Public school districts throughout the North Olympic Peninsula and Peninsula College are prepared to take measures against swine flu, if it shows up this fall and winter.
Dr. Tom Locke, the public health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties, has been meeting periodically with school officials to ensure that they are ready in case of an outbreak.
The ultimate goal is to keep schools open, so the need for advance infection control and planning is necessary, Locke told administrators at a meeting of Sequim, Port Angeles and Crescent school districts earlier this month.
So far, none of the superintendents is aware of any cases in the schools. They said they are closely monitoring all flu-like symptoms exhibited by students or staff.
Tracking cases
All of the district administrators said they are working directly with Locke to track how many students stay home, for what reasons and if it is for an illness, specifically which illness.
“We want to be proactive,” Port Angeles Superintendent Jane Pryne said.
“We are prepared to handle them as they come in.”
Students who have swine flu will be asked to stay home from school to prevent the H1N1 virus from spreading.
“We evaluate on a daily basis what we’ve heard from parents and if any kids have any kind of flu symptoms,” said Tom Anderson, Crescent School superintendent in Joyce.
Peninsula College is putting together a plan for dealing with infectious diseases on campuses, Peninsula College President Tom Keegan said.
College personnel also are working with area public school districts, particularly with students who attend the Running Start program, in which students attend both high school and college.
“We’ve also purchased over 80 hand sanitizer units and placed them all over all of the campuses’ sites,” Keegan said.
“We have also been conducting comprehensive flu etiquette training for faculty and staff,” he added.
The faculty has been made aware of the policy for absenteeism for students with the flu.
Health is first goal
“We aren’t advising students to drop classes if they do contract the flu,” Keegan said.
“Our first goal is the students’ health and secondarily their success in class.”
Chimacum Superintendent Mike Blair said that the nurse has trained all of the staff and worked to keep parents aware.
“We will do as we always do — try and provide as clean of an environment as we can,” Blair said.
“We, like all of the other districts are monitoring with the health department to keep track of specifically what students have when they stay home.
“Other than that, we are trying to do what we normally would with any other seasonal flu.”
The health department suggests the following measures to help contain any type of flu:
• Wash hands often with soap and water. Always wash after coughing or sneezing. If soap and water are not nearby, use an alcohol-based hand cleaner.
• Cover coughs and sneezes with an elbow or a tissue and throw dirty tissues away.
• Do not touch eyes, nose or mouth. Germs can spread this way.
• Stay away from people who are sick.
• Keep children who are sick home from school and day care.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.