Is My Child Well Enough To Go To School?
January 02, 2024
Happy New Year! As I reflect on previous years and focus on the blessings God has provided I realized I am living my dream. My husband asked me a few years back when we were living in Minnesota with no plans to move, “What is your dream job?” I quickly responded, “To be the school nurse at CHS.” Here I am! I never thought it would be a reality. God has thrown many peaks and valleys along the way, but HE made a way to this dream becoming a reality. It is a pleasure to serve the CHS community in this capacity. Thank you for entrusting your children to CHS for education and so much more.
As we enter the new year we continue to be in the middle or our cold and flu season. Sometimes it is hard to know if you should stay home from work/school and when to go to the doctor. Please review our guide via this link: “Is My Child Well Enough To Go To School?” This provides helpful insight into when to keep your student home. When in doubt please keep your student home so they can fully recover and prevent sharing their illness with others.
Prior to Christmas vacation, I saw lots of students with stomach bugs and respiratory infections. So many have had a cough that has lasted weeks. I pray the break has given everyone a chance to rest and recover.
Nurse MJ tip: Hand sanitizer can be great when soap and water are unavailable, BUT soap and warm water to wash hands continues to be the gold standard for handwashing. Hand sanitizer DOES NOT work against most viruses that cause “the stomach bug.”
The flu, a cold, allergies, covid and asthma can all look very similar. Here’s a helpful chart to guide you through various symptoms.
I look forward to seeing God work at CHS in the hearts of our community in the coming year. Happy New Year!
Merry Joy Olson is the School Nurse here at CHS. She has been a Registered Nurse for 30 years. Most of her career has been in oncology, but she transitioned to school health in 2012. This is Merry Joy’s 3rd year as the school nurse for Christian Heritage. She cares for students in grades K-12, helping to maintain the health of the school community. The favorite part of her job is praying with students when they are not feeling well or are feeling down.