USD 456 Pandemic Flu Emergency Preparednessa
by Tammy Vanderpool
Marais des Cygnes Valley USD #456
Pandemic Flu
Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan
H1N1
The purpose of the Pandemic Flu Emergency Preparedness and
Response Plan is to assist in managing the impact of an influenza
pandemic on schools based on two main strategies:
1) Reducing the spread of the virus within school facilities;
and
2) Sustaining educational functions.
The MdCV USD #456 school district administration have been
reviewing current Pandemic Flu Plans and have planned for the
imminent risk of the H1N1 virus becoming widespread this fall and
want to communicate the following recommendations for our
schools.
Students and School Staff
1. School closure will NOT occur, unless there is a magnitude of
faculty or student absenteeism that interferes with the school's
ability to function.
2. Stay home when you are sick. Students, faculty, and all staff
with influenza-like illness (fever with cough or sore throat),
should stay home and not attend school or go into the community
except to seek medical care. The CDC is recommending that those
with flu-like illness stay home until at least 24 hours after their
fever is gone, without using fever-reducing medications, such as
Tylenol or Motrin.
3. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Students, faculty,
and staff who appear to have, or develop during the school day,
influenza-like symptoms should be isolated promptly in a room
separated from other students and staff, and sent home.
4. Cover your mouth and nose, and wash your hands. Follow sanitary
measures to reduce the spread of influenza, including covering
their nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing,
coughing into their sleeve or elbow (Dracula method), frequently
washing their hands with soap and water, or using hand sanitizer if
hand washing is not possible.
5. Open Communication with student and parents to continue with
assignments and coursework, when students are absent from
school.
Parents:
1. Monitor for illness: Parents and guardians should monitor their
school-aged children, every morning for symptoms of influenza-like
illness, and should NOT send them to school or to daycare if
symptoms are present.
2. Report ALL absences from school: Call the school and report
specific symptoms, disease or reason the student is not in school
to assist with symptoms/disease surveillance. Also, make sure the
school has correct contact and emergency numbers to allow for
prompt pick-up if influenza-like symptoms occur.
3. Aspirin or aspirin-containing products should NOT be
administered to any confirmed or suspected case of novel H1N1
influenza, virus infection aged 18 years and younger, due to the
risk of Reye's syndrome.
4. Stay home: If your child is ill with influenza-like symptoms
they should not attend alternative child care or congregate in
other neighborhood and community settings.
5. Stay informed! Check your child's book bag daily to monitor for
written updates from the school. Visit the MdCV USD #456 website
(http://www.usd456.org) to view current updates on H1N1.
Planning and Response to the possibility of school closure includes
the following:
• Business Operations
In the event schools are closed, the USD #456 Board of Education
Office will stay open, if possible. School missed will be made up
to the 1116 hours required and these days will be made up after the
final day of the published school calendar.
Everyone would continue to get paid as usual. Stopping payment
would create undue hardship on classified employees. Hourly
employees who are not 12 month employees would be asked to work the
extended school year without pay.
• Building Operations
In case of a pandemic and school closure, custodial/maintenance
staff will be expected to report to work in his/her respective
building. All reporting personnel would be expected to utilize
personal protective equipment as deemed necessary by county
authorities.
• Communications
Timely and accurate information regarding school closures and
reopening will be provided to all school district staff, students,
and parents through newsletters, website, letters to parents,
telephone trees, etc. to assist with the communication process. All
communication with the media will be funneled through the Board of
Education office.
PANDEMIC FLU
What is a pandemic disease?
It is an outbreak of an infectious disease that affects people over
an extensive geographical area. The pandemic flu that has been most
recently in the news has also been called H1N1 flu. As we know,
initial cases of novel influenza A (H1N1) in the United States
included school-aged students who were associated with travel to
Mexico. Since that time H1N1 has gained momentum, and in just over
100 days has spread from two countries in one continent to 160
countries in every continent of the world. Already the pandemic
strain has claimed about 1000 lives worldwide, three time the
number lost to the "bird flu" virus since 2003. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in the next two years
20 to 40 % of the US population will be stricken, with many of the
cases compressed into "waves" of infection lasting 8 to 12 weeks.
The number of pandemic-related deaths will range from 90,000 to
"several hundred thousand," according to the CDC.
In Kansas, as many as 1,000 cases have already occurred, with
confirmed disease now reported in 35 counties throughout the state.
Ordinarily flu is not seen during the summer months, but more
counties have been newly confirmed with H1N1 disease during July
than in any previous month. The pattern of cases here, as in other
states, points to a distinctly higher risk for the young. The
average age for confirmed cases in Kansas is just 17 years, with
about 80% of cases occurring before the age of 35 years. Although
the elderly would comprise a majority of severe cases in a normal
flu season, cases of H1N1 flu are relatively rare in people over 65
years of age (KDHE, July 2009).
What can you and your family do to find out more?
• Log on to:
• http://flu.gov
• http://cdc.gov/h1n1flu
• http://ksheks.gov/H1N1/index.htm
• http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=3739
• http://kasb.org
