When my daughter was sent home with head lice early last week, I was devastated because I had no idea how to get rid of it.
In a panic, I quickly called my mother and she helped me successfully get rid of the lice with just one treatment of RID.
Still, being a concerned mother, I called Southside Center and asked the principal to send a letter home with all children to advise parents of a confirmed case of head lice in the school.
Through the nurse, I found out my daughter wasn't the first child sent home with head lice. My main goal was to advise parents to check their children's hair to prevent a larger outbreak.
Had I been informed sooner, I could have checked my child and prevented my other daughter from getting lice as well.
Unfortunately, (I was told that) sending such a letter would be against school district policy and violate HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
Being a professional in the medical field, I studied and am very educated in HIPAA law. Therefore, I know that if no personal information of the child with lice is disclosed (and the letter just states, vaguely, that a child in the school has lice), there will be no violation.
I honestly don't see the difference in sending home a letter informing parents that children with peanut allergies are in their classroom — and keeping it posted on the classroom door year-round — and sending home letters for lice, informing parents that it has been spreading through the school.
Just something to think about.
I would like the school district to change their policy so that the spread of lice and other contagious situations can be contained in a more professional manner.
Adriana Foster, the mother of four children, is a nationally certified pharmacy technician who lives in Crestview.
She graduated with a 4.0 grade point average from Virginia College and is a member of Southside Center's School Advisory Council.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: FOSTER: Parents need to know when other kids have lice