Emergency Care Cards in US public schools

[robert_columbia]

I remember as a child in the US that every year, I was supposed to bring in (or have a parent bring in) a card listing official info about my parents and emergency contact info, as well as a signature that the school was allowed to take me to the emergency room in case of an emergency and that they had permission to give me medical services if deemed necessary.

Now, I can see the law supporting the requirement that parents must supply contact info, but what would happen if I became a parent and adamantly refused to grant the local public school system to treat my child? I suspect that it might constitute per se neglect, possibly leading to a visit from Child Protective Services about why I don’t care about my kids health, but then I don’t think the law is terribly keen on forcing people to grant consent, the law just forces people to do something. It’s like the fact that a court would never (or so I am led to believe) order someone to “consent” to a search, as that could be seen as infringing on someone’s conscience, the court would just order the search.

Note: I am unmarried with no kids and am unlikely to become a parent soon, and I am not looking for legal advice.

[alphaboi867]

My WAG is that because the school is by law acting in loco parentis of every student they can legally give consent for emergency medical treatment (or administer first aid) regardless of the parents’ wishs; the cards are just CYA and to verify contact info. Parents implicitly give consent merely by sending their kid to the school.

[Kent_Clark]

What do you mean by “treatment”? In Missouri, the school wouldn’t so much as give your kid an aspirin without your expressed consent.

167.621. 1. Persons providing health services under sections 167.600 to 167.621 shall obtain authorization from a parent or guardian of the child before providing services as provided by section 431.061, RSMo.

So what if your kid gets hurt on the playground?

2. No employee of any school district may be required to administer medication or medical services for which the employee is not qualified according to standard medical practices. No employee who refuses to violate this provision shall be subject to any disciplinary action for such refusal. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any employee from providing routine first aid, provided that any employee shall be held harmless from any liability if such employee is following a proper procedure adopted by the local school board.

But what happens if you tell the school to keep their hands off your kid, and then the kid gets hit by a meteor at school?

431.063. In addition to any other instances in which a lack of consent is excused or in which a consent is implied at law, a consent to surgical or medical treatment or procedures shall be implied where an emergency exists if there has been no protest or refusal of consent by a person authorized and empowered to consent, or, if so, there has been a subsequent change in the condition of the person affected that is material and morbid, and there is no one immediately available who is authorized, empowered, willing and capacitated to consent. For the purposes hereof, an “emergency” is defined as a situation wherein, in competent medical judgment, the proposed surgical or medical treatment or procedures are immediately or imminently necessary and any delay occasioned by an attempt to obtain a consent would reasonably jeopardize the life, health or limb of the person affected, or would reasonably result in disfigurement or impairment of faculties.

Emphasis added.

In other words, unless you’re actually there to say no, consent is implied during an emergency.

[Llama_Llogophile]

When I was a teacher, I once had to take a kid to the hospital. We were unable to reach the parent, so we made the decision because of in loco parentis.

BTW, I used to think that meant, “Your parents are crazy.”

[Markxxx]

You’d be fine as long as you were administering true first aid. States have “good samaritan laws” which protect people and organizations acting in the best interests and within first aid.

Giving a kid an aspirin, is most likely not going to be “first aid.” So what if they kid has a headache, it may hurt but it’s not gonna kill him. Stopping him from bleeding is another matter.

In any event you could always call an ambulance, and the city and hospital will assume it from there.

When I was the night manager of a hotel, I would have guests complain and look ill and then refuse to let me call an ambulence. While they were in my lobby, I called the ambulance anyway, then when the EMTs arrived I let the guest fight it out with the EMT. Almost always the guest went with the EMT but a few times the guest refused and the EMT made them sign an AMA (against medical advice) waiver.

But that way I figured, hey I’m off the hook and the company is off the hook if the guest refuses to go with the ambulance.