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What can schools do to prepare for pan flu?
Several resources are available to educate schools on preparing for pandemic influenza, including H1N1:
Flu.gov is the official U.S. government Web site managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Here you will find the School District K-12 Checklist, which addresses these areas at the local school district level: planning and coordination; continuity of student learning and core operations; infection control policies and procedures; and communications planning.
The U.S. Department of Education issued a Joint Letter to Schools and School Districts Regarding H1N1 Influenza Preparations on June 11, 2009.
The Washington State School Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Resource Manual (PDF) is a resource to schools in planning for any infectious disease outbreaks or extended school closures. The following three documents from the Planning and Mitigation Resources (PDF) section of the Manual may be of immediate use to schools:
How should schools prepare to respond to a H1N1 flu outbreak or pandemic?
It is critical for schools to collaborate with the local health department in their planning efforts. In addition to having information useful to school preparation efforts, the local health department will be an essential partner in responding to and monitoring actual outbreaks of illness, and in determining if and when a school should close because of an outbreak.
Two sample letters are available:
- Information for parents about H1N1 flu (Word)
This template is for notifying students, families and staff about H1N1 flu, including the symptoms of H1N1 flu, prevention tips, and where to go for further information.
- Information for parents about school closure (Word)
This template is intended to be used when notifying parents that students are dismissed from school until further notice. Work with your local county health officials to finalize your letter to parents.
OSPI’s Infectious Disease Control Guide (PDF, 194 pages) is a useful tool in this effort. In addition, the Washington State Department of Health has prevention tips, translated into multiple languages, and posters and brochures that can be helpful for your students and their families on the Washington State Department of Health H1N1 flu page.
What should school leaders do if a sibling of one of their students has a confirmed case of the H1N1 flu (specifically, a sibling that attends another school)?
The first step for school leaders is to ask this question of the local health jurisdiction. There may be circumstances unique to the situation that would guide decisions about siblings.
Students and staff who have been in close contact with the ill (including
siblings) but who themselves do not exhibit symptoms of the flu will not
automatically be excluded from school attendance. However, this is all subject
to local case-by-case application by the health officer in consultation with the
superintendent. These changes in the state’s H1N1 virus containment strategy
make it doubly important that school superintendents have ongoing contact with
their local health officers. This is true even in those counties that have not
yet identified probable cases of the new H1N1 influenza.
What should schools be doing about tracking school absences?
School leaders should:
- Monitor student and staff absentee rates, and related illness symptoms
- Notify the local health jurisdiction of a significant absenteeism
increase (some LHJs request notification with an increase of 10% or greater)
- Include information about symptoms in the report whenever possible.
- If your LHJ does not have a reporting tool, schools may find the
Klickitat County
Reporting Form helpful.
Work with your LHJ to obtain information about the control and
prevention of this new H1N1 virus and infectious diseases in general.
- Assist public health authorities in their investigation process during
outbreaks of disease that may be associated with your school.
WAC 246-101-420 defines the responsibilities of schools.
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