Back to School, Back to Prepared: Is Your School Ready for the Unexpected?

New backpacks? Check. Fresh notebooks? Check. A suspicious number of brand-new water bottles destined for the lost-and-found by October? Definitely check.

But while students are getting ready for another year of classes, sports, field trips, and cafeteria adventures, schools have another important checklist to tackle: health and emergency preparedness.

From scraped knees on the playground to seasonal sniffles spreading through the hallways, the school health office can get busy quickly. Preparing before the first bell rings helps nurses, teachers, coaches, and administrators handle everyday mishaps—and be better equipped when something more serious happens.

Here are a few areas worth checking before students return.

1. Give the First Aid Cabinet a Back-to-School Checkup

School first aid supplies have a habit of disappearing throughout the year.

Bandages get used. Gloves run low. Instant cold packs somehow vanish immediately after basketball season begins.

Before classes are in full swing, take inventory of everyday essentials such as:

• Adhesive bandages in multiple sizes

• Sterile gauze pads and gauze rolls

• Medical tape

• Antiseptic wipes and ointments

• Disposable gloves

• Instant hot and cold packs

• Burn care supplies

• Scissors and first aid instruments

A well-organized supply cabinet makes minor injuries much easier to manage without searching through three drawers for the last remaining bandage.

Schools with existing kits should also check expiration dates and consider first aid kit refills rather than replacing an entire kit.

2. Prepare for Playground and Sports Injuries

Recess, P.E., practices, and school athletics bring plenty of activity—and occasionally a student limping toward the nurse's office with a dramatic retelling of what happened.

Sports areas should have accessible first aid supplies for common injuries, including cold packs, elastic wraps, gauze, medical tape, gloves, and wound-care products.

Consider keeping separate supplies near the gym, athletic field, playground, and nurse's office. When an injury happens on the opposite side of campus, having the right equipment nearby can make a big difference.

3. Don't Forget Everyday Hygiene

Not every school health concern requires a first aid kit.

Personal hygiene supplies can provide students with a little extra comfort during an already hectic school day. Depending on the students and age groups your school serves, useful items may include toothbrushes, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, moist wipes, tissues, deodorant, sanitary products, and personal hygiene kits.

These supplies can be particularly helpful for school health offices, counselors, emergency clothing closets, shelters, and programs supporting students who may not always have easy access to personal care products.

And then there is the famous back-to-school season when one cough mysteriously becomes twenty.

Keeping hand hygiene and basic wellness supplies readily available can help your staff stay prepared throughout the year.

4. Think Beyond Minor First Aid

A box of adhesive bandages is important, but school preparedness shouldn't end there.

Schools should also consider how prepared they are for larger emergencies. Depending on your emergency plan, supplies might include emergency blankets, drinking water, flashlights or emergency lighting, whistles, masks, first aid supplies, and other disaster-preparedness equipment.

CPR Savers offers school emergency kits as well as survival and shelter-in-place supplies designed to help organizations prepare for situations that go beyond the everyday trip to the nurse.

Emergency supplies should also be periodically inspected rather than placed in a closet and forgotten until they're needed.

5. Make Bleeding Control Part of the Conversation

Schools across the country are increasingly thinking beyond traditional first aid when planning for emergencies.

Bleeding-control supplies can provide another layer of preparedness for severe injuries. Schools may consider strategically placed bleeding-control kits containing items such as tourniquets, gauze, pressure dressings, gloves, and other trauma supplies.

Equipment is only one part of preparedness, however. Staff training is equally important. CPR, AED, first aid, and bleeding-control training can help turn emergency equipment from something hanging on a wall into something people feel prepared to use.

6. Check Your School Buses, Too

The classroom isn't the only place students spend their school day.

School buses, athletic vehicles, field-trip transportation, and other campus vehicles should have appropriate emergency supplies as well. Check first aid kits at the beginning of the year and periodically throughout the semester to make sure supplies are complete, accessible, and ready to use.

Because nobody wants to discover the first aid kit is missing half its contents while sitting three miles away from campus.

Start the School Year Ready

Back-to-school preparation isn't only about pencils, schedules, and lesson plans. A stocked health office, accessible first aid supplies, personal care essentials, emergency kits, and properly trained staff can all contribute to a safer and more prepared school environment.

Before the hallways fill up again, take a few minutes to inspect your school's supplies and identify what needs to be replaced, refilled, or added.

CPR Savers & First Aid Supply offers first aid supplies, emergency preparedness products, school and sports first aid kits, hygiene supplies, bleeding-control equipment, CPR and AED products, and training equipment to help schools prepare for the year ahead.

Because when the first unexpected “Can someone call the nurse?” comes over the radio, being prepared beats scrambling every time.