EHS has a clear and firm policy regarding the
handling and administration of prescription and non-prescription medications. Policies
for all types of medications are cited below. Please note the distinction between medications that are allowed in the
dorm/student’s possession and those that are not. Noncompliance with this
medication policy is a violation of a major school rule and is subject to
disciplinary action. The administration of medications, the interpretation of
this policy, and any adjustments to this policy are at the discretion of the EHS
medical director. The medical director reserves the right to cease dispensing
of medication at any time should the health and safety of the student be of
concern or at risk as determined by the medical director.
Medications
ALLOWED in the Dormitory and in Student Possession:
The School allows
for certain medications to be kept in the student’s dorm room and self-administered
by students. Examples of medications allowed in the dormitory would include
antibiotics for illness, antibiotics and creams for acne, asthma or allergy
medications, Tylenol, Advil, cough/cold medications, stomach remedies, herbals,
naturopathic and homeopathic preparations, vitamins, supplements, and
contraception. Any such prescription medications must be in their original
containers with pharmacy label indicating strength, dose, time and duration of
administration. Prescribing physicians and parents must be sure the
instructions and possible side effects of all medications are clear to the
student; school staff cannot be responsible for this.
Please
note that cough/cold medications contain alcohol and/or dextromethorphan are
therefore not allowed in the
dormitory. In addition, certain muscle building and
protein supplements can be damaging to a student’s health and, therefore,
permission to have these in the dormitory will be at the discretion of the
medical director.
Medications
NOT ALLOWED in the Dormitory or in Student Possession:
There are certain
groups and types of medication that under NO circumstances are to be maintained
in the dorm room or self-administered by the students. The Health Center is
responsible for handling and administering these types of medications according
to procedures outlined below and reviewed with students at the start of the
school year. In general, these include psychoactive medications and medications
regulated by the federal government as controlled substances. Medications
required to remain at the Health Center include, but are not limited to,
Ritalin, Strattera, Concerta, Dexedrine, Adderall, Fiorinal, Tylenol #3 (with
Codeine), Robitussin AC (with Codeine), Zoloft, Celexa, Paxil, Prozac,
Wellbutrin, Ambien, and Xanax. Over-the-counter or prescription products or
medications containing nicotine are not allowed in a student’s possession. Also,
note that cough/cold medications containing alcohol and/or dextromethorphan are
not allowed in the student’s possession. In addition, certain muscle building and
protein supplements can be damaging to a student’s health and, therefore,
permission to have these in possession will be at the discretion of the Medical
Director.
Procedure Regarding Medications Dispensed by the
Health Center
For medications
that are required to be handled by the Health Center, written prescriptions are
to be submitted directly to the Health Center using the procedure described here.
THE HEALTH CENTER WILL NOT ACCEPT PILLS
OR MEDICATIONS BROUGHT TO THEM DIRECTLY BY THE PARENT OR STUDENT.
-
Written prescription should be mailed or faxed to the Health Center at
least two weeks prior to fall registration.
- Do not
send prescriptions directly to any pharmacy.
- The prescribing physician must complete the
Physician Order Form (available online for download here) and submits it
directly to the Health Center via mail, email, or fax.
- The Health Center fills the prescription at
our partner pharmacy who then delivers the medication back to the Health
Center.
- The parent is responsible for ensuring that the
Health Center has a sufficient supply of written prescriptions. The Health
Center accepts up to four-month supply of written prescriptions in advance.
- The Health Center will review with students
the means and procedures by which medications can be taken during off-campus,
school-sponsored activities.
- The
Health Center will not dispense medications to students for use off-campus
unless with a school-sponsored or school-chaperoned activity. Parents are asked
to maintain a supply of medications at home for use at their discretion on
weekends, vacations, college visits, or other non-school-supervised leave.
Special
Considerations Regarding Medications
As
previously outlined, many prescription medications must be administered at the
Health Center. From time to time, exceptions to this may be necessary to
accommodate a student’s schedule or scheduled school activities off campus. All
such exceptions will be approved by the medical director on a case-by-case
basis. The procedure for a student to be able to take such medications outside
of the Health Center is outlined below.
- In general,
individually-packaged, single-dose medication will be packaged by the health center
staff and will be available for pick up from the Health Center.
- At pick up time, the dispensing
provider must sign the label on the package indicating proper packaging and
dispensing to the student. The student must then sign the label on the package
indicating receipt of the packaged medication.
- At the designated time of dosing,
the student must present to a faculty member or school personnel requesting a
witness to their self-administration. At this time, the faculty/personnel must sign
the package label documenting an un-tampered package and witness of the
student’s self-administration.
- The student is then required to
return the empty package with the signed label to the Health Center at the next
available time. Of note, students who do not use the medication are required to
return the un-tampered package with the medication inside to the Health Center
at the next available time.
- Should a student fail to return the
package (un-tampered with medication inside or opened with completed
signatures), the scheduled dispensing of the student’s medication will cease
until the package is returned. The health center staff reserves the right to
revoke the privilege of witnessed self-administrating if a student fails to comply
with the above procedure.
- In addition, any misuse of
medication administered under these guidelines is subject to revocation of the
privilege of witnessed self-administration of such medications, and possible
disciplinary action by the School.