Cardigan Mountain School A junior boarding and day school for boys in grades 6—9

Health & Wellness

The Hamilton Family Foundation Student Health Center is an outpatient health care facility located on campus in Hinman Hall.  The Center is open until 10 p.m. daily and a nurse is on call during the overnight hours. 

If a student is feeling ill, he should first seek out a dorm parent or faculty member who may call ahead or send the student to the Health Center. After being examined at the Health Center, a student will be given the appropriate treatment and either instructed to attend school obligations or be confined. 

Students who are admitted to a Health Center bed will be given appropriate care, nutrition, and fluids, as well as an absent pass. Students will be monitored in the Health Center until such time as they are cleared to return to their dorm. Students may be monitored overnight in the Health Center should it be necessary. If a physician orders 24-hour care, your student may be admitted to an off-campus facility.  

Health Appointments & Transportation Off Campus

Appointments are scheduled at off-site health facilities for care provided by physicians, dentists, psychiatrists, orthodontists, optometrists, physical therapists, and the like. The School can usually provide transportation by designated staff for a fee. However, some situations may require hiring another authorized person to transport a student to an unscheduled and/or out-of-area appointment, also for a fee. When possible, a Health Center staff member will accompany students to their appointments.

Medical Emergencies: Emergency medical services are provided by the Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, both of which are located in Lebanon, New Hampshire. The Fast Squad (Canaan EMT and ambulance service) is called to transport a student with a serious medical emergency.  

Providers that are frequently used by Cardigan include Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Both are located in nearby Lebanon, NH.

Medications

At the start of the academic year, all medications, including vitamins and supplements, must be given directly to the nurse and are not to be kept by students. (Exceptions include students with asthma who may have their rescue inhaler with them or those with severe allergies requiring an EpiPen.) Providing written prescriptions to the Health Center for refilling medications is the responsibility of the parent(s) or guardian. It is preferable to receive written prescriptions so they may be filled in a timely manner. Please collaborate with your student’s primary care provider to make these arrangements. Remember to notify the Health Center in advance if you will be taking your student for a visit and will need his medication. Any medications left behind at the end of the academic year will be destroyed.

While we make reasonable effort to monitor and make the students’ prescribed medication available, we must rely on the students to take personal responsibility. Cooperation is necessary and students must be conscientious. Cardigan has instituted several strategies to assist students who are on medication, including the following: (1) medication is distributed in a central location; (2) the nursing staff monitors compliance, particularly at the beginning of school. 

Just as a high level of responsibility and accountability is expected at Cardigan in other areas (classes, sports, Chapel, jobs, community), the ultimate responsibility for taking medication lies with the individual student. While we have tried to make access to medications as convenient as possible, we are not a school for students who require a monitored, highly supervised therapeutic learning/living environment. 

The medication distribution schedule is printed in the Student Handbook. We have tried to recognize your student’s busy schedule and to make distribution as convenient as possible.

Counseling and Psychological Management

The school counselor plays an integral role in supporting students’ academic, social, and emotional growth at Cardigan. Early adolescence is a time where students face both personal and developmental challenges that have an impact on their academic growth, and the school counselor works with students to help develop a plan to navigate life’s daily challenges. The mission of the school counselor is to implement a comprehensive, developmental school counseling program aligned with the school’s mission to prepare boys—in mind, body, and spirit—for responsible and meaningful lives in a global society. To achieve this, the school counselor meets students on an individual basis, as well as in a group setting.

Individual Services and Referrals

The school counselor works collaboratively with administrators and faculty to identify students who would benefit from individual counseling sessions. In these sessions the counselor will work with students to develop strategies to address social-emotional issues that may be caused by a variety of different reasons, including but not limited to academic, family, and peer issues. Students can be referred by administrators, faculty, or parents, and they can also self-refer. If the school counselor feels a student needs regular, long-term therapeutic counseling, they will work with the director of Health Services and the director of student life and the student’s family to refer the student to the School’s consulting mental health counselor. If a student entering Cardigan already has an established counseling relationship, the director of Health Services can facilitate private sessions via Skype, if appropriate. The school counselor will then be a liaison between the mental health provider and the student’s immediate team to coordinate how to best support the student at Cardigan.

Groups and Wellness Curriculum

Part of a comprehensive, developmental school counseling program is offering group work for students. Throughout the year, all students will participate in classroom guidance. The curriculum is emergent and will be based on the needs of each class. Topics include transitions, stress management, friendship, conflict resolution, and communication. The counselor may also be called upon to assist in creating educational curriculum to enhance the residential life programs.

Family Crisis

In the event of a death or other family tragedy that might create a difficult emotional time for a boy, please contact the administrator-on-duty at 603.443.6252, or the director of student life at 603.523.3509, to arrange for an appropriate time and setting for your student to receive such news.

Policies & Documents

 

Strategic Plan

The Strategic Plan for Cardigan 2032 identifies four action areas that prioritize people and programs:

  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
  • Health & Wellness
  • Program & Curriculum
  • Finance

Strategic Plan

Can we help you?


Karen Gray, RN
Director of Health Services
kgray@cardigan.org