Nurse and Health Services

According to the CTECS Procedural Plan for Managing Life Threatening Food Allergies (July 1, 2006), it is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to inform the school nurse about any serious or life threatening food allergies your child may have.

If your child has a food allergy requiring administration of prescribed medications (e.g. Epipen, Benadryl, etc.) or one that causes swelling of the face and/or throat, itching, vomiting or diarrhea, please notify the school nurse immediately. In addition to notifying the school nurse of your child’s food allergy, please obtain a written statement of such from your child’s health care provider. Also, please provide the medication(s) that are necessary in the treatment of your child’s food allergic reaction and the health care provider’s written authorization for this medication.

The information you provide about your child’s life threatening food allergy will be used to develop an Individualized Emergency Care Plan with you, for your child. This plan will be used to accommodate your child’s special needs in prevention and/or intervention of incidents involving the food allergen(s). Please remember, it is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to notify the school nurse any time there is a change in the health status of your child.

Forms & Policy

For a library of Resources regarding School Nurse Forms & Policies, please visit the District site here. 

CTECS School Nurse Forms & Policy

The HATS School Based Health Center is different from the school nurse’s office. The School Based Health Center offers medical services like the services that your child would receive when they go to the pediatrician’s office. When necessary, we communicate with your child’s doctor in the community.

• The School Based Health Center also offers mental health services like the services that your child would receive if they went to a therapist/counselor’s office.
• Insurance companies are billed and families will be responsible for any co-pays and/or deductibles. For those who are uninsured or have out-of-state insurance, please contact SBHC directly.
• The services offered are meant to help keep you at work and your child in school whenever possible.
• The School Based Health Center is staffed by a nurse practitioner, a counselor, and an office manager.
   

To take advantage of these services, please complete the registration forms aailable in the SBHC office. Please call (203) 797- 4460 x12922 or x12111 with any questions.

Meet the SBHC Staff

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist: Clare Gelissen, LMFT
Clare brings over 27 years of experience counseling adolescents, adults and families to the SBHC at HATS. She has a bachelor’s degree in Special Education and a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. While trained in Systems Theory, she uses a multitude of treatment approaches including Dialectical Behavior Therapy, along with a blend of short- term, solution-focused strategies. Clare has worked in a variety of settings including schools, hospitals and community agencies. In addition, she has been a clinician with Insight Counseling in Ridgefield for over 20 years where she has run and has co-led many group programs for teens, young adults and families. She has been a school-based clinician at the middle, high school and college levels. Her expertise is in working with teenagers and their families. Clare’s years of professional experience in education and counseling is a testament to her commitment to helping children and families arrive at creative solutions to the problems they encounter.

Nurse Practitioner: Linnea Lang, APRN
Linnea joined CIFC Health’s medical team as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in August 2022 and is the medical provider at HATS SBHC. She received her Master of Science in Nursing from Cedarville University (CU) in 2021. Much of her clinical experience during her master’s program was spent within CIFC Health, between SBHCs and Pediatric Medicine. Linnea graduated from Cedarville University in 2008 with her BSN and spent nearly all her nursing career in NICU at both Yale New Haven Hospital and Danbury Hospital. She is married and has two children. Linnea is passionate about holistically meeting the health needs of adolescent patients and is excited to be a part of the HATS

School Based Health Center Manager: Melanie Bonjour, MPH
Melanie joined the Connecticut Institute For Communities, Inc. in July 2013 immediately after retiring from 34 years of service as a Public Health Educator and Health Center Coordinator for the City of Danbury. She earned a BS degree in School and Community Health Education and a Master’s in Public Administration from Western CT State University. Her most notable achievement has been securing funding to establish Danbury’s first School Based Health Center in 1994. A 30-year resident of the Newtown community, Melanie feels honored to have an integral role in bringing the School Based Health Services to the Newtown Middle School.