If your child has a medical condition that we need to be aware of, please make sure you have entered their information on the medical section of their Homebase student profile.  Typically this is done during the enrollment process when you fill out the Family Intake Form.  If you need to update your child’s medical information after filling out the Intake Form, please complete this Homebase Profile Update Request Form. In doing so, please be as thorough and detailed as possible regarding the description, symptoms, and response to your child’s condition, including when you would like to be notified of symptoms. We will use the information you provide to better help, serve, and care for your student.

Parent Instructions: Read this webpage to be aware of UHC’s Allergy Policy.

We welcome students with food allergies as members of UHC, and we strive to be sensitive to their needs. However, although certain volunteers and/or other workers have been familiarized with allergies, anaphylaxis, and epinephrine administration, these individuals are not medically trained personnel and do not have professional training or experience in meeting the needs of students with such allergies or in identifying symptoms or signs that the student is in distress or may need emergency medical treatment. To that end, we cannot assure that a student will be protected from every substance that might cause an allergic reaction while attending UHC or that their medical needs will be appropriately handled or met if they do have an exposure. Due to the many variables out of our control in a shared facility, there is actually a high likelihood of contact with allergy-causing substances. With this in mind, we have thought through some precautions that may help students with allergies while on the campus:

• Parent & Student Responsibilities:
  • Parents of students with a food allergy must notify UHC of their child’s allergy by completing the medical section on their student’s profile on the Family Intake Form during enrollment.  Likewise, if an allergy develops mid-year, it is the parent’s responsibility to notify UHC by emailing your Director with the updated information so they can add it to your child’s profile.
    • High School & Middle School: Directors make copies of medical/allergy information for administrative staff and assistants, and also copy the information into each student’s medical profile in Jupiter Ed for easy access for teachers.
    • Elementary: Directors make copies of medical/allergy information for administrative staff, teachers, and assistants, and for students in 3rd-5th grades also copy the information into each student’s medical profile in Jupiter Ed for easy access for teachers.
  • Parents are encouraged to do ongoing training with their student on how to advocate for themselves by learning to recognize if possible food contaminants are in the vicinity of the student and notifying an adult in charge.
  • Parents who feel that their student could be in danger of contamination should stay on campus while their student is attending UHC classes. This is not meant to cause undue hardship, but is meant to help the parent guide and direct the student’s choices and to be on hand in the event that a food contamination occurs.
  • Students with life-threatening food allergies must keep their needed emergency supplies in their backpacks and a copy of the written plan with them at all times.

• Additional Elementary Specific Precautions:
  • In addition to staff and teachers, copies of each student’s allergy or medical information are in the parent assistant’s folder and parent assistants are reminded during the Parent Assistant morning meeting to read over each form so they are aware of each student’s allergy. If a parent feels it is necessary to communicate face to face with the Parent Assistant of their elementary student, they are encouraged to come in and talk with the Parent Assistant at the beginning of each class day.
  • Teachers or Directors will inform parents when food will be used as part of the lesson. Parents may supply an alternative if their student cannot eat the food for the lesson.
  • Parents will be asked at the beginning of the year to notify the class if they are bringing in food for a celebration event so that parents may provide an alternative snack if needed.
  • Teachers may have specific classes wash their hands before beginning group work after eating.
  • Teachers may lead a mini lesson at the beginning of the year showing the students information about food allergies in an effort to help the students in a class learn to assist their classmate, depending on the situation.

Unfortunately, UHC is not equipped to provide additional protection for any student with severe allergies. If you feel these measures do not adequately protect your child, you must attend lunch with them each day. Parents are an integral part of our unique hybrid approach to education. Our triangle analogy between the Parent/Teacher/Student, is critical to the success of our students with life-threatening allergies.