GUIDELINES FOR DECISIONS RELATED TO THE PROVISION OF SERVICES TO MEDICALLY COMPLEX STUDENTS IN FLORIDA PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Contributors: University of Miami.
Published: 1993
Number of pages: 212
Subjects: Education, Administration.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of this study was to determine how services were currently being provided to medically complex students in Florida schools. The legal, financial, and school-based administrative considerations which impact on the provision of these services were examined.

Questions focused on: the types and numbers of medically complex students enrolled during the 1991-1992 school year; the medically related services provided and who performed the procedures; the types of staff training; and the documentation of services. Information was collected on the provision of transportation, equipment, financial considerations and decision making processes related to the placement and implementation of services to meet individual students' needs in the school setting.

Surveys were designed and conducted by mail for nurses, teachers, and administrators using a statified random sample. A telephone survey was administered to a random sample of transportation personnel in counties, that in a preliminary statewide census, reported transporting of medically complex students. Interview questionnaires developed for parents and physicians were administered either by telephone or via the mail, based on participant choice, with follow up telephone calls where clarifications or more detailed information was requested.

Analyses of the data, using descriptive statistics and qualitative information from participant comments, indicated: (1) The numbers of medically complex students, their diagnoses and the nursing procedures currently needed in schools was consistent with research in the field; (2) Staff training, designation of who performs procedures, involvement in decisions related to placement in the Least Restrictive Environment, and the Individual Education Plan, were found to be inconsistent across districts and respondent groups.

Findings were incorporated into two models for decision making: one for placement in the Least Restrictive Environment; the other, for determining the provision of medically related services. Guidelines related to the management of risk and the necessity for documentation were also recommended.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-01, Section: A, page: 0034.

Thesis (ED.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, 1993.

School code: 0125.