will only accept written scripts and will not accept pills directly from the student or parent at any time. The policy also includes guidelines regarding how a medication will be dispensed when the student requires medications during off-campus school-sponsored activity. The Health Center will not dispense medication to students for times when they are off campus with non-school sponsored activities such as weekends away from campus, school breaks, extended periods of time at home, etc. For such times, families are responsible for maintaining an adequate supply of medication for their student at home.

Students requiring daily medications will have the dispensing procedure reviewed with them during the first weeks of school. Students are strongly encouraged to assume responsibility for taking medications at the appropriate time and for communicating with the health center staff about any concerns related to medications.The Health Center maintains a strong interest in managing a student’s medication compliance, effectiveness, tolerance, and any other concerns surrounding medications. The Health Center will track medication compliance and report this in a compliance report sent electronically every other week to the student, parent, advisor, and any other relevant school faculty.