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

[MELSMICE]

Last Tuesday DH & I flew to WDW together. Our DD's, 20, 17 & 17 stayed home until Friday afternoon & then met us there for a few days. I spoke with the teacher that was with her when it happened & he said she was out for about 30 seconds - if that.

On Thursday I got a call from my sister saying she had to pick up one of my DD's from school as she had passed out. This has happened before & while I was concerned, I didn't want my sister to leave her school teacher job to pick her up. I told her I would contact my neighbor or FIL to get her.

In the process of trying to contact someone the nurse had an ambulance take our DD to the hospital. The nurse/school never tried to call DH or myself. They also did not let my other DD (her twin) go to the hospital with her. They did allow twin to leave school & she met her twin at the hospital with my FIL.

When I finally talked to the school nurse & asked why DH or I weren't contacted she said the girls told us we were out of town. They also didn't follow the emergency form that we fill out every year. They were going to contact my parents who are listed on their freshman form (they are seniors) until my DD's told them my parents reside in Florida now.

I'm glad my DD is OK (she had numerous tests done) but I did tell the nurse that we should have been contacted first & I don't understand why we weren't. She said she just thought it best to get her to the hospital.

I have not made a big deal out of this at all & with the exception of contacting her teacher have not contacted the school regarding it. Other than letting them know we want to be contacted in these situations, is there anything else I should be doing?

Honestly, I think the nurse completely panicked, but that's JMO. I guess better safe than sorry, but I still think she panicked.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Wow, anybody who likes to assume that I am a negative school/teacher basher.... take note:

Maybe I am misreading the original post.
But, if my child passes out, and I am out of town/state, I would be more than upset if they did NOT seek medical attention IMMEDIATELY.

Who is currently on your emergency contact form?
Were they contacted... Is it your sister, who seems to be the adult who responded here.

Also, an ambulance would not allow a minor (other than the patient) to travel with them.
If your other daughter was checked out by a valid adult and taken to join her sister in that way, then that is what is expected/appropriate.

I am not completely sure that I can join you, OP, in flaming the school just yet.

With everyone having cellphones these days, if you have a cell listed, I do think that you should have been contacted in that way, as soon as the situation was under control. I am thinking that one of your three children, or your sister, or somebody else had already contacted you at that moment. If your sister is your Emergency Contact, perhaps making sure that she has been contacted fills their responsibility.... But, IMHO, they should STILL obligated to speak with you personally as soon as reasonably possible, AFTER the situation is under control. (not just your emergency contact).

Perhaps you can ask what policy requires.

 

[Heidict]

Well, from what you have said, the nurse knew that you were out of town and that the people on the contact list where no longer residing in the state. She was more concerned with your daughters safety/health then with trying to track down a family member.

Good for her. She put your daughter first, as I'm sure you would have wanted her to.

Did she call you after all this was said and done? Or did she call any family member?

 

[DVC-Don]

The nurse did right IMO.

 

[LuvBaloo]

I think its good that the nurse opted for an ambulance because better safe than sorry.

It does sound like the school needs to clean out their files, if they were looking at the girls freshman emergency contact form, and you've filled in new ones since then. You may want to double-check that they have the correct form on hand now.

 

[ols386]

I can sure understand that you would want to be contacted in a situation like this, but I guess if it were my child, I would just be thankful that the nurse/teacher/school responded so quickly in getting the child medical assistance. I honestly believe that's the most important thing here. I understand that the school does probably have a certain protocal to follow, but I think they were trying to do what they thought was BEST for your dd, at that moment in time. I hope your dd is doing well now.

 

[golfgal]

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.

 

[maroo]

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?

 

[Liberty Belle]

Last Tuesday DH & I flew to WDW together. Our DD's, 20, 17 & 17 stayed home until Friday afternoon & then met us there for a few days. I spoke with the teacher that was with her when it happened & he said she was out for about 30 seconds - if that.

On Thursday I got a call from my sister saying she had to pick up one of my DD's from school as she had passed out. This has happened before & while I was concerned, I didn't want my sister to leave her school teacher job to pick her up. I told her I would contact my neighbor or FIL to get her.

In the process of trying to contact someone the nurse had an ambulance take our DD to the hospital. The nurse/school never tried to call DH or myself. They also did not let my other DD (her twin) go to the hospital with her. They did allow twin to leave school & she met her twin at the hospital with my FIL.

When I finally talked to the school nurse & asked why DH or I weren't contacted she said the girls told us we were out of town. They also didn't follow the emergency form that we fill out every year. They were going to contact my parents who are listed on their freshman form (they are seniors) until my DD's told them my parents reside in Florida now.

I'm glad my DD is OK (she had numerous tests done) but I did tell the nurse that we should have been contacted first & I don't understand why we weren't. She said she just thought it best to get her to the hospital.

I have not made a big deal out of this at all & with the exception of contacting her teacher have not contacted the school regarding it. Other than letting them know we want to be contacted in these situations, is there anything else I should be doing?

Honestly, I think the nurse completely panicked, but that's JMO. I guess better safe than sorry, but I still think she panicked.

I don't get it. Anytime my sons' school nurses feel they need to call an ambulance for my sons, they're welcome to. Of course I'd definitely want to be told, but after they called the ambulance, not before! Better safe than sorry.

 

[ilovepcot]

I would have been downright angry if the nurse had put off sending my daughter to the hospital in favor of "tracking me down" while at WDW. Precious time could have been lost...then what? Where my family is concerned...better safe than sorry.

 

[pls5286]

Ok, first off, you definitely should have been notified by the school nurse that your daughter passed out, whether your daughters told them you were out of town or not, after EMS had left for the hospital.

If not by the school, the hospital should have called you requesting permission to treat your minor child. I am a paramedic. I can understand why her sister was not allowed to ride in the ambulance unless she was completely hysterical and she was allowed to ride to comfort her and help keep her calm. Emergency Services Personnel have a duty to act and also act on implied consent with minor children which states that if a parent is not present that any parent would want treatment for there minor child in an emergency situation. Hospital personnel actually have the responsibility to contact the parents once the child is at the hospital.

 

[MELSMICE]

Wow, anybody who likes to assume that I am a negative school/teacher basher.... take note:

Maybe I am misreading the original post.
But, if my child passes out, and I am out of town/state, I would be more than upset if they did NOT seek medical attention IMMEDIATELY.

Who is currently on your emergency contact form?
Were they contacted... Is it your sister, who seems to be the adult who responded here.

Also, an ambulance would not allow a minor (other than the patient) to travel with them.
If your other daughter was checked out by a valid adult and taken to join her sister in that way, then that is what is expected/appropriate.

I am not completely sure that I can join you, OP, in flaming the school just yet.

I am really not flaming the school. I am not upset. It's over, it's done, DD is OK & that's all that matters.

I just wish they would have contacted us. They did not, actually, I called the school to get the information after speaking with my sister. My other DD called my MIL & she called my DH about the event.

Actually, my other DD (the twin) was not checked out of school by another adult. She was allowed to go home via my car by herself & my FIL picked her up at home.

Well, from what you have said, the nurse knew that you were out of town and that the people on the contact list where no longer residing in the state. She was more concerned with your daughters safety/health then with trying to track down a family member.

Good for her. She put your daughter first, as I'm sure you would have wanted her to.

Did she call you after all this was said and done? Or did she call any family member?

The people residing out of state (my parents) are not on my current contact list that I just filled out for the current school year. They are on the form from when the girls were freshman.

The nurse did not call us - we contacted her. That's not to say she was not going to contact us, but we were not notified prior to my call. I'm not sure of the time lapse - I'd say about 30 - 40 minutes from the time she passed out until I spoke with the nurse.

Also, the first time my DD passed out at school we were not notified at all. She called me from school later in the day to tell me.

Again - I'm not flaming the school. I don't plan on over reacting about this with the school - just would have liked a phone call from the nurse, but I am thankful that she took care of my DD.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Last Tuesday DH & I flew to WDW together. Our DD's, 20, 17 & 17 stayed home until Friday afternoon & then met us there for a few days. I spoke with the teacher that was with her when it happened & he said she was out for about 30 seconds - if that.

On Thursday I got a call from my sister saying she had to pick up one of my DD's from school as she had passed out. This has happened before & while I was concerned, I didn't want my sister to leave her school teacher job to pick her up. I told her I would contact my neighbor or FIL to get her.

In the process of trying to contact someone the nurse had an ambulance take our DD to the hospital. The nurse/school never tried to call DH or myself. They also did not let my other DD (her twin) go to the hospital with her. They did allow twin to leave school & she met her twin at the hospital with my FIL.

When I finally talked to the school nurse & asked why DH or I weren't contacted she said the girls told us we were out of town. They also didn't follow the emergency form that we fill out every year. They were going to contact my parents who are listed on their freshman form (they are seniors) until my DD's told them my parents reside in Florida now.

I'm glad my DD is OK (she had numerous tests done) but I did tell the nurse that we should have been contacted first & I don't understand why we weren't. She said she just thought it best to get her to the hospital.

I have not made a big deal out of this at all & with the exception of contacting her teacher have not contacted the school regarding it. Other than letting them know we want to be contacted in these situations, is there anything else I should be doing?

Honestly, I think the nurse completely panicked, but that's JMO. I guess better safe than sorry, but I still think she panicked.

For starters they do not have you fill out a new form at the beginning of the yr? That is some pretty poor protocol right there.

You need to have a correct form on file and have a name on there that can pick up your kids in the event that you are not available.

Since your dd mentioned you were out of town she felt responsible for your dd's safety and called an ambulance.

 

[MELSMICE]

Ok, first off, you definitely should have been notified by the school nurse that your daughter passed out, whether your daughters told them you were out of town or not, after EMS had left for the hospital.

If not by the school, the hospital should have called you requesting permission to treat your minor child. I am a paramedic. I can understand why her sister was not allowed to ride in the ambulance unless she was completely hysterical and she was allowed to ride to comfort her and help keep her calm. Emergency Services Personnel have a duty to act and also act on implied consent with minor children which states that if a parent is not present that any parent would want treatment for there minor child in an emergency situation. Hospital personnel actually have the responsibility to contact the parents once the child is at the hospital.

We contacted the hospital because we weren't sure if she was able to get her personal items with her insurance card, so we wanted to make sure she could get treatment.

She had arrived at the hospital by the time we contacted them. My FIL arrived shortly after that.

I did not realize that other DD would not have been able to ride with her, but it's understandable, considering they are both minors.

Also, my confusion comes in with the fact that the nurse contacted my sister asking her to pick up DD from school & then my MIL called DH to say that DD was on the way to the hospital.

Again, I'm glad DD is OK - I'm glad she got treatment - I'm not disputing that she shouldn't have received treatment.

 

[N.Bailey]

I am glad that they responded in getting your daughter treatment, but I'm with you OP, expecting a call is not too much to ask when your talking about YOUR minor child.

It's ridiculous that they looked at the emergency card from a prior year too. If they have no intention of updating information each and every year, why do they ask parents to fill a new one out every year?

I won't bash the school for getting the treatment and I didn't believe the OP was either, but it's not very responsible to not notify the parents. There is no excuse for that. I don't care if you were sitting on the moon. You should have been notified.

 

[MELSMICE]

For starters they do not have you fill out a new form at the beginning of the yr? That is some pretty poor protocol right there.

You need to have a correct form on file and have a name on there that can pick up your kids in the event that you are not available.

Since your dd mentioned you were out of town she felt responsible for your dd's safety and called an ambulance.

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.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

I am really not flaming the school. I am not upset. It's over, it's done, DD is OK & that's all that matters.

I just wish they would have contacted us. They did not, actually, I called the school to get the information after speaking with my sister. My other DD called my MIL & she called my DH about the event.

Actually, my other DD (the twin) was not checked out of school by another adult. She was allowed to go home via my car by herself & my FIL picked her up at home.


The people residing out of state (my parents) are not on my current contact list that I just filled out for the current school year. They are on the form from when the girls were freshman.

The nurse did not call us - we contacted her. That's not to say she was not going to contact us, but we were not notified prior to my call. I'm not sure of the time lapse - I'd say about 30 - 40 minutes from the time she passed out until I spoke with the nurse.

Also, the first time my DD passed out at school we were not notified at all. She called me from school later in the day to tell me.

Again - I'm not flaming the school. I don't plan on over reacting about this with the school - just would have liked a phone call from the nurse, but I am thankful that she took care of my DD.

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.

Last Tuesday DH & I flew to WDW together. Our DD's, 20, 17 & 17 stayed home until Friday afternoon & then met us there for a few days. I spoke with the teacher that was with her when it happened & he said she was out for about 30 seconds - if that.

On Thursday I got a call from my sister saying she had to pick up one of my DD's from school as she had passed out. This has happened before & while I was concerned, I didn't want my sister to leave her school teacher job to pick her up. I told her I would contact my neighbor or FIL to get her.

In the process of trying to contact someone the nurse had an ambulance take our DD to the hospital. The nurse/school never tried to call DH or myself. They also did not let my other DD (her twin) go to the hospital with her. They did allow twin to leave school & she met her twin at the hospital with my FIL.

When I finally talked to the school nurse & asked why DH or I weren't contacted she said the girls told us we were out of town. They also didn't follow the emergency form that we fill out every year. They were going to contact my parents who are listed on their freshman form (they are seniors) until my DD's told them my parents reside in Florida now.

I'm glad my DD is OK (she had numerous tests done) but I did tell the nurse that we should have been contacted first & I don't understand why we weren't. She said she just thought it best to get her to the hospital.

I have not made a big deal out of this at all & with the exception of contacting her teacher have not contacted the school regarding it. Other than letting them know we want to be contacted in these situations, is there anything else I should be doing?

Honestly, I think the nurse completely panicked, but that's JMO. I guess better safe than sorry, but I still think she panicked.

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.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

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.

 

[N.Bailey]

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.

Sorry, can't support you on this. I believe the school did everything correctly

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!!

 

[monsterkitty]

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.

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.

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.