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Flu took its toll on staff and students
Posted By STEPHEN UHLER
Posted 4 hours ago
Last fall's H1N1 flu outbreak taught the Renfrew County District School Board some valuable lessons in preparing for the next pandemic.
On Monday, the board of directors heard from Bill Murray, health, safety and wellness manager, who updated members on how the influenza strain was handled within the school system.
"At the peak of the outbreak in October and November, H1N1 had a significant impact on the schools," he said, with nearly 30 per cent of the student body and 18 per cent of staff absent with influenza-like symptoms. While laboratory testing is needed to confirm all of illnesses were related to the "swine flu," it is most likely that virus was the culprit.
"There was virtually no seasonal flu around," he said, noting whenever local patients were tested, it was found they all had H1N1.
Dealing with such high rates of absenteeism presented significant challenges, Mr. Murray said. The biggest one was ensuring there was qualified staff available to be in front of the students.
"Classes were collapsed together, and staff were taken out of their usual roles, such as special education, and put into the classroom," he said, adding the teachers were more than up to the challenge.
"Our staff deserve such a big thank you for walking us through this when H1N1 was at its peak," Mr. Murray said. "All of our staff stepped up, saw the need and filled the roles."
Principals and front office staff also felt the pinch, as schools became places where everyone from students and their parents to staff members would call for information about the flu.
"Their concerns are significant," Mr. Murray said, and suggested a central place for timely information be developed or linked so staff can locate and pass on answers to questions quickly. He added plans are being developed to ensure extra help is available to assist the front office during times of crisis.
Mr. Murray said he also learned the board must be able to dispatch custodial staff in sufficient numbers quickly to schools affected by outbreaks, so they can sanitize the facility four to five times a day, rather than just once. This includes cleaning all surfaces, including keyboards, door handles, counter and desk tops and bathrooms.
He said although H1N1 seems to have fallen off the radar screen -currently county schools report only a one per cent absentee rate among students -this didn't mean the virus was gone.
"We still need to keep our guard up until April," which is the traditional end of the flu season. Outbreaks are still happening in central and southern Ontario, so the potential remains for H1N1 or another such virus to stage a comeback.
Hand washing and the use of hand sanitizers should be kept up, and staff will continue to watch for signs of illness.
Mr. Murray said in the early stages of the outbreak, there was discussion about setting up immunization clinics inside schools, but that was dropped as the Renfrew County and District Health Unit didn't have the resources. Instead, they concentrated on community immunization through clinics and medical personnel.
Trustees praised Mr. Murray's leadership during the outbreak, and his work in helping the board develop its pandemic plan.
Trustee Dave Shields said considering this could have been a horrible disaster (if the virus was more dangerous than it proved to be), the experience has been a good-news story in that the schools handled it well.
Roy Reiche, school board chairman, said this turned out to be a positive learning experience, as the board had the chance to run through its pandemic plan. He said everyone was able to rise above the anxiety surrounding H1N1 and make this work.
"Now we can take these lessons and improve on this," he said.
The board was also pleased to note no one within the school system died as a result of H1N1.
Stephen Uhler is a Daily Observer reporter
Posted By STEPHEN UHLER
Posted 4 hours ago
Last fall's H1N1 flu outbreak taught the Renfrew County District School Board some valuable lessons in preparing for the next pandemic.
On Monday, the board of directors heard from Bill Murray, health, safety and wellness manager, who updated members on how the influenza strain was handled within the school system.
"At the peak of the outbreak in October and November, H1N1 had a significant impact on the schools," he said, with nearly 30 per cent of the student body and 18 per cent of staff absent with influenza-like symptoms. While laboratory testing is needed to confirm all of illnesses were related to the "swine flu," it is most likely that virus was the culprit.
"There was virtually no seasonal flu around," he said, noting whenever local patients were tested, it was found they all had H1N1.
Dealing with such high rates of absenteeism presented significant challenges, Mr. Murray said. The biggest one was ensuring there was qualified staff available to be in front of the students.
"Classes were collapsed together, and staff were taken out of their usual roles, such as special education, and put into the classroom," he said, adding the teachers were more than up to the challenge.
"Our staff deserve such a big thank you for walking us through this when H1N1 was at its peak," Mr. Murray said. "All of our staff stepped up, saw the need and filled the roles."
Principals and front office staff also felt the pinch, as schools became places where everyone from students and their parents to staff members would call for information about the flu.
"Their concerns are significant," Mr. Murray said, and suggested a central place for timely information be developed or linked so staff can locate and pass on answers to questions quickly. He added plans are being developed to ensure extra help is available to assist the front office during times of crisis.
Mr. Murray said he also learned the board must be able to dispatch custodial staff in sufficient numbers quickly to schools affected by outbreaks, so they can sanitize the facility four to five times a day, rather than just once. This includes cleaning all surfaces, including keyboards, door handles, counter and desk tops and bathrooms.
He said although H1N1 seems to have fallen off the radar screen -currently county schools report only a one per cent absentee rate among students -this didn't mean the virus was gone.
"We still need to keep our guard up until April," which is the traditional end of the flu season. Outbreaks are still happening in central and southern Ontario, so the potential remains for H1N1 or another such virus to stage a comeback.
Hand washing and the use of hand sanitizers should be kept up, and staff will continue to watch for signs of illness.
Mr. Murray said in the early stages of the outbreak, there was discussion about setting up immunization clinics inside schools, but that was dropped as the Renfrew County and District Health Unit didn't have the resources. Instead, they concentrated on community immunization through clinics and medical personnel.
Trustees praised Mr. Murray's leadership during the outbreak, and his work in helping the board develop its pandemic plan.
Trustee Dave Shields said considering this could have been a horrible disaster (if the virus was more dangerous than it proved to be), the experience has been a good-news story in that the schools handled it well.
Roy Reiche, school board chairman, said this turned out to be a positive learning experience, as the board had the chance to run through its pandemic plan. He said everyone was able to rise above the anxiety surrounding H1N1 and make this work.
"Now we can take these lessons and improve on this," he said.
The board was also pleased to note no one within the school system died as a result of H1N1.
Stephen Uhler is a Daily Observer reporter
