Nurse's Office
Health Information
Tips on Keeping Your Child Healthy
A child comes to school to learn. We all know there are times when a child does not feel well enough to take part in school. Often an illness is spread to others before the first symptoms appear. The best way to keep these illnesses (such as colds or flu) from spreading is to take the following steps:
- Teach your child to wash his or her hands frequently using plenty of soap and warm water. Proper hand washing should take about 20 seconds or the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice
- Teach your child to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or in their sleeve (elbow)
- Keep the child’s environment smoke free
- Try to minimize the time your child spends with other children who have cough or cold symptoms
- Teach your child to use and pack easy-to-use disinfecting wipes and/or hand sanitizers in child’s backpack
- Schedule and keep an annual well-child exam to follow changes in your child’s health
- Keep all of your child’s immunizations up-to-date, and include the recommended flu vaccination every year
- Serve a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, plus plenty of water
- If someone in the house is ill, wash all shared surfaces and sheets frequently, and change toothbrushes
- Keep surfaces such as door knobs, phones, remote controls, toys and keyboards disinfected
- Always make sure to consult your school nurse, school nurse practitioner or health care provider if you have any questions
Health Services
Governor Bent ES shall provide health services that include activities addressing the health needs of students to promote student well-being, optimal development, and strong educational outcomes.
The school health services shall follow APS Nursing Services policies and procedures and the direction of the NM Department of Health to enforce state requirements (such as immunization and communicable disease requirements) in partnership with students, parents, staff and community.
Health service personnel shall follow standards of care for their specific role group as per state statutes and regulations. School personnel should reference the NM School Health Manual for comprehensive guidelines as well as all applicable Albuquerque Public Schools policy and procedural directives.
Health service programs shall meet all reporting, record-keeping and confidentiality requirements of state and federal statutes and regulations.
Governor Bent ES provides information to students and/or families about school site School-Based Health Center and/or local School-Based Health Centers and community health centers.
Community Health Centers will be provided to students/families via school website:
Communicable Disease Information
- APS School Based Health Centers
- APS - When is Sick Too Sick for School? APS youtube video
- APS ¿Cuando Está Demasiado Enfermo Su Hijo(a) para Ir a la Escuela? - APS youtube video in Spanish
- CDC - Cover your Cough poster
- CDC - FLU - Talking to Children About Flu
- CDC Handwashing Poster
- NASN - Washing Your Hands video
- NASN - Lavarse las Manos - Handwashing - Spanish video
- NASN - Wearing Cloth Face Coverings video
- NASN - Usar una Cubierta de Tela para la Cara - Face Covering - Spanish video
Additional Resources/Links
Various methods of communication to students/families:
- CDC - Cough Etiquette - available to all
- CDC - COVID - available to all
- CDC - Handwashing - available to all
- CDC - Immunization Schedules - available to all
- CDC - Norovirus - available to all
- CDC - Viruses or Bacteria chart - available to all
- CDC - Flu, A Guide for Parents - available to all
- EPA Healthy School Environments - available to all
- National Association of School Nurses (NASN) - available to School Nurses
- NASN - COVID - available to all
- NASN videos - Handwashing, cloth masks & staying home when sick - available to all
- New Mexico Department of Health - available to all
- NM DOH - School Entry Immunization Requirements - available to all