Students who reside at Hillcrest Educational Centers are in our care but are not in our custody. Many times their guardians are social workers from state agencies such as Department of Social Services in, New York or Rhode Island, or the Department of Children and Families in Massachusetts and Connecticut. In some cases, parents or relatives may be guardians.
Please refer to the student’s contact form available in the Nurse’s Office to determine the identity of the child’s guardian. These forms can be found in a binder with the latest updated face sheets.
If a student is in the custody of a person other than the parent and prescribed an antipsychotic medication, the referral source or placement agency will be notified and judicial approval (Roger’s Order) will be sought for Massachusetts students.

The Hillcrest psychiatrist rounds weekly at each campus and is responsible for medication reviews, orders and changes of all prescribed psychiatric medications.

After orders are written by the doctor, a nurse will transcribe the order onto the Medication Administration Record (MAR) with a post-it note attached (indicating the status of consent for a specific medication.
When consents are obtained from the guardian, the medication order should then be faxed to the pharmacy.
A verbal consent from the guardian that is witnessed by another nurse can be processed but should also be followed by obtaining written permission from the parent/guardian. This will be accomplished by faxing/mailing the consent form (see attached) to the appropriate person and receiving a signed form to be filed in the student record.
If after placing multiple calls to the parent or guardian agency each day, and a reply is not received within 72 hours, then the Program Director at the Hillcrest campus must be notified. An attempt to reach the guardian should also be attempted via fax or mail.
Additionally, the social worker of an involved agency may also be helpful in contacting a parent. A call should be placed to the social worker explaining the current status of the situation with a request for assistance.
The consent for a specific medication should include the dosage range noted by the prescribing psychiatrist. This along with the expected outcome and side effects should be explained to the parent when the consent is verbally obtained which is then followed by a signature on the consent form. If the dosage is changed to exceed what is noted on the original consent, then a new consent should be obtained.
Students under the guardianship of Connecticut DCF have a specific department to handle medication consents. A form provided by the department should be completed and faxed to the APRN who will review the request and fax her recommendations to the appropriate campus. A notification form along with a call should also be sent to the social worker involved with the student so they remain informed of any medication changes.
In the event that a consent is already on file for a specific medication and a change of dosage (falling within the range previously consented) is ordered by the psychiatrist, a phone call to the guardian explaining the change and reminding the guardian that a signed consent is already in place is required. A written notification must also be mailed or faxed as a follow-up to verbal notification.
There is no need to wait for a response or signature to this form if the consent is on file. The medication can be administered as soon as the pharmacy makes a delivery.
A note of explanation along with the notification form should be mailed/faxed even of no verbal contact is achieved.
All medication changes or new medication orders will be explained to the student prior to or at the time of administration.

All students 18 years of age or older and who have not been deemed incompetent in court may sign the consent for medication. In this case, the referring agency or parent should still be notified of the change or new medication.

Authorization will be renewed annually; consents and physician orders are valid for one year unless otherwise noted by physician.

EXCEPT IN CASES OF EMERGENCY, MEDICATION MAY NOT BE GIVEN UNTIL VERIFICATION OF CONSENT IS ON FILE.