DD was sent to the hospital from school via ambulance without our knowledge

[N.Bailey]

When someone passes out for an unknown reason, you call 911 and ask questions later.

I don't mean to bash you--I would be upset to not be notified at all, but it seems you failed to update your emergency contact form.

People who are out of state really can't do anything at the moment of the emergency and I would have been peeved if they excused my other child out of school.

You should have been notified, but I don't think they overreacted at all in regards to having her transported.

I have been transported as has my mother before b/c we passed out in a public place.

She didn't fail to update the contact form. The school failed to update their records.

I agree about transporting the child. That decision was the correct one. Not contacting the parent however is inexcusable, IMO.

 

[N.Bailey]

The OP did update the emergency contact form, but the school still had the old info. The school does need to clean this up.

OP, I am an EMT and a teacher. We have no school nurses so if something happens to a child I am called out of class. I have to make a decision whether or not 911 is called or if we can wait for the parents. If parents are out of town or not readily available, we must call 911 if the student is under 18. Unless your emergency contact person has legal rights to have your child treated in an emergency, the school must make that decision as they are the legal acting autorities.

I do understand you are not upset about the transport of your DD. However, the school nurse in that 45 minutes it took for you to contact her may have had another child to treat. She may just not have had the time yet to call you.

I'm sorry that you don't have a nurse at the school, but don't you think if faced with this situation if you didn't have the ability to contact a parent that their child was being sent to the hospital, that you would get someone else (possibly another teacher) to try and make that contact?

We're not talking about a student that got into a fight, or fell down and skinned their knee on the playground. This was a child being sent to the ER. I would be downright LIVID if I was not contacted.

 

[Abbie]

I would be peeved at not being notified first thing, whether I was out of town or not. What I'm not understanding is that the OP's sister was contacted to come pick the child up. What happened between that phone call and the decision to call the ambulance? Why did it suddenly become an emergency if they originally assessed her and determined she needed family to come get her?

I'm sure I'm in the minority but simply passing out doesn't necessarily qualify as a call-the-ambulance emergency in my mind. It sounds like the nurse assessed her and thought she was ok, but needed to be taken home and perhaps followed up by her primary care doctor. Did she say why they changed that decision and decided to call the ambulance instead?

 

[MELSMICE]

When someone passes out for an unknown reason, you call 911 and ask questions later.

I don't mean to bash you--I would be upset to not be notified at all, but it seems you failed to update your emergency contact form.

People who are out of state really can't do anything at the moment of the emergency and I would have been peeved if they excused my other child out of school.

You should have been notified, but I don't think they overreacted at all in regards to having her transported.

I have been transported as has my mother before b/c we passed out in a public place.

I did update the form this year - in fact they have 2 forms on file with the same emergency contact information - one for each child. I'm not sure why they even have old information.

My other DD was excused from school without a legal guardian signing her out. I gave her verbal permission to leave, but did not speak with anyone in charge.

 

[pls5286]

Chiming back in as paramedic here. We do not know what the medics found here first of all. They made the decision to transport to the hospital. 2nd point, a minor child cannot refuse treatment. Unless a parent is on scene and states "Do not touch my child." You have to to treat and transport the child. You do not know why an otherwise healthy 17 y/o passed out for 30 seconds. That is grounds for activating the 911 system. She needs to be treated in an ER.

 

[MELSMICE]

I would be peeved at not being notified first thing, whether I was out of town or not. What I'm not understanding is that the OP's sister was contacted to come pick the child up. What happened between that phone call and the decision to call the ambulance? Why did it suddenly become an emergency if they originally assessed her and determined she needed family to come get her?

I'm sure I'm in the minority but simply passing out doesn't necessarily qualify as a call-the-ambulance emergency in my mind. It sounds like the nurse assessed her and thought she was ok, but needed to be taken home and perhaps followed up by her primary care doctor. Did she say why they changed that decision and decided to call the ambulance instead?

Thank you - this is where a lot of my confusion lies. Why did they contact my sister to pick her up but then transport her to the hospital via ambulance?

They never did call my sister back to tell her not to come get her. I told my sister I would call her back after finding someone else to pick her up.

DD has passed out before & I'm not saying I wasn't concerned. I was. In the first case I was not contacted at all, 2nd time I was contacted, picked her up, gave her some OJ & something to eat & she went back to school.

After each fainting episode she has gone to her primary care Dr., had tests & it's been determined that she has a mild case of low blood sugar. The fainting comes on fast this time though, so she did not have time to grab something to eat quick after starting to feel lousy. Of course, school would not be aware of this, so I am still not flaming what they did, just relaying past experience.

 

[Jenvenza]

You contacted the nurse within 30 - 40 minutes after your daughter was sent to the hospital?

That is still within a reasonable time to try to get hold of you. How do you know that the nurse would not have called you within 45 minutes?

It does sound like the nurse made sure many people were contacted and that the info would get to you asap since you knew pretty much immediately that your daughter was going to the hospital. You called the nurse back yourself half an hour later.



By your first post, it seems like you are more annoyed that they called the ambulance at all. You state that she was "only" out for 30 seconds at most. You told your sister not to leave work. You also state that you wished that they called you "first" before they called the ambulance, no mention that about being upset that they didn't call you after.

Sorry, I can't support you on this. I think the school did everything correctly under the circumstances they were working with.[/QUOTE]


I have to agree with this. I also thought it was odd that you stated she was "only out for 30 second at most." That was kind of confusing to me. I would think that would be cause for alarm and most anyone would call an ambulance to see what was wrong. You seem annoyed they called the ambulance and annoyed they didnt call you first, when you other DD told them you were our of town. They did nothing wrong.

 

[disykat]

My biggest issue would be the emergency forms. We have this problem every year. They send home "last year's form" to update each year and it never seems to have last year's info, only the info that was put on there the very first time I filled out the form.

I've changed work phone numbers every year for the last several years so I end up calling the school to make sure all the emergency contact info is up to date. They are able to verify everything on the phone - yet the next year when we get "last year's form," it's all wrong.

 

[bicker]

Given how they're reducing the number of hours per week that nurses are present in some schools (etc., and so on, with regard to other types of reductions in resourcing for medical-related support, in schools), I think it will become increasingly less likely and less appropriate to expect much from schools with regard to medical issues. We can hope that teachers, admins and whatever nursing staff there may or may not be would take the best prudent and effective actions in the interest of the child's health, as anyone should, without the connotation of obligation to take actions in the interest of the parents' peace of mind. That may not be a happy thought, but think about the last time your district had a school budget vote . . .

 

[TwingleMum]

I don't get the OP's point. Sounds like the nurse did the right thing for the given set of circumstances. Your DD (who isn't a baby but a young adult told the school you were out of state. So they relied on the information and contacted your DSis not a stranger. Your DD loss consciousness so she did the responsible thing and had her taken to an ER. You spoke to the nurse 45 mins after the incident. So I don't get your point about them not calling you. At a emergency scene your 1st priority is the victim not the victims parents. So she rightly focused on the initial call to your Dsis and then went about getting her medical care ie Ambulance to ER. You don't want her stopping treating or monitoring your daughters condition to place phone calls. I also got that your were more annoyed she was taken to the hospital and the nurse "overreacted" I don't think you really have any reason to be annoyed and in fact should be grateful your daughter a) is fine and b) had mediacl personnel at school looking out for her welfare. JMHO

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We fill out new forms every year & I filled out new ones at the beginning of this year again. I'm not sure why they referred to an old form, or why they even have it on file.

If you filled out new forms why did you not have the fainting problem on the form with list of procedure protocol to follow?

Like I said you need to keep the school updated with your dd's medical concerns.

You need to investigate the school's medical protocol. The nurse does not sound like she has her stuff together.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Since the girls are nearly adults twins I can't help but wonder if the non sick daughter told the nurse she would be calling you herself. Are you certain no calls were made to any phones? How many numbers do you have listed home/work/cell? I happen to have 5 on my emergency form and that's just for DH and myself, I don't think you can expect them to call all the numbers and leave messages. In my case I have a note to call home first and my cell second. Maybe they called your home number and left a message there which you just haven't gotten to hear yet. If you have caller ID you will be able to check on this even if someone erased the message. They could have even left a message at your work or your DH's work phone. I'd check ALL phones before getting upset.

I'm glad your DD is ok but you do need to go over this with the Nurse since this has happened before. Maybe you could ask for an appointment and go over the form with her for future reference, especially if there is a substitute on duty.

 

[Rora]

Goodness.

The least they can do is call the Mother? She is still a minor.

Yes - they should call the ambulance. But as soon as it pulls away, the next call should be to everyone on her ER contact list until they reach someone. Did they not contact anyone?

ETA: But couldn't her sister have called you guys? How long was it before you guys were made aware of the situation?

Agreed!

 

[momrek06]

OP, I am just posting to say I am glad that your daughter did indeed receive medical attention.

I am glad you are not posting that no one did anything after your daughter fainted.

Hope your DD is doing well.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

She didn't fail to update the contact form. The school failed to update their records.

I misunderstood and saw that later.

 

[a1tinkfans]

OP: so GLAD your daughter was okay! SCARY indeed.

The school utilizing the WRONG contact form is not acceptable, PERIOD!
I would just call and update them and ask for confirmation that the contacts were updated. (I am not saying a "rant")
At the same time, I also think it was THEIR responsibility to contact you AFTER they took the "immediate" action they felt was needed. SO, in THAT regard they also failed!

I think it was perfectly fine and I would be HAPPY that they called an ambulance rather than trying to figure out what contact was valid...but after getting the situation under control (she left via ambulance) THEY should have called you directly IF your cell was listed! OR whomever was on your list!
For your child, it worked out....BUT...it could have been a DISASTER for another family (perhaps someone with serious issues etc) and school should be made aware of their mistakes (though, I agree in a friendly way!)
Again, just glad she is/was alright!

 

[doxdogy]

Actually here in Florida you can ride in the front. When my mother had a heart attack, I was allowed to ride in front.

I have to agree, the nurse could not take a chance that it wasn't something serious. As for your other DD not being able to go with in the ambulance, that is an ambulance rule, not a school rule-they won't allow people to ride along. Besides, you signed on the med form that they are allowed to take your child in for medical treatment if they can't reach you-and given that your almost adult aged DD's said that you were out of town as were the people on the contact form, they took the reasonable next step.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Actually here in Florida you can ride in the front. When my mother had a heart attack, I was allowed to ride in front.

I think that would be different.

I rode in an ambulance with my mom when I was 4 or 5. She had passed out at a grocery store and they called an ambulance. There was noone to take me and the ambulance had to take me along. But that was in 1978/79 in front of the Piggly Wiggly.

I remember the "pillow" they created for her out of a stack of paperbags.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

Well, the day your child is sent to the emergency room and everyone but you is notified, is the day you can say, I support the school.

It's the schools OBLIGATION to notify the parents anytime there is an emergency.

My son was sent to the emergency room from school a few weeks ago. The school was jumping thru hoops to try and get a hold of me. I kept my son home from school that day. We were both not feeling well, but he was watching TV and I told him I wanted to lie down for a bit. He started feeling better, and went to school without telling me anything, OR bringing me my cell phone (no landlines anymore). He later said he wanted to let me get some sleep. Well, the school tried and tried to get a hold of me, but couldn't. They even had students calling me (friends of my son's) to let me know they were sending him to the hospital. They finally ended up calling my husband at work because notifying a parent is priority #2 (#1 is getting help on the way like an ambulance).

There is no excuse or justification that the OP was not notified. None whatsoever!!

They did make contact. The almost adult daughter informed the school that her parents were out of town. The school called the sister, proper procedure.

The sister called the OP. Again, emergency contacts working as they should be working. That is why you have emergency contacts listed, so that they can be relied upon to contact you if the school cannot. Since the school was specifically told the parents were out of town, the school did what they were supposed to do and contacted the sister.

Per OP's first post, she called the school back within 30 - 40 minutes. Again, communication working properly.

During that half hour between the sister being called and the OP getting in touch with the school, something happened to make the school decide to call 911.

It is not unreasonable to believe that 30 minutes is just enough time to call the ambulance, wait for the ambulance, stay with the student until transported.

If the school hadn't called by the end of the day, then I could support the OP calling the nurse to first of all thank her for helping her daughter, but also to inform the nurse that they needed to make sure the updated forms were in her daughter's file.

Again though, with the title of the thread;

DD was sent to the hospital from school via ambulance without our knowledge (OP annoyed that an ambulance was called at all without their knowledge)

and with her first post where she states that the Nurse should have called her before she called the ambulance, it is clear that the OP is not upset about not being called after the fact, but annoyed that the school didn't call her before calling an ambulance.

It was only after a page of answers saying that the school did the right thing by calling 911, did the comments of being angered about not being called after the fact pop up.

OP, glad your daughter is ok. Be glad that the school erred on the side of caution and did call the ambulance. 20/20 hindsight is a wonderful thing and now you can look back and say "she was only out for 30 seconds." Be thankful that it was a mundane trip to the ER rather than a more serious emergency.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Your mother is not a minor, and you may have been assumed to have legal authority to make medical decisions regarding your parent's care.

OP: I do agree that the school was negligent in not calling you as soon as the immediate situation was under control. I am sure that they 'assumed' that your other daughter and your sister called you right away. ASSUMPTIONS do not fulfill obligations. (make sure neither your daughter or your sister stated to anyone at the school that they would contact you right away.)

I would go to the school tomorrow morning... ask to see any and all emergency contact forms... take and fold them up and put them in my purse... and personally see that new and updated forms are left there, on file, with the school. (I would say 'very methodically rip them up', but then that would make me the drama queen!!!)

PS: If your daughter has a medical (blood sugar) condition that is bad enough to cause her to pass out... This is very dangerous. I would look into implementing a medical 504 immediately. She would be allowed to carry things to eat to elevate her blood sugar, and to excuse herself to eat them in class - if necessary... Information and directions regarding her condition and how it should be handled would then have to be available and followed by all school staff.

PS: Ranting about lame school nurses seems to be common. Around here they are not known to be something that one can count on.