If you're a business officer, you have a lot on your mind. From budgets and audits to delegating tasks across departments, there's likely no department you don't have contact with, except one: the health center. 

The missing link between the independent school business office and its school health center isn't new - in fact, health centers often feel like an island within their school. But this trend doesn't have to be permanent, nor should it. That's why we're using data from the Annual Report of Independent School Health Services to show why business officers should be concerned about their health center. The result is a list of seven questions every independent school business officer should ask themselves on a daily basis. With these questions, business officers can be better prepared to manage risk, liability, and emergencies at their school.

Allen Cobb, Magnus Health CPO, and Wendy Barnhart, Director of Business and Finance at The Westminster Schools, recently presented these seven questions at the National Business Officers Association Annual Meeting. You can get a recap of that presentation by watching the video below, plus we've compiled all seven questions (plus extra data) right here. 

Ah, February. Sandwiched between holidays and springtime, it can be a bit dreary. But we've been keeping ourselves busy and creating our own cheer by pushing out new software updates, recording client training videos, and hosting guest expert webinars. And if that wasn't enough, we also found time to relax and celebrate Valentine's day with each other by bringing in heart-healthy snacks named after famous couples (Elvis and Priscilla's peanut butter and banana graham crackers was a personal favorite). We had fun during February, and we sure hope you did, too.

At a Glance

• Allen Cobb, Chief Product Officer of Magnus Health, attended the 2015 NBOA Annual Meeting and presented research from our Annual Report.
• We launched a new physician signature feature and exciting updates to the Magnus Mobile app.
• Missy Fraser, MS, ATC, joined us for the first guest expert webinar of the year. Her topic: Recent research on Traumatic Brain Injuries.

Currently, our client services team is deep in the bonny blue waters of Electronically Signed Documents. They’re up to their eyeballs helping schools switch traditional printed forms over to a secure customized online form that never needs to be printed. But as swell as ESD’s are, some schools (and state laws) still require a healthcare professional to sign paper forms. Over-the-counter medication forms and often action plans could require a scrawled “Dr. Jane Smith, MD” across the bottom to be accepted. So we’ve added a simple label that tells parents which blank forms need to go with them to see Dr. Jane.

In truth by the end of the summer, my back to school reality is dashing out the door to see Dr. Jane with an armful of papers and if I’m lucky, a giant iced coffee. There are quite a few Magnus moms and dads who fight the same back to school paperwork battle. So when one of the top requests from our parents was to create a clear way to see which forms need to be signed by a doctor, we were all ears. School nurses chimed in that this was a frustrating issue they also heard from parents, so really, this new feature was win-win.

So for parents (like me) who are flying out the door like Elphaba’s monkeys on the way to appointments, now they can easily see which forms they need to take with them to the doctor.

Client Profile 

• Name: Pam Gorman
• Job Title: Director of Health Services
• School: Portsmouth Abbey School
• Location: Portsmouth, RI
• Type: Catholic Boarding & Day Grades 9-12
• Size: 360 students
• Website: portsmouthabbey.org

When Pam Gorman, Director of Health Services, began working at Portsmouth Abbey 30 years ago, she could track all student medications on a single sheet of paper. But, as state requirements became more strict, and the frequency of student health conditions increased, Portsmouth Abbey realized the need for a new system to track and manage medical information.

Gorman and her team initially had reservations about switching to a web-based system, but after implementation and becoming acquainted with Magnus, everyone was able to embrace the paperless environment. “I learned that [the process] is very simple. If I can do it, the only excuse that a parent would have is that they do not have a computer,” Gorman said.

Athletes take on numerous risks each time they step on the field, hop in the pool, or skate onto the ice. One of those risks is head injuries. Regardless of whether or not an athlete participates in contact sports, a sport-related concussion (SRC) could happen to almost any athlete, at any time. That's why each coach, school nurse, and athletic trainer should have the most recent information on concussion diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.

That's also why we took notes from our guest expert Missy Fraser, MS, ATC, from the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related TBI Research Center, and compiled this list of ten facts you should know about sport-related concussions.

I'm not going to pretend that The Oscars has an enormous amount in common with school health. But I will argue, there are lessons to be learned and/or reiterated from the glamorous affair - and none of them are about fashion.

At Magnus, we spend a lot of time thinking of ways to make schools' and parents' lives simple. One of our favorite tools to accomplish that goal is our easy-to-use parent portal, MyMagnus. When parents need to fill out or update their child(ren)'s health information, they can do so by signing in to their secure Magnus Health account via MyMagnus.com.

To make logging in even easier for parents, we recommend putting a link on your school's website (if you are not already using one of our software integrations). By adding a link to your website that directs parents to log in to their Magnus Health account, you save parents time and reduce the number of phone calls to your school's health and technology departments.

But enough about how wonderful it is. Let's get started with our three steps to add a Magnus Health login link to your school's website.

With all of the recent news attention that vaccines have been getting, it would be remiss not to discuss the challenges around meeting immunization requirements in a school setting. With mandates that vary from one state to the next, schools constantly struggle to collect all of the necessary documentation for each of their students. Schools are required to show proof that their students are either up-to-date on immunizations or have a documented medical or religious exemption. Some states will also accept a personal belief or philosophical exemption.

But let’s save the debate on whether or not to immunize for another time, and instead talk about ways to meet your state’s requirements. Achieving compliance is no small task. It may involve sending reminder letters in the mail, making numerous phone calls, and pulling kids out of class until all of their requirements are met.

Here are a few tips to help get the job done:

Last year's Magnus Academy attendees got a special treat when they came to visit us in Raleigh, NC. They received an all-access pass to Magnus HQ! From our bright orange walls to the holiday lights that hung around until late July, our clients saw our office in all of its glory - and all of its distractions.

They saw the gong that our Client Services team rings each time we implement a new school, and they listened to pop music blaring from behind our Sales Team's desks. Sometimes I wonder how the Magnus team gets so much work done with an abundance of distractions - but then I remember that most of us grew up in environments where multitasking was a revered skill.

Although I enjoyed school, I can't say that my study habits or test preparation skills were quite up to par. More often than not, I'd spend the night before a big test cramming as much into my overtired brain as possible, then I'd regurgitate it the next day and hope for the best. Now, I'm not saying this blog is going to change the fact that students have always, and will continue to procrastinate, but maybe you can use these tips to help encourage students to better prepare for the big tests coming their way.