Health care services are provided by nursing staff in each of our seven schools. Each school has one or more registered nurses available to provide health care services whenever school is in session. With over 70,000 office visits recorded every school year, our primary mission is to provide exceptional health services to support every student’s academic success.  Our Director of Nursing supervises district-wide health office activities and assures compliance with regulatory standards set by the Massachusetts Departments of Public Health (MDPH) and Elementary and Secondary Education.   A school physician serves as an advisor to the nurses.

School Health Services Contact Information

Malden Public Schools – 110 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148
Patricia Tramondozzi MSN, BSN, RN
Director of Nursing
Office: 781-397-6106
FAX: 781-397-1547
Email: ptramondozzi@maldenps.org

Beebe – 401 Pleasant Street
Victoria MacDonald MEd, BSN, RN, NCSN    Renee Domegan MSN, BSN, RN
Office: 781-388-0627
FAX:  781-388-0628
Email: beebenurses@maldenps.org

Early Learning Center – 257 Mountain Avenue

Lori Barrasso  MSN, BSN, RN
Office: 781-397-7031
FAX:  781-321-3495
Email: elcnurses@maldenps.org

Ferryway – 150 Cross Street

Karen Swartwout RN                Deb Leehan, BSN, RN
Office: 781-388-0667
FAX: 781-321-1053
Email: ferrywaynurses@maldenps.org

Forestdale – 74 Sylvan Street

Kristina Diggin BSN, RN, NCSN
Office: 781-397-1508
FAX: 781-388-0898
Email:  forestdalenurse@maldenps.org

Linden STEAM Academy – 29 Wescott Street

Nensi Salamurovic-Cirkic MEd, BSN, RN            Julie Cardello, BSN, RN
Office: 781-397-1511, 781-397-7014
FAX: 781-397-1512
Email:  lindennurses@maldenps.org

Malden High School – 77 Salem Street

Kathy Donahue MSN,BSN,RN         Maureen Vona MEd, BS, RN           Sheila Butler MSN,BSN,RN
Office: 781-397-6003/6004/6005
FAX: 781-397-7261
Email: nurses.mhs@maldenps.org

Salemwood – 529 Salem Street

Debbi Spadafora MEd, BSN, RN             Vonette Zullo MSN, BSN, RN
Office: 781-388-0606/0652
Fax: 781-324-4263
email:  salemwoodnurses@maldenps.org

Many parents ask,   “When is my child sick enough to stay home from school?”  

This is not always an easy question to answer! We hope that these tips can help! 

A student who is sick will not be able to perform well in school and is likely to spread the illness to other students and staff. We suggest making a plan for childcare ahead of time so you will not be caught without a comforting place for your child to stay if they are ill. 

The following is a list of conditions and symptoms that indicate when you should keep your child home. 

They include, but are not limited to:

• Fever greater than 100 F – Your child may return when their fever has been gone for over 24 hours without medication, and if no other symptoms are present.
• Vomiting/ Diarrhea – Your child may return when symptom free for greater than 24 hours without medication or other symptoms 
• Rash- Your child may return with a physician’s note that it is not contagious. 
• Strep infections of any kind, strep throat, ringworm, conjunctivitis, or impetigo – These are all contagious infections and must be treated with medication for at least 24 hours before returning to school 
• Head Lice – Your child may return after treatment; and no live lice present. – must follow up with the school nurse upon returning to school.
• Bad cold, with a very runny nose or bad cough, especially if it has kept the child awake at night – your child may return when symptoms resolve.
• Pain should be taken seriously, especially in young children. Earaches, toothaches, sore throats and headaches should be evaluated
• Any symptoms suggestive of COVID 19 or close contact exposure –

We are not currently COVID testing or contact tracing; but will have limited at home tests to give to you if you request. If your child is symptomatic we may request that your child is tested prior to returning to school. If your child has tested positive for COVID, they need to remain out of school for five days. They may return on day 6 as long as they are fever free for 24 hours and symptoms have significantly improved. They will need to wear a mask for 5 days on return.   These guidelines are set by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and DESE.

• As a reminder – frequent hand washing is always our best defense against illness.

If your child becomes ill at school and the school nurse feels your child is too sick to benefit from school or is contagious to other children, you will be called to come and take them home from school. It is essential that the nurse has a phone number where you can be contacted during the day and an emergency number in the event you cannot be reached. Please be sure that arrangements can be made to transport your child home from school and that childcare is available in case of illness. If your daytime or emergency phone number changes during the year, please notify the main office at your students’ school.

These guidelines are meant to serve the best interests of all the students in school. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call Patti Tramondozzi, Director of Nursing or your student’s school nurse.

Please help the school nurse care for your child by

• Informing the nurse if your child has any chronic or acute illnesses
• Communicating with the nurse directly if medication or health needs changes
• Contacting the school nurse directly if you student has been diagnosed with a communicable disease such as  COVID 19 or Influenza
• Updating the phone numbers on your child’s emergency card so the nurse can always reach you
• Sharing with the nurse if there is an event at home or in the family that may impact your child at school such as serious illness or death of a family member, death of a beloved pet.
• Parents are encouraged to send in a copy of their student’s yearly physical exam so the school health record can be updated.
• Completing the Emergency Health Form and return to the school nurse at the beginning of each year.

Emergency Health Form – all students

School Health Screenings

As mandated by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, School Health Unit, Malden Public Schools performs the following health screenings on students:

Hearing – grades K-3, grade 7, grade 10.

Vision – grades K-5, grade 7, and grade 10.

Height and weight- BMI –  grades 1, 4, 7, and 10   for BMI information see below 

Postural screenings – all students grade 5-9  for more postural information see below

SBIRT screenings – grades 7 and 9

If your child fails the Vision, Hearing, or Postural screening—you will be notified by letter for follow up with your own physician.

BMI result letters will not be sent home; if you are interested in knowing your child’s BMI, you may contact the school nurse.

Postural Screening Program will be for students whose parents/guardians choose to have the screening.

SBIRT screenings (Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment) will have letters sent home in grade 7 & 9 students only prior to screenings.

SBIRT letter English,  Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese

Opt-out form is available for all of these screenings.  Please send this to the school nurse.  Opt-out form here 

BMI (Body Mass Index) Screening information

BMI is a measure that is used to show a person’s weight for height for age. It is calculated using an individual’s height and weight. Just like a blood pressure reading or an eye screening test, BMI can be a useful tool in identifying possible health risks, but it does not provide a diagnosis.

Massachusetts schools have taken students’ heights and weights each year since the 1950s. According to the state’s new BMI screening regulations (approved in 2013), schools must now collect the heights and weights of students in grades 1, 4, 7 and 10. BMI data collected for all children in these grades will be gathered and reported to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as a combined number. No individual student’s BMI results will be shared with anyone other than you.

The school nurse will supervise your child’s screening and will make sure your child’s privacy is respected at all times. Your child’s height, weight, and BMI measurements are strictly confidential – results will be kept in your child’s school health record and will not be shared with anyone without your written permission.

This year, the BMI screening will take place in the nurse’s office during the school year. All children in grades 1, 4, 7 and 10 will have their height and weight measured and will have their BMI calculated at that time. Parents and/or legal guardians can request that their child not participate in this screening. This request must be submitted by completing the OPT-OUT form.  

Additional information about children’s wellness and fitness is available upon request, or you may access the state’s resources at www.mass.gov/massinmotion/. 

If you have any questions, please contact your student’s school nurse or Patti Tramondozzi, Director of Nursing.

Postural Screening information

For students whose parents/guardians choose to have the screening:

Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L. c.71, s.57) require that all public school students in grades five through nine be screened annually for the early detection of spinal problems. This is not a diagnostic service but a screening program to identify children who should have further medical evaluation.

The screening consists of observations of the student’s back when standing and bending forward and will be done by a school nurse. Boys and girls are screened separately and privately.  The results are recorded in the confidential school health record.  If your child has any unusual findings, you will be notified and asked to have your child seen by a health care provider. 

Students are asked to wear clothing that permits observation of their backs.  If students do not have the type of clothing that permits observation of the back or refuse screening, they will not be screened and parents/guardians will be notified that the screening was not done.  Follow up should be with the student’s health care provider if recommended.

Please feel free to contact the school nurse with any questions about postural screening.

Medication Requirements – if your student needs to have daily or emergency medication in school

1. Medications in Malden Public Schools must be delivered to the School Nurse by a parent/guardian/adult.
2. Medications are not to be given to the student to take to the Nurse. They also will not be sent home with a student.
3. No medications, prescription as well as over the counter, will be given without signed parent permission. If prescription medications, we must have written doctor’s orders  as well.
4. At the end of the school year, medications need to be picked up by a parent/guardian/adult or they will be destroyed.  The exceptions to this are epi-pens and inhalers, which are allowed to stay in school over summer vacation for the next school year.  Expired inhalers and epi-pens will be destroyed if not picked up.
5. NURSES  ARE NOT  in the schools during the summer, so any medications left and needed for the summer will not be retrievable. If you think you will need your child’s medication over the summer please let us know to send home or pick up on the last day of school.

Parent/Guardian consent form

MD order form for Medication

Immunization/Physical requirements K-12

All immunizations must meet Massachusetts minimum requirements and must be certified in writing by a licensed physician before a child is admitted to school.

Massachusetts State law requires the following immunizations:

*Kindergarten entrance requirements:

• DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus) – 5 doses—- the last dose must be after the age of 4.
• Polio – 4 doses—-the last dose must be after age 4.
• MMR – 2 doses—-the first dose is after the age of 1
• Hepatitis B – 3 doses
• Varicella – 2 doses or documented disease history from MD
• TB testing per Malden Board of Health
  • TB risk assessment from healthcare provider, if born in US.
  • Actual TB test and results, if not born in US or if student has been out of the country for more than 28 days.
• Physical Exam – done within 1 year of entrance to school.
• Lead screening – most recent

*Grade 5 & 9 additional requirements:

• Physical Exam – completed within the year of grade entrance
• Parents are encouraged to send in a copy of their student’s yearly physical exam so the school health record can be updated.

*ALL Grade 7 students require:

• 1 dose TDap
• 1 dose MenACWY

*  ALL Grade 11 students require – (beginning September 2020)

• 2 doses of MenACWY  (one dose given after 16th birthday)

ALL NEW STUDENTS TO MALDEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

• Massachusetts State law immunization grade level requirements
• MUST have a current physical exam done within 1 year of entrance to school
• MUST have TB testing per Malden Board of Health
  • TB risk assessment from healthcare provider, if born in US.
  • Actual TB test and results, if not born in US or if student has been out of the country for more than 28 days.

Please note that if your student travels out of the country for more than 28 days at any time during the school year, including the summer break, it is Malden Public School Policy (per Malden Board of Health) that they must have a TB test done and read before re-registering or returning to school.

Please contact your student’s doctor or visit the Malden Board of Health for this required TB screening.  You may call the Board of Health directly at 781-397-7052 to schedule an appointment upon your return.

Please bring TB test date and results to the Welcome Center if re-registering your child or bring to the your student’s school nurse upon return,  if during the summer break.

If you have any questions, please contact Patti Tramondozzi directly by phone or email

Medical and Religious Exemptions

• * Physicians must document any medical exemptions – **must be renewed yearly
• **Letter written and signed by parent/guardian for religious exemptions – **must renew yearly.