Individual Medical Emergencies Occurring at School

Abstract

Children and adults may face emergency medical situations because of injuries, complications of chronic health conditions, or unexpected major illnesses that occur in schools. The American Academy of Pediatrics published a policy statement in 2001 titled “Guidelines for Emergency Medical Care in Schools,” and in 2008, published its revision, “Medical Emergencies Occurring at School.” Those statements focused on the preparedness of schools to address individual student emergencies. The increase in the number of children with special health care needs and chronic medical conditions attending schools, together with the added challenges faced by school districts to ensure that schools have access to on-site, licensed health care professionals on an ongoing basis, have contributed to added risks that medical and nonmedical personnel face in dealing with medical emergencies in schools. This newly revised policy statement serves as an update of the statement published in 2008 and reaffirmed in 2017, and intends to increase pediatricians’ awareness of schools’ roles in preparing for individual student emergencies and provide recommendations for the medical home and school physicians on how to assist and support school personnel. This statement does not address schoolwide or communitywide emergencies that might occur as a result of natural or man-made disasters.