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Springfield closes Delaware Elementary after numerous reports of flu, officials said
By Wes Johnson ? wjohnson@news-leader.com ? October 13, 2009
Springfield officials closed Delaware Elementary School at 3 p.m. Wednesday after absences related to flu reached 30 percent.
? More information on the flu
Parents got the news through a phone-alert network and were asked not to send their children back to Delaware until Monday.
It was the first school closing for health reasons in recent times, according to Jean Grabeel, coordinator of Springfield R-12 health services.
?I came here in 1991 and this is the first time since I?ve been here that a school has been closed,? for medical reasons she said.
Delaware was closed not only because of its high rate of infection, but also because it has a large number of special-needs students who are particularly susceptible to the flu.
Kevin Gipson, Springfield-Greene County Health Department Director, described some of the Delaware students as ?medically fragile.?
Some have cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy or other medical issues that could make them more susceptible to the flu, Gipson said.
He said he recommended closing the school, based on Centers for Disease Control guidelines for dealing with flu among high-risk populations.
?The majority of kids we see die from this are among this group,? Gipson said. ?Twenty nine special needs kids have died from this nationwide from last Friday until today.?
Graybeel said other schools in the district are seeing significant levels of flu, including at Bingham Elementary, where the absentee rate was at 18 percent Wednesday.
?We?re monitoring our other schools, but we don?t have any others with numbers that high,? she said, referring to Delaware Elementary.
She said the district doesn?t have an absentee rate that will automatically close a school.
Nor was the district distinguishing between flu strains to decide whether a school should be closed.
?Flu is flu,? Grabeel said. ?We?re going to treat it all the same way.?
While the Delaware students are away from class, the district will send crews in to clean and disinfect classrooms, bathrooms, doorknobs and drinking fountains.
Next week, the district also plans to start offering H1N1 shots or nasal mist vaccine to students at 10 R-12 schools that participated in a vaccine program with the public health department.
Parents will need to sign consent forms.
Those schools are Boyd Elementary, Central High School, Study Middle School, Westport Elementary, Pipkin Middle School, Robberson Elementary, Bowerman Elementary, Weaver Elementary, McGregor Elementary, and Campbell Elementary.
For more information:
www.springfieldpublicschoolsmo.org or www.springfieldmo.gov/health
http://www.news-leader.com/article/...after+numerous+reports+of+flu++officials+said
By Wes Johnson ? wjohnson@news-leader.com ? October 13, 2009
Springfield officials closed Delaware Elementary School at 3 p.m. Wednesday after absences related to flu reached 30 percent.
? More information on the flu
Parents got the news through a phone-alert network and were asked not to send their children back to Delaware until Monday.
It was the first school closing for health reasons in recent times, according to Jean Grabeel, coordinator of Springfield R-12 health services.
?I came here in 1991 and this is the first time since I?ve been here that a school has been closed,? for medical reasons she said.
Delaware was closed not only because of its high rate of infection, but also because it has a large number of special-needs students who are particularly susceptible to the flu.
Kevin Gipson, Springfield-Greene County Health Department Director, described some of the Delaware students as ?medically fragile.?
Some have cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy or other medical issues that could make them more susceptible to the flu, Gipson said.
He said he recommended closing the school, based on Centers for Disease Control guidelines for dealing with flu among high-risk populations.
?The majority of kids we see die from this are among this group,? Gipson said. ?Twenty nine special needs kids have died from this nationwide from last Friday until today.?
Graybeel said other schools in the district are seeing significant levels of flu, including at Bingham Elementary, where the absentee rate was at 18 percent Wednesday.
?We?re monitoring our other schools, but we don?t have any others with numbers that high,? she said, referring to Delaware Elementary.
She said the district doesn?t have an absentee rate that will automatically close a school.
Nor was the district distinguishing between flu strains to decide whether a school should be closed.
?Flu is flu,? Grabeel said. ?We?re going to treat it all the same way.?
While the Delaware students are away from class, the district will send crews in to clean and disinfect classrooms, bathrooms, doorknobs and drinking fountains.
Next week, the district also plans to start offering H1N1 shots or nasal mist vaccine to students at 10 R-12 schools that participated in a vaccine program with the public health department.
Parents will need to sign consent forms.
Those schools are Boyd Elementary, Central High School, Study Middle School, Westport Elementary, Pipkin Middle School, Robberson Elementary, Bowerman Elementary, Weaver Elementary, McGregor Elementary, and Campbell Elementary.
For more information:
www.springfieldpublicschoolsmo.org or www.springfieldmo.gov/health
http://www.news-leader.com/article/...after+numerous+reports+of+flu++officials+said