Keeping Children with Complex Health Needs Healthy in Schools
Children with complex health needs have serious medical conditions and often rely on medical devices or people to help them with daily activities. The unique health risks these children face requires extra attention to maintain optimal health while attending school and thriving.
Fortunately, the pandemic is over; however, COVID-19 shed light on the enduring needs these children have to manage risk of respiratory illnesses (such as COVID-19, influenza, RSV, and other common viruses) from school attendance. These risks existed before the pandemic and will continue.
All members of our school communities play a role in helping to keep kids with complex health needs healthy in schools. Our ReSET team is here to help school communities understand what’s possible. As a central principle, families of children with complex health needs should be supported to make the best decision for their child with their health care providers and school staff when considering the risks of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.
About ReSET
ReSET is a collaborative project formed in 2021 to research and promote safe in-person school attendance for children with complex health needs.
During the pandemic, we partnered with families, schools, clinicians, and policymakers across Wisconsin to prioritize strategies to help children with complex health needs attend school.
We continue to work with these and other partners to share resources to keep children with complex health needs healthy in schools based on the most up-to-date information and experiences of families, students,
and schools.
This information was developed with funding from the National Institutes of Health and in partnership with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Healthy Kids Collaborative, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Waisman Center ECEDD, and Family Voices of Wisconsin. Published August 2023.
This research was, in part, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Agreement No. 1 OT2 HD107558-01(award number OT2 HD107558). The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the NIH.
